Tuesday, August 6, 2013

August Goals

Alas, this month was not as successful as previous months. Yes, it’s my fault for getting distracted by yet another project. Plus there was a week when it was reeeeeeeeeeeeeally hot out, like close to a hundred degrees and super humid. Surprisingly enough, melting from the temperature is not conducive to writing.

Anyway, let’s see what I did…

July Goals

1. Finish going over suggestions from previous readers for COLLAPSE. Maybe try to find more critique partners. I’ve got some good feedback, but I don’t know if four is enough (especially when I don’t have them all back yet).
Oh wow, I totally failed here, mostly because I completely forgot about searching for more crit partners. Um, whoops?

2. Be more present in social media. Mostly I want to leave more comments, respond to every one I receive, and return the favor.
Did this. I’m commenting more and responding to almost every one (the few I don’t is because some people don’t connect their web pages to their profiles and I can’t find them).

3. Add 20K more to New Project and finish combining the new and the old versions.
Did not do this. I worked more on the rewrite, but then I started working on a completely different project. I got that one done and even worked on yet another, but this goal is a total fail.

So it’s a failure in the sense that I have not been working on the goals I was supposed to be working on. I got quite a bit done, but not exactly on the correct things. Part of it is wanting a break from dystopian/apocalyptic writing—yes, really. Although the new idea I have is still more than a little apocalyptic…

August Goals

1. Keep on social media and keep searching for more beta readers for my YA apocalyptic. I really hope I remember it this month. Not that I know how to go about doing so…well, the goal should be to figure that out, then.

2. Add 20K to new project. It’s a paranormal with an apocalyptic twist because I can’t really stray that far.

3. Add 10K to my horror side project. Also, maybe reveal the horror story I wrote to you guys.

And the fourth goal: take a break. Honestly, I’m really busy this month outside all of my writing stuff, so I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to get done.


Anyway, what are you doing this August? Are you enjoying your last full month of summer (or winter, if you’re below the equator)?

11 comments:

  1. I think this is the month everyone is taking off.
    You still did a lot of writing even if it was on the wrong project.
    As for critique partners, I have three of those and two test readers. That is definitely the most I could handle.

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  2. I go back to work next week, so I'm driving myself crazy this week to get many things done.

    I like to have at least 3 CP's.

    Good luck on your goals.

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  3. I know one place where you could go looking for new beta readers. If you're on Facebook, there's a group called Writers Support 4U, moderated by Sheri Larsen, and that group has a satellite group for people seeking to hook up with betas and CPs. Joining the group is by invitation only (because we were having trouble with spammers), so it's invisible to non-members. But if you're interested in joining, contact me through Facebook and I can invite you.

    As for my August goals, I really want the salient plot points of the next book in my series to reach some kind of sensible pattern. I'm not asking for an outline -- cause I don't work like that. I just need an AHA! moment that shows me how all my ideas come to together into one story.

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  4. Progress is progress, even if it's on the 'wrong' projects. ;)

    I've had a lot of stuff thrown at me family crisis-wise, plus some health issues of my own that are demanding attention. On top of that, I'm gearing up for the beginning of school. With special needs kids, that's more stressful and time consuming than average.

    All that to say, writing has pretty much been put on hold. I'm doing well to swap crits at this point. But I'm hopeful things will get better come September. :)

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  5. It's August. Isn't that traditionally vacation time?

    Sounds like you're making progress, even if it is slow. But slow and steady wins the race.

    As for me, I want to get the last scene of the last chapter of my novel written. Then I need to go back and do a pass before passing it off to betas. If only that last scene would appear for me. That's not too much to ask, is it?

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  6. You did make some progress! :) And that's good! I've had months like that too, where nothing I really wanted gets done and I forget about goals. Good luck on your new goals! :)

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  7. Gasp! Get away from Dystopian/Apocalyptic?

    I laugh here because I've dabbled in so many genres, but I find my roots always surface--no matter how far away from fantasy I steer, it seeps back in. (Which is a good thing.)

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  8. Adding words is a pain in the butt! That's where I am right now; adding words to a sequel to try to make it a decent length. It's killing me.

    Nice work on the goals!

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  9. You may not have reached some of your goals, but it sounds like you've been really productive. Good luck with your new goals.

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  10. As Lynda said, you sound very productive to me! My August goal is to get my new monthly bloghop up and running! Excited so far! Good luck with all you're trying to achieve!

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  11. Humidity is never good for getting anything done!

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Please validate me.