As I did last year, I’m participating in the writing incentive and goal-setting blog-hop:
Ready. Set. WRITE! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, Elodie Nowodazkij, and Katy Upperman.
As I missed last week’s beginning, I did not set myself any [formal] goals for this week, so today’s post is a bit of a mingly hybrid. My goals for this summer:
1. Start drafting (properly) at least one of planned Steampunk stories: ASB303, The Mallard, or Cry to Dream Again. (Tempted to make a poll to let you guys make the decision for me.)
2. Plan at least one other novella-length fiction, be it contemporary or fantasy.
3. Read at least three books. Believe me, this is a challenge for me. I’ve almost finished Splintered, but there are also a couple I’m borrowing, so I need to get through them this summer. I also need to banish my Kindle habit of starting new books without finishing others.
4. Be more healthy. This includes eating less junk and doing more exercise.
5. Cook at least one new recipe per week. I will be fully self-sufficient in a rented-through-uni house this coming year, so I need to gain confidence in the kitchen and banish my negative thoughts. Plus, it’s good practise for me for the future where I have to be my own and others’ safety net.
How I did on last week’s goals:
1. How I did on last week’s goal(s).
From going from two days of no chapters edited, I managed to edit almost three in two days, and I’m starting to notice little things coming out of the virtual woodwork, such as a side-character’s semantics becoming more pronounced.
I cooked soup today. My first time, and it involved two types of vegetable and a herb, so counts as healthy, too (let’s just not talk about the ice cream for dessert!).
2. My goal(s) for this week.
Finish polishing WTCB and start query batch for June.
Plan what I’m doing for CampNaNo July.
Do a dance workout at least three mornings this coming week.
Make a calendar chart for writing goals. With star stickers. Everybody loves star stickers.
3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
Culling. For some reason, this edit round has had me being sceptical about most of the curious sentences I once wrote. I love them – for instance, talking about what love means to some characters – but I can’t see them being in a published novel, no matter how literary/philosophical.
4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.
People procrastination. I’ve been doing things that have taken my time from me rather than my own attention. For instance, The Boyfriend stayed over the weekend and even if we encourage each other to get on with work, we still manage to distract each other. 😛
5. Something I love about my WiP.
What I love about ASB303 is the chemistry between my MC and her betrothed. I hadn’t intended to include him much, but as the plot grows, I’m starting to see that their relationship could be under fire from the mystery the MC has to discover.
What are your plans or goals for the summer? Got any good book recommendations? I have an opening for books!
Alexandrina Brant 