¡Ay, caramba! It's been a long time since I've posted any writing updates. I'm excited to be back to a regular writing routine.
I usually set some goals at the start of the year, but skipped it this past January. I had only two goals in mind: to finish what I started last year, and find a writing mentor (or few).
I came out of last year uncertain about my writing, and unsure what to do with the conflicting feedback I had received, so I really wanted an experienced hand to tell me the truth - a mentor. I ended up with pages and pages of useful feedback from Viable Paradise. I sorely needed that. The experience wasn't as harrowing as it could have been, because no feedback could be worse than what I was already thinking (I was sure at the time I'd been accepted out of pity). Writers are an insecure bunch sometimes, and I am no exception.
The toughest part of being home again has been figuring out what I want to work on next, but I think I finally have a plan for the rest of 2012:
- Edit and submit the short story I wrote at VP.
- Finish a first draft of "The Golden Thread" ~ est. 3 weeks to completion.
- Do a final edit of "The Book of Day" ~ 30 chapters... can I do it in 30 days?
- Figure out how to write a proper query letter, synopsis, and all that jazz.
What are your plans for the rest of 2012? Anyone doing NaNoWriMo? I will not be participating but I'll cheer you on :)
I'm sure you hadn't been accepted just out of pity, and I'm glad they convinced you otherwise. You've got a passion, lady!
God, I haven't gotten nearly enough done this month. I'm hoping life calms down enough that I can get a beta-readable draft of my next novel done in November/December.
Didn't you just finish your first draft? You are one ambitious man. I hope life calms down for you too. *hugs*
Ha! I was also in the 'out of pity' camp for a while. Glad to get over that. I've not written anything since getting back home, but that's okay because I've been scribbling ideas down fast and furious. Got lots of those.
I think more than one of us thought that!
You know, when the instructors mentioned we might not write for a while I thought it was because we'd be too overwhelmed to think clearly. I didn't think it would be because we had too many ideas, or in my case, too many options and not sure what to work on next!
Those sound like good goals. :) I also hear you on the pity vote. Isn't it wonderful knowing that 6 pros BELIEVE in you? It's not just the luck of the draw. They see something in your writing, our writing, that made them want to spend a week of nearly 24/7 with each other...
Good luck with your goals! Chug on ahead and don't look back.
You too? Yes it's a pretty amazing feeling ;) Thanks Dawn! You too!
Your goals sound great - such a nice mix of writing and editing. Good luck with everything! :)
Thanks Shari!
Very ambitious for the end of the year, but you seem up to the task. Good luck!
Besides Viable Paradise, were you able to secure a mentor?
I hope to keep in touch with the instructors in some way (easier with the internet). I also just joined the Codex writer's group, and think that will help too. :)
Hmm. I'm completely and totally unfamiliar with Codex. I'll have to keep them in my back pocket, though, for whenever I break through that "fiction sale" barrier, and see if that's something I think can help me. Thanks for the response.
That sounds like a very good plan (by coincidence I just posted about planning, and after you read that you may decide that I'm not the best judge :-) ).
Thirty chapters in thirty days is ambitious, but I'm assuming that "final edit" means it's just minor stuff at this point, rather than major restructuring. Good luck!
Mostly a final polish, there are only a few minor changes, and not a major restructuring. I saw that post! :)
I'm all for simple goals as well. Mine surrounds my first book being published nearly next year and finishing it's sequel.
That sounds simple, but its still a big task ;) Good luck!