2016 Writing Goals

[anastasia517]

It has been dead in here lately, but I thought that since it is the new year I should start a new thread in its honour.


I haven't worked on any of my novels since November, but recently I’ve been getting the urge to start up again. Unfortunately, I find this tends to slip away on me when I don’t have a group to work with and a set goal. Because of that, I have decided that my best shot at getting things going again is seeing if anybody else is interested in setting goals for this year.

Goals can be anything relating to writing… editing, finishing last year’s NaNo novel, re-writing, planning/plotting a new book, getting or providing beta services, etc. The only rules are that they must be realistic (ie. probably not “I want to write 1 million words this year!”) and measurable. Saying “I will write more” isn’t a good goal, because it is so vague and hard to measure. Saying, “I will write 10k every month” is better since you actually have something to shoot for. Along those lines, saying “I will do some editing” isn’t so great, saying “I want to complete and do the first edit of last year’s NaNo novel before this November” gives you something you can really tell if you have achieved.

I haven’t quite decided what I should shoot for this year but I’m hoping others will mull it over with me.

ETA: Tagging people since this board is dead & I want people to see this.  Hi guys!  incogneato kangaroo11 mousemelon @writererin Pom EnchantedSoul gardengal fatamy lilibet

[mousemelon]

Hi anastasia517! I've been taking a break from writing too. I always feel so writing fatigued for a few months after NaNo. But I'd be game for some writing goals and to check in with each other! I really want to work on my writing this year and make it better.

My goals:
Finish editing my 2015 NaNo Novel
Complete a round of Camp Nano with a different story
Write at least 3x/ween no matter what it is: blogging, novel, etc whatever.

I think those goals are good to start with. Maybe I'll add more. But this is such a good idea!!!

Maybe we could come up with weekly prompts just to stretch out writing muscles and then post them for review or something. Would anyone be interested in that?

[kangaroo11]

I don't really write during the year- I save my creativity for one big burst. Lol However, I think 2016 will be a sequel to 2014, so I'm considering a third draft of that novel to get it I to a better place to have a follow up. We'll see how it goes.

[EnchantedSoul]

Oh, heyyyyy! I do have goals. I'm a terribly anxious person and rejection is hard for me. I often count myself out before I even try. I've resolved to keep writing and keep submitting (to online journals) even if I keep getting rejected. I feel the only way to get better is to keep writing.

I'm nowhere near the caliber of published writers but I really hope to get there someday. I bought a Groupon for an online children's writing workshop. For $20 I assume it can't hurt :-P

I really wish I had a space to talk with other writers on a regular basis. Thanks for including me! Good luck to everyone on their goals!

[anastasia517]

Glad to see some people are into this!

mousemelon I like the idea of writing prompts or getting the group to focus on the same things at times. I like the idea of writing 3x/week even if it's on different things.

kangaroo11 I understand, since I am very much a burst writer historically. I'd love to hear about your plans for rewriting and a sequel if you get to thhem!

EnchantedSoul I am also anxious so you have my sympathy. I'm glad to hear you plan to push yourself!

As for me, my first goal is to finish the pre-writing for my Camp 2014 novel redo by January 31st. Of my 12 NaNo and Camp books I haven't restarted from scratch before but this one will be easiest to do that way since it was my most pantsed of them all. When I settle my other goals I will post them too.

[anastasia517]

Okay, now I'm at a computer so I can probably write my goals out better. So, in order, my first three novelling goals of the year will be:

1) Finish pre-write of take two of my Camp novel by the end of January.
2) Write first draft of still-untitled book (and come up with a title, I suppose) by the start of summer.
3) Finish the book I've done over *4* NaNo months in the summer.

After that I will tackle revising, NaNo prep & writing, etc.


mousemelon What do you blog about? I've been looking over some writing ones recently and am impressed at the amount of content some people can come up with!

I was also thinking of what EnchantedSoul mentioned about a lack of writing community, which made me wonder what people would be interested in maintaining throughout the year. Prompts/story challenges? Discussions of what we are writing? Links to writing-related Pinterest boards, blogs, or the like?

[EnchantedSoul]

Dudes. I just got another rejection email. Lol
It's only my second one but still. Blech
I received some decent advice from my sister today, that I will try to incorporate.

I'm not sure what the writing community should look like but I'm game for whatever. I've been trying my hand at submitting to online journals but children's lit is where my passion lies. I may adjust my goals to include sitting down and pinpointing my first picture book.

Is everyone else's goal to eventually get published?

[mousemelon]

anastasia517 I started my blog after going through some really hard times with Post-partum anxiety and depression. I found that I wasn't taking to motherhood as well as I thought I would and writing helped me get through it. I don't blog as much as I wish, so that's why it's one of my goals. I write about our family, motherhood, whatever comes to mind really. The address is findingmymotherhood.blogspot.com if you'd like to read it.

[mousemelon]

Jan 22, 2016 19:57:36 GMT -5 EnchantedSoul said:

Dudes. I just got another rejection email. Lol
It's only my second one but still. Blech
I received some decent advice from my sister today, that I will try to incorporate.

I'm not sure what the writing community should look like but I'm game for whatever. I've been trying my hand at submitting to online journals but children's lit is where my passion lies. I may adjust my goals to include sitting down and pinpointing my first picture book.

Is everyone else's goal to eventually get published?

I'm sorry you got another rejection  

I would eventually like to self-publish on amazon or something maybe, if I can get my writing up to par with what I think might actually sell. lol. 

[lilibet]

Hi guys!

My goal for this year is to overhaul and complete my 2014 nano. I tend to take time (often years too much time) off after Nano because my brain is just done and Dec is really busy at work.

My 2014 nano is a story I'd had in my head for a very long time and I'd really like to see it through to the finish.

I like the idea of check ins and maybe sharing things that motivate us. Pinterest boards, blog posts, things found online (the #amwriting hashtag on Twitter can be very inspiring), books we've read. It could be fun and helpful to see what others find motivating.

[kangaroo11]

Jan 22, 2016 19:57:36 GMT -5 EnchantedSoul said:

Dudes. I just got another rejection email. Lol
It's only my second one but still. Blech
I received some decent advice from my sister today, that I will try to incorporate.

I'm not sure what the writing community should look like but I'm game for whatever. I've been trying my hand at submitting to online journals but children's lit is where my passion lies. I may adjust my goals to include sitting down and pinpointing my first picture book.

Is everyone else's goal to eventually get published?

I'm sorry you got turned down. That's so cool you're working toward that though! I've done quite a few novels and don't feel they're worthy of publishing, so I'm kinda jealous of you!

[Deleted]

Thanks for the tag, anastasia517!  I haven't been on these boards at all this week, because I've been trying to recover from a killer cold.  But now I'm back!

My biggest goals this year consist of me finishing revisions on one novel, and potentially starting to e-pub (I want to get the revisions on this one novel done so I have a backlog to e-pub after I get the first one out).  It's terrifying, but I've had little to no luck with traditional publishing over the last several years.

[anastasia517]

Jan 22, 2016 22:27:57 GMT -5 lilibet said:

My 2014 nano is a story I'd had in my head for a very long time and I'd really like to see it through to the finish.

This is me as well.  After NaNo finishes I have a terrible track record of letting unfinished manuscripts stick around.  I'm currently returning to something I started in 2014 too.

Thanks for the blog link mousemelon!  I definitely see how writing can help you through and to process things.  

Sorry to hear that EnchantedSoul. I would like to publish down the line, but the things I feel the most desire to publish are a series that is nowhere near ready for consumption yet.  It's what I've been working on with my sister and while we have a ton of stuff done, it's all backstory & research.  (Fantasy world building is intense!)  I'm also very anxious though and I know the rejection process will be brutal.

Hi writererin!  Best of luck with the revisions and letting us know how things go for you.

Now that people are showing up (thanks to shameless tagging, I'm sure) and seem interested in discussing writing more, I'm going to try to start new threads more often.  ETA: Writing GTKY now posted.

[fatamy]

So after the NaNo buzz wore off, I wondered if my novel was even any good. I've decided to re-read and make notes in Feb, then let my friends read it. I don't think it's worth trying to publish though.

I also want to go back and do some editing to last year's NaNo in May/June.

I want to start brainstorming for NaNo in August/September and let it roll around until November.

But it's all for personal fulfillment, I still don't think anything is good enough to be published. I just like getting lost in the stories. And if my friends like them, that's just a fun bonus.

[anastasia517]

Jan 27, 2016 12:10:21 GMT -5 fatamy said:

So after the NaNo buzz wore off, I wondered if my novel was even any good. I've decided to re-read and make notes in Feb, then let my friends read it. I don't think it's worth trying to publish though.

I also want to go back and do some editing to last year's NaNo in May/June.

I want to start brainstorming for NaNo in August/September and let it roll around until November.

But it's all for personal fulfillment, I still don't think anything is good enough to be published. I just like getting lost in the stories. And if my friends like them, that's just a fun bonus.

I think the "is this any good?" part is very normal, regardless of the quality.  And the bolded is also true.  I hope to get some things published but I've also written fan fiction before, so I definitely agree that enjoying what you're writing is extremely important.

[Deleted]

I am thisclose to finishing the first round of revisions on the second book of the trilogy I'm debating e-pubbing. This is particularly exciting because I've been trying to finish this round of revisions for over a year (I got a little sidetracked with wedding planning, what can I say?).

[anastasia517]

Feb 20, 2016 12:42:01 GMT -5 @writererin said:

I am thisclose to finishing the first round of revisions on the second book of the trilogy I'm debating e-pubbing. This is particularly exciting because I've been trying to finish this round of revisions for over a year (I got a little sidetracked with wedding planning, what can I say?).

Congrats!  That is a very impressive accomplishment.  A year still seems great to me, since I haven't even gone through a round of revisions yet.  Are you finishing revisions before starting the next book or have you already started writing/plotting the next one?

[Deleted]

Feb 22, 2016 15:46:06 GMT -5 anastasia517 said:

Feb 20, 2016 12:42:01 GMT -5 @writererin said:

I am thisclose to finishing the first round of revisions on the second book of the trilogy I'm debating e-pubbing. This is particularly exciting because I've been trying to finish this round of revisions for over a year (I got a little sidetracked with wedding planning, what can I say?).

Congrats!  That is a very impressive accomplishment.  A year still seems great to me, since I haven't even gone through a round of revisions yet.  Are you finishing revisions before starting the next book or have you already started writing/plotting the next one?

Well...see, this trilogy has been just...weird.  I wrote the first draft of the third book during NaNo a couple years ago (not this past NaNo, but the one before).  But the thing is...as I've been revising the second book, I'm wishing I hadn't done that.  Because I've changed some plot points, had forgotten that a couple characters were still alive (and thus forgot to put them in the third book), and have added some character deaths I hadn't had before.  So I just basically made my job harder for when I revise the third book.

I'm also playing around with potentially doing a novella for this series (because some of my friends who have e-pubbed have said that's a good way to keep feeding the readers), which I've barely touched and plotted.

This is the first time I've done a series, though, so I think I've learned some valuable lessons for when I have the mental capacity to tackle something like this again!