4 posts tagged “2009 goals”

These latter chapters of A.C. are proving to be difficult because I'm having to make huge cuts and rewrites, so they're going slow.  I've already cut it down by a chapter, and may end up cutting it down by another.  Right now, I have 3 chapters left.  If I lose another will depend on how much the chapter I'm working on now gets cut.  The sad thing is the chapter has a good ending point, and I'm not so sure how well it will work out if I end up needing to split the next chapter between this one and the last chapter.  We'll have to see.

Based on average chapter counts, the novel should end up somewhere between 130-133k.  I am very aware that this might be too high a count for a first time novelist, but I have a couple of chances for cuts before I start submitting.  Once this last round is done, I need to make some corrections and make sure that the world building is consistent.  Then I'll run through the novel again, hopefully fairly quickly, to align it with the changes I have in mind and to make sure any fixes in the world building make it to the novel.  Once that's done, it will go out to beta readers, and I'm sure more than one will tell me what I can lose without killing the story.

I've been thinking about the query letter and the synopsis, and, honestly, they scare the crap out of me.  One thing this novel isn't is simple.  And bringing 600 pages of novel (double spaced, folks) down to 3 is a daunting task.  And the query?  Let's not go there yet.

The good news is it's almost done.  Never imagined getting there with how much hair pulling I've done over it.  And if it never gets published, it did do the one thing I really needed me to do: it taught me A LOT.  I know how I need to write now, I've learned a lot about process in general and mine in specific, I've even learned quite a bit about the critiquing process and how to respond to it.  But most importantly, I've learned that 1) I can write well and 2) I can finish a novel.  Both of these are important since they help with what started off as a near non-existent confidence.  This novel may have been a pain in the butt, but it also employs a lot of advanced techniques, and whether I managed to do them well or not, I did finish.  That alone if a huge boost.  The years have also given me time to work on my confidence level myself.  Still have a ways to go, but I'm 100 times better than I was, and that's probably a bigger accomplishment than the book.

I currently have two other novels in progress: Phoenix Rising is almost to the rough draft stage and Blood Charms is in the early plot building stages.  Both need some world building done, though Phoenix needs less than Charms because it's in the same world as A.C.  Right now I'm just working on writing them at their particular stages.  A.C. is work enough and I don't want to have two novels in a work place at the same time.  I'll wait until A.C. is out to betas then transition to world building for Phoenix.  I'm holding off on "work" for Charms because it's so much fun to write right now, and I want to keep the fun.  I think this is one of the reasons I work multiple projects: so I have something at the fun stage while working on others.  Of course, another reason is the ADHD.  The books allow me to control my distraction and help me keep going forward by giving me enough variety so I don't get bored.

Other than the books, I've been revising a short a week and have started subbing again.  Word counts slacked off for a couple of weeks because of illness and schedule changes, but look to be on the rise again.  Most importantly, I've been very happy with where I am.  Leaving my editing job has not only helped me get to where my first novel is almost done, but has made me a much happier person in general.

It's just been crazy of late, a lot of it good crazy, but crazy none the less.  The editing job has become very busy.  We're getting a new manuscript every day, and a lot of them are very good and so go on the to the reader panel (which I'm also supposed to be a part of), plus I've had a novella in edits that was just finalized.  So that's kept me very busy.  With my days so full of the job, it has been hard to find time to work on my own things, especially once the kids get home.  Fortunately, that looks like it might be changing as early as next week.  The tax return this year is really decent (the one advantage to almost no income last year) so I'll be picking up a "work" laptop, work meaning writing and editing.  My desk top will remain my graphics/web work computer, and I'll probably be using it during the day before the kids are home from school, but once I have the laptop, I can extend my day and actually get more work done.  At least that's the hope.

As for what I've managed over the last 3 weeks, chapter 30 is done, world building for Phoenix primarily (though there were some loose ends I finished up for A.C. as well), 2 shorts have been revised and one sent to my crit group while the other has been subbed—in fact a total of 7 stories have been submitted, and I've written 2 articles for the other editors that I lead.  I've also had one weekend down because of problems with my DSL provider and have been fighting some kind of sick since the end of last week.  Chapter 31 has been on my to do list, I just seem to keep having problems getting to it.  Guess I should take care of that, huh?

I'm actually doing pretty good on all my goals for the year so far.  Probably the worst category is finances, but that's to be expected.  The return will help some with that as well, then we have to make the rest work.  I've read 2 books so far this year, one while editing it, the other a published novel; my exercise has taken a different slant, but it is working even though most people wouldn't call it exercise (the fact that I see progress in my strength and stamina tells me it's working whether it's traditional exercise or not); my salt intake is way down, as is my PS2 playing (I've replaced it with reading); I'm averaging 5 days out of the week on feel good things; and I'm only 3k short of where I should be for my word count for the year.  Hopefully I'll start getting ahead once I have the laptop.

So, in general, things are going good so far.  Even with being sick right now, I don't have much to complain about.  This winter has been relatively quiet health wise; the youngest hasn't even been hit once with her usual bouts of bronchitis which she usually gets 2 or 3 times through the winter.  I do hate being sick, but hopefully it will continue to be a mild season for us and this will be the only time I need to complain about it.  I just need to get a move on with A.C.  Phoenix has been doing quite a bit of growing, but I'm finding it to be more my avoidance WIP at the moment, which is not necessarily a good thing, although it does help with that word count goal.

Speaking of which, I just finished doing some work on that tonight, and now I need to move on to A.C.  Just need to push on through....

Or threaten myself with another short story.  *g*

There's just something about deciding that you WILL do something.  No hedging, no "if I can", but a definite "I WILL do this."

2009 started with a little bit of a stumble—I was still struggling with chapter 30 of A.C., but I've since kicked myself in gear.  Today, chapter 30 will be done and posted (along with the 4 previous chapters) to the workshop and sent to my two readers (in a 10 chapter section).

Which also brings up the fact that it's sometimes silly what finally gets us motivated.  In this case, I thought about writing a new short...and ended up finishing off chapter 30.4 revisions in 2 days.  I guess writing a new short is a threat to me?  Whatever works, right?  The only problem with this is that I do indeed need to write a new short.  A Christmas one for a private advent calendar, so I'm going to have to get over it being a threat soon.  I write and revise too slow to wait until we're too much further into the year to get started.

So far this month, I've written or revised a total of 11k.  In new words, I'm holding steady at 3900/week for the moment.  It was a bit of a stretch, so getting back into the habit of making that particular goal each week is more of a priority than trying to push more words just yet.  These words have been split between world building for both A.C. (which is now pretty much done) and Phoenix 1 and working on the Phoenix 1 building draft.  The other projects haven't been touched much yet, and that's fine.  I probably need to get A.C. off my plate first.

There are two things I'm really trying to put into play as I recover from the mess that was last year: 1. knowing my limits and being patient with myself because of them, and 2. easing back into things and being patient with the process.

Knowing your limits is as important as understanding your process, I think.  This doesn't mean you don't try to increase your limits, just that you realize that you have them and may need to build upon them.  Otherwise frustration sets in and you give up.  this was a real problem for me last year because my limits had decreased because of my health issues.  I needed to allow myself to heal before I pushed, but was just too used to pushing to convince myself to do that.  This year, I am measuring success a little differently.  Yes, I want to reach my goals, but I want to enjoy what I'm doing (for the most part since I'll probably always hate revisions) and reach those goals a bit more consistently.  To do that, I have to realize where my limits are, find the point where it's a challenge, then take the time I need to actually consistently reach that goal before I try pushing some more.  Last year, when I made my goals at all, it was more of a "Oh, I made my goal this week!  time to add more for next week."  Habit building just doesn't work that way for me.

Baby steps can be frustrating, but right now, that's what I need to take.  So, I've got a long way to go before I'm where I want to be, and I might have put too much in the goals to be able to reach them all.  The good news is that I still have a lot of year left.  And if I don't reach them all, I'll at least have a better idea of where my challenge point is and either cut back a project or two or keep the same number for next year.

And, really, THAT progress, that understanding of what I need to do to be happier in what I do and be less frustrated with myself and my writing, is a better achievement than the word count so far.

Now, about that exercise problem....  ;)

Let's face it, 2008 sucked.  I was sick for 6 months, had surgery, the husband was unemployed, my oldest's marriage disintegrated in record time, we went through 2 cars before getting anything reliable, and, really, need I go on?  As of today, I'm closing the book on 2008 and looking forward.  Here's my goals post from my personal journal.  It's been posted in several places, which I hope will keep me honest and on track.

I don't do resolutions, and I believe this is my first year of making goals other than those that are for writing, but there are some things I want to take care of next year, and goals seem the best way to approach it. To me, a resolution is a promise. You're not saying, "I'm going to aim for this", you're saying, "I will do this." A promise is not something I make lightly, and I try to make promises I know I can keep because I'm giving my word and my word is important to me. It needs to be trustworthy. Resolutions also tend to be inflexible. We don't adjust them based on circumstances or on how well we are or are not doing in reaching them. Goals are easily adjusted. It's a fine line, but a very definite line in my view. Thus goals, not resolutions, for me.

Goals have worked fairly well for my writing. I don't always make them (this past year was dismal, but then I also ended up with a lot of health problems that interfered with my ability to even function much less write), but they do keep me motivated. Since they have worked well for me, and I do have other things I want to reach for this upcoming year, expanding them beyond my writing seems like a logical way to aim for the other things I want in my life. I've been thinking about them for about a week or so now, carefully considering what is reachable and what steps I can take to actually make them. Now I just need to figure out how to make them a part of my daily awareness like my writing is. With my writing, it's easy. The goals are more...conducive to breaking down into weekly goals that I can check off as I reach them. Some of these non-writing goals can be taken care of the same way, others not so much. At this point, I'm thinking of using a post-it note and just moving it in my planner each week. My planner is an important part of my day. I write down my weekly goals, my plans for each day, and cross things off as I finish. It helps keep me on track.

So the goals for next year:

Finances/Family
· get back to splitting the utility payments during the month
· start taking care of the little things around the house (laundry baskets, for ex.)

Now these goals are dependent on saxy keeping his job, and I know that. If the company he's with closes up shop before he finds a new job, we won't be able to get caught up enough to start trying to put these in action. Even if he keeps the job, getting back on track (like we were starting to before he lost his last job) will probably end up with some weeks where we're on a very tight budget in order to make the payments to places we've caught up with while dealing with disconnects. It'll be worth it in the end, but it will take awhile.

as for the second item, we have a number of little things we need to take care of: getting enough silverware and plates to make it through a day now that we have extra mouths in the house, our laundry baskets are these pathetic things that are pretty trashed, and so on. At least these things I can do in bits and pieces as we have a little "extra" money here and there. No big ticket items on this list (washer/dryer, mattresses, etc) because we can't afford those at this point, but the little things that cost $10 or less, those I think I can make progress on. I hope (see the above paragraph).

Personal
· exercise 5+ days/week
· reduce salt intake
· less PS2
· do something to make myself feel good every day

I'm not working on weight related goals here, but health related goals. The exercise goal will probably be the toughest since I seem to have trouble keeping that up. I'm starting small (2 days/week) and am going to work my way up. The salt intake is also a tough one that I tend to go back and forth on, but I think it affects my migraines and I know it affects my blood pressure. The PS2 goal is so I have more time to do more productive things -- my writing, reading, and stuff like that. As for the last one, I figure it'll be easier to keep the other three if I feel good about myself. Something as simple as putting on nice earrings can change my perspective on myself and my day, especially since most days I just end up in front of the comp in my PJs. It's time to give both myself and my day more importance. I'll just have to come up with some creative ways to feel good about myself without resorting to food. ;)

Writing
· finish/submit A. C.
· 375k word count total
· Phoenix to v4/5
· R. K. project to rough draft
· N. P. B. 1rst draft
· finish/sub S. P.

Seems like a lot, but it's not really. This year I only made it to 288k, but last year I made it to about 440k. This year just had all the crap that interfered. A. C. is almost done -- I'm on chapter 30 of my v4/5 revisions. Hopefully one more on my own to fix obvious problems and one more after beta readers, and it will be ready to go. Finishing A. C. is the priority -- I need a novel done if just to prove I can finish one (it's just my tendency to over challenge myself that had me choose one of the hardest books I plan to write as the one to finish; hopefully everything else will seem easy after this monster). N. P. B. and S. P. are my alternate projects for the year -- projects I can work on when my main projects are driving me crazy. Besides, S. P. is very short and could probably be sold this year if I quit delaying on it.

I am also considering doing some work in nonfiction since nonfic actually pays better than fiction at my level (I made my first "pro" sale this year, but it was in nonfic rather than fiction), but since I haven't decided for sure, it's not on the goal list. I may dabble a little and then expand for 2010 if I do well.

Regardless, I'm sure the key to this goal is keeping Friday through Sunday for my writing unless there's a really pressing deadline -- and I mean really pressing. And I need to work on revisions when down watching TV, not just veg out the way I have been of late. I used to take the little spaces in my day to work on writing, but I've stopped doing that since I stopped subbing (teaching). It's time to pick that up again. Have my notebook or current chapter always with me, use my ability to multitask when I can, and so on. This is not to say I don't deserve some down time, just that I need to use my time more wisely. I promise not to take my work with me when the family goes out to eat. ;)

Reading
· 1 book/month

This is an annual goal related to my year of reading clique (which I need to check through sometime soon). My reading has gotten slower over the years, and my schedule makes it difficult to read a book every week or two the way I used to, so a book a month, pretty darn good. I actually managed a bit more this year, but several of them were manuscripts I was editing. I'd like to make this already published books, but that may not be possible either. Besides, as an editor, the books I work on get read 3 or 4 times. I think I can take one of those as reading a book that month. ;) I also have a little other help set up since I'll be joining in the Patricia McKillip challenge this year. My choices actually take care of half the books I need for the year: Cygnet book 2 (need to reread book 1), Riddle Master book 3 (need to reread books 1 and 2), and Harrowing the Dragon. Also on my list: The Queen's Bastard (currently in progress), With the Light vol. 3, and several other books already stacked by my night stand (my to be read pile really is insane). I used to read before going to bed, but that has given way to the PS2...thus the goal to reduce my PS2 time and retake that time with reading and revisions.

It looks like a lot (especially with those explanations in the middle!), but I think I can reach these. I'll reevaluate in June, maybe earlier if the threatened job loss happens (at that point, those goals will have to be let go and survival will be the priority; but let's hope the job loss doesn't happen). I'm really hoping for a better year, especially healthwise. If anything will derail me, that would be it. But, barring that, I think these will do for 2009.