National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) 2015 + I'm Going to OSAI!

Hello, everyone! I have a couple of things to share with you.

First, NaPoWriMo was a huge success. I wrote the usual 30 poems and loved almost all of them. I also did 31 "blackout" or "erasure" poems. If you would like to see any of these poems, you can go to my Wattpad or my Tumblr. The "blackout" poems can only be seen on Tumblr, however.

I think that part of the reason I'm so happy with this year's poems is the "theme" I chose. Every year, I tend to write quite a few love poems, whether fictional or autobiographical. This year, though, I decided I was tired of writing about boys. I wanted to write about me. For myself.

So I did. I've grown a lot this year, and I feel as if the poems I wrote really expressed what I've learned about myself and what makes me happy.

Second, I finally, finally, finally made it back into the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute. It starts this Saturday and I am so excited. Also, a little nervous.

Most of the people I met in 2012 have aged out. I'm worried about making new friends. On top of that, I'm having doubts about my writing. What if I get there and have no ideas? I'm telling myself that these fears are silly. Everyone is so nice there and look at all the poems I just wrote in April!

Despite my jitters, I still can't wait to go. To meet new people and create new things. To appreciate what other people create. My supply list has me curious. It's a bit more than the usual "notebook and pencils." On top of that, there's going to be a costume party and I never miss a chance to dress up in my Rapunzel costume. I just got back from a trip to my parents' house so my suitcase is already mostly packed.

While I wait for Saturday to get here, I'm going to try and work on THINK OF ME. I've been attempting to straighten out the plot, but I've decided that the only way for me to really figure out what works is just to dive in.

[P.S. Remember, for more up-to-date news on my writing (and maybe some pictures at OSAI!), check out my Tumblr.]

October, the Month of Outlining

Last week was crazy. Our homecoming was Saturday night and the buildup kept me insanely busy. On Wednesday, my choir performed and Lizzie and I led the singing of our school's Alma Mater at our homecoming assembly. Then, there was the Friday football game where my choir sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before kickoff. Both performances required rehearsals. Along with that, I helped make locker decorations for those choir members who made All-Region, attended Quizbowl practices, and prepared for the dance itself.

And I don't even know where this week went. It can't possibly be Friday already.

Unfortunately, all of this means I'm starting my NaNoWriMo planning a little late this year. For those who don't know, October is my month for NaNoWriMo planning. I almost always have a concept picked out months in advance, but October is when I take the time to flesh it out. To craft plot and add characters along with figuring out my world. But today is the tenth, and I haven't started.

Not on paper anyway. I don't have the right supplies yet. But my brain has been throwing around some ideas. I haven't experienced any major epiphanies, but it's something. And the "on paper" planning will be happening soon. I'll be running by Office Depot tomorrow after my SAT to purchase the perfect orange notebook.

On top of that, the first chapter of THINK OF ME will be premiering on Wattpad on Oct. 31st and there is still much to be done. Before I continue on with the second draft, I want to revise my plot in order to fix the problems I mentioned last month. This means I'm going to have to move forward with the third draft before the second is even close to complete. So, along with my outline revision, I'll be revising chapter one, sending it to critique partners, then revising it again.

Besides working on the actual story, I need to decide what I'm going to do about the cover. I'm considering paying to have one professionally made as, later this month, I'll be receiving money for passing my AP tests. I also need to figure out TOM's posting schedule for next month since NaNo will be going on. I don't particularly want to be trying to edit and revise in the middle of such extreme rough draft writing.

In conclusion, October's going to be a month of outlining with a dash of revision. Life has been off-the-wall busy lately and probably will continue to be for an indefinite amount of time, but I'll find a way to make it work.

What are your plans for NaNoWriMo? What else are you working on? How do you like my new blog layout?

It's a Balancing Act

Scenes Rewritten: 1/20
Scenes Written: 2/8

So far September hasn't been a complete success, but it hasn't been a complete failure either. I've written 1,710 words in the last six days. Obviously, that means I didn't write five hundred words every day. However, some days I did and some days I wrote about half of that.

As I was writing this last scene, I realized that my plot has quite a few problems. My biggest issue seems to be balancing action with character development and more emotional scenes. When I planned out the second draft, I added more of the latter because I thought certain characters needed more time together and that those types of scenes would boost the impact of my climax. Those things remain true, but now I feel like my action has been diluted too much.

This last scene dragged for me. Nothing was really happening. I know that if I think that as the author, readers are definitely going to think that. And I'm afraid the next couple of scenes will be the same way. So, something needs to be added. It doesn't necessarily have to be huge, but it needs to keep the reader's attention, needs to make them want to keep reading.

At the moment, I don't have a lot of ideas. My brain is still on "figuring out the problem" and hasn't yet made the transition to "fixing the problem." I may just go ahead with the second draft as planned and work on the action vs. emotion balance as I'm working through the third draft. This would give me more time to think and hopefully get it right the third go 'round.

That's how my current project is going. What about yours?

Things Have Been Busy

Scenes Rewritten: 1/20
Scenes Written: 1/8

One of my three months is already gone and I've barely made any progress. I've rewritten and written one scene and started writing a third.

However, August was a whirlwind of oral surgery, school, choir, seniordom, socializing, and catching up on sleep. Now, while September is still guaranteed to be busy, I've gotten in the groove.

This month, I'm kicking revising into high gear. I have to if I want to post my first chapter on Oct. 31st. No more "just write something." I need a more concrete, more motivating plan. So I'm aiming for five hundred words a day every day in September.

For estimation purposes, I'm saying each scene will be completed at one thousand words. Some of my scenes are longer, some are shorter, but one thousand words is a fairly accurate average. If I write at least five hundred words every day, I will have finished fifteen additional scenes by the end of September.

This leaves eleven scenes for October. While this will still require plenty of work, it's doable. And if I have to start third revisions on my first chapter before I'm entirely finished with the second draft, it won't kill me.

Also, the wonderful Madeline has finished the new blog banner! This means the blog will be getting a new look very soon. So, if you stop by and everything's funky, don't judge too harshly. I might not be able to finish the layout in one sitting. But I promise it'll look beautiful in the end (along with my new profile picture -ahem-).

Taking It a Little at a Time

Scenes Rewritten: 1/20
Scenes Written: 0/8

I completed the first scene! I completed it a couple of days ago, in fact. I feel excited and proud and all kinds of happy. This is the first big step in a hopefully rewarding journey and, while I have a long way to go, the first step is one of the most important.

Of course, technically, I should have finished a second scene by now. In order to meet my deadline, I need to complete a scene every three days. However, I'm not currently too worried about following that timeline.

School is about to start for me. This means back-to-school choir workshops and school clothes shopping. This is also my senior year so I'm beginning to look at colleges. On top of that, I'm getting my wisdom teeth surgically removed next Tuesday. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

So, at the moment, I'm just making sure I write something every day. I'm a few paragraphs into that second scene and I'm okay with that. As long as I add a few more of those paragraphs tonight.

Querying is Going to Change for Me Very Soon

I've never actually queried anyone before, but I've read and thought about it.

I know how long a query should be, what content it should contain, and how to personalize it. I've analyzed critiques and advice from many sources, including agents. I'm prepared for rejection (I think). However, there has always been one part of the querying process I couldn't figure how.

How do I tell an agent I'm a minor?

Some people say that this shouldn't be an issue. I shouldn't have to tell the agent my age because it shouldn't matter. If my book is good, it's good. Yet, I've always felt the agent should be informed. There are different legalities with minors and they should be prepared. It's a courtesy, I believe.

Very soon, though, I won't have to worry about this anymore. Because I turn eighteen in six months.

Really, I won't have to think about it ever again. I'm not going to have a novel ready to query inside the next six months, especially since most of my writing energy will be focused on THINK OF ME. And I'm overjoyed.

I got ninety-nine problems, but querying as a minor isn't one.

Something BIG - The Most Newsie THINKING OF YOU Post Ever

I have made some big decisions. And today I'm going to finally share them with you.

First, I've made a title change. THINKING OF YOU has become THINK OF ME.

I decided to make this change after a burst of inspiration. I've always planned for THINK OF ME to be the first in a series. Originally, that series had a total of seven books. However, I never really wanted to write any of the other six. Then one night a couple of months ago I was lying in bed and everything clicked.

The Controller Chronicles is now a four book series consisting of the tentatively titled THINK OF ME, RAIN ON ME, SPARK WITHIN ME, and DIE FOR ME. Each book still has a different narrator and the series still tells the story of the Controllers coming out to the rest of humanity. Now, though, instead of detailing a drawn out battle, each book focuses on a phase of that coming out. There's the initial rebellion against government oppression, the winning of that fight, the actual coming out, and the aftermath.

The best part is that THINK OF ME's original plot already fits in this plan. This means I don't have to start over and can build on what I already have.

I cannot express to you how excited I am. Thinking about this series makes me want to dance because it fills me with so much happy energy.

Second, it's time for that big announcement I've been hinting at for weeks.

I'm going to be serializing THINK OF ME on Wattpad.

While this isn't like super, super major news, it is a big step for me. I want people to read my writing. I want people to enjoy my writing. I want to hear what people have to say about my writing. And, let's face it, I'm a long way from traditional publishing. Plus, self publishing kind of intimidates me. This is my third option.

I'm also hoping that doing this will finally motivate me to really get on THINK OF ME revisions. I've been hemhawing around for over three years. Serializing my book will keep me accountable and eager.

Of course, my novel isn't quite ready for the public eye. The first thing I have to do is complete a structure or "fill-in-the-blanks" revision. As I've said in a previous post, I have twenty scenes I need to rewrite and eight I need to write. After that, I'm going to be revising chapter-by-chapter as I post them on Wattpad.

My goal is to have my first chapter up on October 31st. This gives me around three months to complete my structure revision and prevents that stress from leaking into NaNoWriMo time. After my initial posting, I aim to post a chapter every two weeks. I feel like this is totally doable and often enough to keep people interested.

THINK OF ME is not the only work I plan to publish on Wattpad either. I want to post my City in the Sky stories there as well. Again, it's a motivation thing. I need to start writing this series already! I don't have an exact date set for the first short story yet, but I'm thinking sometime in January. Hopefully by then I'll have a few readers.

So, that's my big news. I'll probably be posting a revising schedule soon because I feel like I need one to reach my deadline. You can check out my Wattpad profile here if you want, though it's not much to look at at the moment. I can't wait to see what the coming months bring!

I'm Back! Well, Until Tuesday

Originally, I said I would be home the second week of July. That was when I thought my visit to my family would run straight into my trip to New York City. However, due to various factors, I'm home a few days before we go to New York.

I have yet to write anything for Camp NaNoWriMo, but I plan on adding that "big chunk of words" to OBJECTION during these few days while I'm home. I want to I will get caught up, but I'd really like to push further than that. Writing in NYC is not ideal, both because of time and a desire to fully enjoy my vacation. Having that extra padding would ease my mind while I'm gone and help alleviate stress levels when I return.

As for my other goals, I did start on the THINKING OF YOU revisions, though I'm far from significant progress. I began the rewrite for one scene. In total, I need to rewrite twenty scenes and write eight more. I've still got quite a way to go, but at least I'm on my way. Finally.

To top it all off, I finished my poem edits! There is one poem that I deemed unfinished because I want to add on to it. Excluding that poem, I now have another two hundred lines of poetry to my name. (And when I say two hundred, I mean exactly two hundred. Without trying. Because I have magical powers.)

There's a quick update for you and, also, Happy Fourth of July! Talk to y'all soon.

I'm Taking a Trip!

I'm going to be on vacation, visiting my family, until the second week of July. I'm not telling you this because I'm going to be gone. Quite the opposite, I hope to have a lot to report to you in the coming weeks.

This trip means lots of free time. My parents work during the day and sleep at night, meaning I only get to spend time with them from five to ten. I figured that I should probably use the rest of my day (errr, night) to get some much needed writing done.

So I've set myself three tasks:

1. Make significant progress on THINKING OF YOU revisions.
2. Add a big chunk of words to OBJECTION during the first week of July/Camp NaNoWriMo.
3. Read through and edit the NaPoWriMo 2014 poems.

As you can see, I've decided to use Camp NaNoWriMo's July session to finish OBJECTION. I want to fulfill my original April 18k goal, meaning I'm aiming for 11,193 words for July. If I pass that, and I'm not finished with the draft, I plan to continue with OBJECTION. If I finish the draft, I plan to move on to the untitled lucky genes story draft.

I'll have more up about my plans for THINKING OF YOU soon. Keep your eyes open for something big. ;)

Cracking Down

Every year for the past three years, I've posted my New Year's Resolutions on this blog. This January, I didn't. And not because I'm too lazy. I simply didn't make any. I saw no reason to.

I know what my goals are. The arrival of 2014 didn't change them. New Year's Resolutions also suggest a December 31st deadline. My aspirations reach beyond what I can accomplish in a year and, for me, strict time frames often lead to stress.

Despite the lack of resolutions, I'm thinking 2014's going to be a productive year. Since NaNoWriMo, I've only worked on my portfolio for my Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute audition. However, I've been making plans. It's time to crack down and start getting things done.

At the moment, I have three main priorities:

1. THINKING OF YOU revisions
2. OBJECTION/untitled lucky gene story rough drafts
3. short works
   

I want to finish something. I want something to query. I want something to show people, to let people read. I want something to prove to myself that I CAN DO THIS. And, out of all of my projects, THINKING OF YOU is nearest to completion. So it's what I'm going to focus on. Writing time now means THINKING OF YOU time.

Yet, incomplete rough drafts bother me. I can't not work on them. And I have two. This creates a problem. I'll never finish anything if my attention is divided three ways. My solution? Camp NaNoWriMo.

Camp NaNoWriMo hosts two sessions every year, one in April and one in July. They also allow you to choose your word count goal. Since OBJECTION's closer to its end, it will be my April novel. I'm aiming for 18,000 words. That's only 600 a day. I'll finish my untitled lucky gene story in July, when I'll have more time for writing.

While I'm giving up April and July, they're a small sacrifice. My brain can now zero in on THINKING OF YOU without the other two stories clamoring for their turn. But I have another issue.

I realized when I was putting together my OSAI portfolio that I did not write many short works in 2013. I love my short works. They're fun to write and I'm fairly decent at them. They're also something I can share with others quickly. Their shortage shows how I've let my writing slip, take a backseat.

That's not what I want. I want to get back to enjoying writing. To surprising and thrilling myself. Revising is hard and, while it does bring a feeling of success, it's not always pleasant. So I'm going to sprinkle in some short works to remind myself why I write in the first place.

For instance, NaPoWriMo starts on April 1st. I will be participating by writing at least one poem every day in April This will be my fourth year taking part and I always love the outcome.

Yes, 2014 is going to be AWESOME.

Topics For Next Post: 1) how querying will change in a year and 2) something big.

Productivity for the Win!

21 days until National Novel Writing Month

My NaNo is beginning to come together. A cast of characters has manifested and just thinking about their relationships makes excitement flutter in my chest. Prominent settings have been established. I also have the thinnest thread of a plot. And when I say thin, I mean nearly invisible. But at least there's something.

Planning isn't the only thing I've made progress on this week either. I have also added about another 1500 words to OBJECTION, putting it at a little over 45k. While this is great progress and makes me very happy, I think I'm going to have to alter my pre-NaNo goal. With everything I am trying to accomplish before November gets here, finishing the first draft of OBJECTION seems too ambitious. I am now aiming for at least 50k by October 31st. If I get farther than that, great. If not, I will have still made substantial progress.

That's not even the end to the good news. Recently, I've begun working with a new critique partner. This exchange has prompted me to take another step in my revisions of THINKING OF YOU. I completed the transfer to Scrivener and reordered the scenes to fit my new plot line. This is a big step because I can now see what I need to work on in an organized layout and tackle each task one at a time.

Overall, I am quite pleased with what I have managed to accomplish in my writing so far this week. I've gotten more done than I have in quite a while. This aura of productivity is the perfect lead in to NaNo.

What achievements, big or small, have you reached this week?

Change of (Goal) Plans

In order for me to explain the changes I've made to my goal plan and the thought behind them, I will go through each step that led to my current format.

Go here for the explanation behind this style.

Above is the beginning set up of my goal plan, entitled The One Year Goal Plan - 2013 Edition. I'm reposting it as a refresher and a reference.

In June, I decided my original idea needed tweaking. Months went by where I barely accomplished anything. My March goals became my April goals became my May goals. I knew I wasn't going to reach my aspirations within the year. I began to stress. For those of you who don't know, Brooke + stress = JUST NO.

I had to find a way to fix my plan. Gone were the Year Goals. In came the Long-Term Goals.

However, most of my goals were still time-constrained. Even though removing the January 1st deadline relieved a lot of pressure, that fact still weighed on me. So a few weeks after I made this mind-blowing change, before I even told you guys about it, I decided to carry it further.

First, I made each one of my projects their own sheet in my Excel workbook.

Then, I removed the aspect of time. Long-Term Goals became Big Goals. Month Goals became Medium Goals. Half-Month Goals became Small Goals. Mini-Goals became XS-Goals.

I also added other features as I revised my goal plan.

As I was adding in goals, I realized I had some that needed to be completed, but that weren't necessarily part of a larger goal. Yet they weren't enough by themselves to be a Big or Medium Goal. These I called EXTRA Goals and typed in color. On the picture above, which shows goals for OBJECTION, the EXTRA Goal is in pink. This goes along with my WIP color-coding system. On the THINKING OF YOU sheet, the EXTRA Goals are blue.

I included counters for some goals, too. If you take a look at the OBJECTION image again, you will see that in the Finished column for Medium Goal #1.1 I show the number of words I have out of the number I want to have.

Overall, I am very happy with how my goal plan has turned out. I ended up with eleven sheets and I will get to each one in my own time. It's what I call freedom with direction. And it feels great. :)

What do you think of my new goal plan? What about freedom with direction?

Dudes! Two Months Until NaNoWriMo! + Some Other, Less Mindblowing Stuff

I forget what I was doing and why it suddenly occurred to me, but, the other day, it struck me that NaNoWriMo starts in just a little over two months. Two months! Sixty-five days! I don't know whether I'm excited or terrified!

Really, I don't know why this is all so mind-blowing or why I'm flipping out.

I chose my main concept already. I think I've been planning on writing my untitled lucky genes story for NaNo 2013 for over a year. (I'm actually kind of worrying about not having an idea for next year yet.) My brain has even been contemplating and analyzing plot ideas for the past couple of weeks. I guess it realized and forgot to fill me in. -grumbles at brain-

Of course, with NaNoWriMo eminent, the next question is: What do I want to get done before then? My mind instantly starts throwing things at me. THINKING OF YOU revisions. THE TRUE PRINCESS read over. Short stories to write. Old poems to edit. Blogs and other social networks that require attention. Plan, too! Good thing I don't bruise easily.

However, though I dodged most of those goals, letting them fly past for a later time, I managed to catch one. OBJECTION. If I sat my ass in my chair and buckled down, I know I could finish that draft. It's far from impossible and it needs to be done. I mean, I was supposed to have this done before last NaNo!

Nothing has been finalized yet. I'm still thinking, still considering. But it's looking very likely that finishing the first draft of OBJECTION is going to be my pre-NaNo goal this year.

Now, that I've gotten my little freak out out of the way (ha!), I have some other things I'd like to share with you.

Firstly, I should be posting about my revised goal plan very soon. I'm almost finished finalizing the changes. After that, writing the post shouldn't be so hard. I know I've been promising this particular post for a while now, but my life has gotten busy again. In a good way. :)

I'm also proud to announce that I've begun to catch up on blogs. Like really catch up. Like months' worth of catching up. So far, I've finished four out of twenty-four. And I'm extremely happy about it! I'm not letting myself get stressed out over the workload. I'm pushing through. Better yet, I want to do it. I have the motivation to do it. And beyond that, I have the motivation to search out more blogs when I'm done (I know twenty-four is low and I want to remedy that).

I'm just in a really good place in my life right now.

I get to stay in my town with my friends, at least until Christmas. (We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.) I'm enjoying my classes a lot. They provide a broad, well-balanced spectrum of learning. By the end of the day I feel almost saturated with knowledge. I'm currently learning the French numbers and conquering my All Region choir music (which entails singing in both Latin and German). I have three AP classes and I'm steadily immersing myself in Trigonometry. Friday, there's a meeting to discuss this year's musical. Saturday, I'll be hanging out at a friend's house for half the day. Even the movies I've seen lately have seemed to add to the wholesome happiness I've been feeling. (I really recommend YOU'RE NEXT, if that's your sort of thing.) It's all just amazing!

P.S. Going with excited. ;)

My Writing Week

Visit this post to see how you can help me win the Ink Haiku contest. Thank you!

I spoke with my critique partner, Tania, recently, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, about which of my projects I should focus on next. I explained to her how I haven't had the chance to work on anything major in months and I wanted to get back on the horse.

She asked me the following question: If you had more time, what would you work on?

I considered it. OBJECTION, THINKING OF YOU, and THE TRUE PRINCESS all came to mind. Each of them is at a different stage. One is being drafted, one revised, and one is somewhere in between. However, each one gets me excited to sit in a chair until my butt becomes flat.

After listening to my answer, she asked me the next obvious question. So, what story will you start with first?

She wanted me to pick? I stared at the computer screen while one part of my brain tried to find an answer and another just screamed. Then, suddenly, a third, reasonable voice said, "Shut up and calm down. You can work on all three." And then it told me how.

So, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, I present to you my writing week!

Sunday: reading
Monday: OBJECTION
Tuesday: blogs/others writing
Wednesday: short works
Thursday: THINKING OF YOU
Friday: blogs/others writing
Saturday: THE TRUE PRINCESS

My first week is halfway through, and Mr. Reasonable is kicking back with a smug expression on his face, going "See? Nothing to worry about." I've already added a little over 1k to OBJECTION, something I haven't done in so long I was genuinely concerned that I had forgotten what my planning notes meant. Afterward, at three in the morning, I danced down my hallway. I haven't been that happy in ages. And I didn't fret over reading blogs every day. I knew I'd have all day Tuesday to do that and now they can wait for Friday.

It's also a flexible, non-strict schedule. If I get the itch to work on OBJECTION on, say, Wednesday, I'm going to do it. Or if my life eats me for a day, well there's always the next week. It acts as a guide and motivator. When my brain starts up with its "You could do this. Or this. Or, oooh, this!" I can say, "You know, I really don't need that. It's Saturday. And Zoie has waited patiently for her turn." When my mind starts whining that it's tired or itdoesn'twanna, I can say, "Come on now. It's Wednesday. You can at least edit half this story."

Everything will get done. One day at a time. :)

How do you divvy up your time between projects? Do you work on one or more WIPs at a time?

A Tour of My Storyboard

Last month I completed my storyboard for THINKING OF YOU. I've showed you a picture of some of the finished index cards before, but I decided to make a video showing you the entire board and explaining it and my process in making it a bit more-a tour video if you will.

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions. ^^

End of the First Month - Goals and System Evaluation

Tomorrow is the first day of February. I have quite a few exciting things going on during the month. There's my Winter Formal, my sixteenth birthday, my mother's birthday, pre-enrollment for eleventh grade, my Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute audition (as well as Lizzie's and Ben's) where I'll also get to see some of my writer friends for the first time since this summer, and one of my other good friends has her sixteenth birthday too. I'm going to be very busy.

Today, however, it's still January, and I would like to give you an update on my goal progress as well as analyze and evaluate my goal system.

I had five Month Goals I wanted to complete in January. I completed one. And I am ecstatic!

Look at all those yeses.

My storyboard is finished, you guys! I feel like my story has finally settled into place. For two years it's been twisting and flipping around in my brain. Now, I have an outline I'm happy with set out in a way that makes it obvious what I have to do to make the writing reflect it. I can't wait to start work on the actual prose in March.

And while I didn't complete my other goals, they initiated progress. I added about 10k to OBJECTION and am focusing on finishing that draft in February. I finished SHOW ME YOUR FANGS and even though I didn't do anything with THE SMILE FIXER, I still completed two short works with the addition of HEARTH AND HOME. I haven't been feeling the reading, but I've squeezed some in.

This system is working great for me. It's helping me to be both productive and organized. It keeps me from feeling bad when I don't accomplish something in a certain amount of time by showing me all the things I have accomplished. It makes me feel good about what I'm doing and motivated to keep doing it.

I've already decided on and inserted February's goals into my spreadsheet and I can not wait to get started!

Time's Up - The First Set of Half-Month and Mini-Goals

Yesterday was the last day to complete my first set of Half-Month and Mini-Goals. Since I've never tried this goal system before, I thought I might share my experiences and progress. It could help you decide if this is something you might like to try in the future and it will assist me in getting my thoughts/plans for the second-half of January organized.

Before we dive into feelings and thoughts and all that mumbo jumbo, let's start with some stats.

I have eight BIG MAJOR goals. Four of them had Half-Month Goals for the beginning of January. The rest were "Non-Focuses." I finished none of these Half-Month Goals.

The four Half-Month Goals were broken down into fourteen Mini-Goals. I finished five of them.

Looking at those numbers, it does not seem as if I had a productive fifteen days, but let me put it into perspective for you.

The four Half-Month Goals were:

• Read through THINKING OF YOU's modified draft one and make index cards for already written scenes.
• Reach 42,000 words on OBJECTION.
• Finish drafting SHOW ME YOUR FANGS and planning THE SMILE FIXER.
• Read 15/31 books under 200 pages.

I finished reading/making index cards for THINKING OF YOU up through chapter ten, putting that Half-Month Goal at one-third complete. That's serious progress for me. I've started working through my scenes, deciding what has to be moved or merged. I've started considering where new scenes need to be added, which is important since deciding on and making index cards for those scenes is January's second Half-Month Goal. I'm not worried about finishing my storyboard by the end of the month. Next Monday there's no school and I'm setting aside that day to do the last twenty chapters.

While I didn't reach 42,000 words on OBJECTION before my first deadline, I did get there today. The word count currently stands at 42,058. I plan to finish the draft by February 1. However, before I write another word, I intend to sit down and re-outline my ending. I've changed it quite a bit and I need to see how it's going to play out on paper. I'll probably do that tomorrow and then continue my steady progress to the end.

I now have a draft of SHOW ME YOUR FANGS, a story you may remember from early last year. I intend to edit it in the next couple of days and use it in my OSAI audition. I didn't even touch THE SMILE FIXER though, barely even thought about it. Perhaps this weekend in between laundry loads I can finish outlining and start drafting.

On each of the first three goals, substantial progress was made. This cannot be said for the reading goal. I read two out of those fifteen books. If I catch up in time, it will be a miracle. Right now I plan to focus on the sixteen books I planned on for my second January Half-Month Goal. If I have time after reading them, I will go back to the books for the first half of the month.

I have to say, even though I barely finished anything, I am not upset or disappointed in myself. In fact, I'm rather happy. This goal system is more a way to keep me moving forward with my writing than to make sure that I finish all of my minor goals. And it's doing its job splendidly in my opinion.

How did the beginning of January go for you? What do you think of my goal system?

I'm Doing It!

I'm going to brag, because sometimes it's good for you. And because this is the Internet so I can't see your disapproving faces while I do it. ;P

Today I accomplished something I am very proud of. Do you want to know what it is? Do you? Do you? Do you?

Okay, I'll tell you.

I completed five index cards for my THINKING OF YOU storyboard. Five.

It doesn't matter that they were simply summarizing the chapters. That I didn't have to even think about whether the scenes should be majorly revised to fit my changing storyline. Nope. It only matters that I sat down and did it. (Plus, the way I look at it, it means I have a strong beginning.)

I have to do this for the next five days to complete my first Half-Month Goal for THINKING OF YOU on time. I can do it. I know I can. It won't be too hard because I've been thinking about how my scenes should change and be ordered for a while now. I just have to focus and take the time to actually PBICPIHAEOCS (Put butt in chair, pencil in hand, and eyes on computer screen).

Not only did I start my storyboard, I also reached the minimum word count for the day that I need to reach 42,000 words on OBJECTION, which is my Half-Month Goal for it, on time.

I'm feeling very good right now. :)

P.S. If you're interested, the first page of THINKING OF YOU is going to be critiqued on Unicorn Bell on Sunday. Stop by if you can and tell me what you think.

My One Year Goal Plan - 2013 Edition

Every year I make New Year's resolutions and post them on my blog. Every year so far I've gone about keeping up with them in a different way. In 2011, I posted "report cards" a couple of times. In 2012, I posted updates on the first day of each month for most of the year (last update at the bottom of this post).

In 2013, starting tomorrow, I have an entirely different plan.

I have eight goals to accomplish by December 31, 2013.

1. Finish THINKING OF YOU revisions.
2. Draft all CITY IN THE SKY stories.
3. Finish THE TRUE PRINCESS revisions and edits.
4. Finish drafting and rewrite OBJECTION.
5. Replan and start rewriting THE LULLABY.
6. Draft untitled lucky genes story.
7. Finish 26 short works.
8. Reduce percentage of unread books to 10%.

To make sure I actually work toward all of these goals throughout the year, I have developed a plan with the help of Microsoft Excel: The One Year Goal Plan - 2013 Edition.

When I look at those big goals and think about trying to finish them, my heart sinks a little bit. They're not goals that can be completed quickly or easily. Hence, they're hard to keep my sights on. These feelings are what my whole plan revolves around.

Each "Year Goal" will be broken done into twelve "Month Goals." Looking at that smaller goal is better, but a month still leaves plenty of time to get distracted. So each month is split in half and each half is given its own goal. Both "Half-Month Goals" are then split into various amounts of "Mini-Goals" that are easy and far less stressful to reach.

I feel this method will keep me focused on and excited about accomplishing my goals. I've completed January's breakdowns, but will be waiting to do the other months until they roll around. This way I will be most up-to-date on each goal's progress and know for certain what might decrease or increase my writing time each month.

And, in case you were wondering how Excel helped me:

January Goals for THINKING OF YOU (drag to URL bar to embiggen)

I will be updating all of you on my progress in the style of my usual posts and with occasional snapshots of my spreadsheet.

2013 is going to be a great year!

---

2012 NYR Last Update - 1 Year

1. I will have complete THINKING OF YOU's ready for query first round of revisions. I finished small revisions on the first six chapters and conquered my fear of revising.
2. I will have two new first drafts. I finished one first draft of THE TRUE PRINCESS and got to 32,393 words on OBJECTION.
3. I will win National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo).
4. I will submit at least two short stories to two anthologies, journals, ezines, and/or contests.
5. I will read at least one hundred books. I read 57 books and made it over half-way with two others.
6. I will post at least one vlog a month. I posted one vlog in January, March, April, July, September, October, and December. I posted five in November.
7. I will exercise in some way once a week. Since the beginning of September, according to the My Fitness Pal app on my phone, I did a round of jumping jacks on six different days.

NYR Update - 7 Months

1. I will have complete THINKING OF YOU's ready for query first round of revisions. I went back over the first six chapters, then sent them to two of my critique partners. This concludes the small revisions.
2. I will have two new first drafts. I finished plotting the marriage dystopian which I have entitled OBJECTION.
3. I will win National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo).
4. I will submit at least two short stories to two anthologies, journals, ezines, and/or contests. I have decided to submit a poem I wrote at camp to Vine Leaves Literary Journal after I edit it.
5. I will read at least one hundred books. I read five books this month and am currently reading three others. Goodreads says that I am eleven books behind.
6. I will post at least one vlog a month. I made and posted a video where I talk about the first part of Fahrenheit 451.
7. I will exercise in some way once a week. For the first two weeks (July 1-14) I was at my grandparents' where I took many neighborhood walks. The fourth week (July 22-28) I went swimming for an hour.

July went much better than June overall. Right now my two biggest concerns are the reading and the exercising. These seem to be the goals that I am doing the worst on. On Michael's suggestion, I downloaded an app called My Fitness Pal. It allows me to log when I exercise. Not only it is a motivator, but these records will be a big help as I often forget when I've exercised. As for the reading, I don't know what I can do besides set aside more time for it. I already have plenty of material to read.

I do wish to celebrate a breakthrough I've made on my revisions of THINKING OF YOU. The revising schedule idea did not go so well (I managed two or three days in a row), but my fear of revisions has finally subsided. Before the thought of so much change and having no idea how to implement that change scared the crap out of me, probably the reason it's taken me so long to do so little. I believe I've gotten over this and can get some real work done now.

This month, however, the goal that I am putting most of my efforts into is the second. I'm using Camp NaNoWriMo to finish my first draft of OBJECTION. For current updates on my word count and goals, I suggestion you look at my Tumblr.

Anything special you're focusing on this month?