2013 Round 2 #ROW80 Goals

I made a lot of goals last round that I ended up not making.  And I did a lot of things last round that weren’t actually listed in my goals.  Such is the way of things.  It was a slow start to the year, with a gradual picking up of pace from month to month.  I’d like to continue that trend.  So here we go.  My Round 2 Goals:

  • Write 20 out of every 30 days.  This is one I settled on last year, and it’s served me in good stead.  Sometimes I write more than 20 days a month, and if I do, hey, that’s gravy.  But 20 out of 30 means I have a respectable number of words and don’t take too much time off such that I lose my momentum (usually).  
  • Push my daily minimum from 600 to 700.  It’s a small push, but one that feels like a comfortable stretch.  Like adding a quarter mile to the daily jog.  Again, it’s one of those things I often exceed, but this feels like a good level up from the last three months.
  • Finish RivenI’m, into the final act, so this doesn’t seem like it should be too hard.  I’ll push through to the end, pass it on to my crit partners, then dive in to whatever revisions are necessary.
  • Write a short story.  I’m not specifying for what.  There are a few possibilities floating around in my head.  But in general, this is one of those areas where I’d like to stretch myself and get better.  That will probably be what comes on deck when I send Riven to my CPs.
  • Test out my own version of fast drafting on my next project.  I don’t know yet what that next project will be.  There are a couple of candidates at present.  What I’m wanting to do isn’t REALLY fast drafting.  It’s not DRAFTING at all.  It’s more like…intensive outlining.  Figuring out the details of the scene, what needs to be conveyed, the tone, who’s there, what plot threads need to be addressed…all the detailed kinds of scene notes I make before I start writing when I’m in a mode to behave myself.  Something to let me live with the story on a deeper level than I do when I usually outline, but that isn’t precisely drafting (because the idea of multiple drafts is painful to me).  Something that I could, theoretically, knock out in a month and have a more solid sense of what I need to do when I sit down to the business of actual drafting because I’d have already figured out those things that usually slow me down.
  • Finish prepping my Psych and Law class for fall.  I might not get to the actual recording of lectures until Round 3, but I want to get them all written and decide on the assignments.
  • Work on getting off the sugar.  This is kind of an annual battle for half the year.  It starts with all the Halloween candy, moves into the Christmas yummies, is picked up with Valentine’s confections, and rounded out by the Cadbury Eggs and chocolate bunnies of Easter.  And other things are rounding out because of it that I’m not happy about, so once this batch of Cadbury eggs from my Easter basket is gone, that’s it.  Weaning myself off the candy!
  • Read a craft book.  This is one I think I’m going to try to make a regular goal.  Reading one craft book over a period of 3 months doesn’t seem like too big a bite.  I’ve got several I’ve picked up at one point or another, and I just haven’t made them a priority like I should.  So for this round, I’m focused on knocking out the rest of The Art of War For Writers by James Scott Bell.
  • Incorporate daily meditation.  This is something I have always wanted to try.  And have, in fact, tried at various points in my life without a lot of success.  But I think I always tried to do too much at once.  So I’m going to shoot for 5 minutes a day to start.  It’s not a lot, but it’s more than I’m doing now.  5 minutes to be still, let go of whatever is in my head, and relax.  I’ll likely try this when I get home from work, just before I sit down for my daily writing block, trying to shuck off the day and prepare myself to create.
  • Play.  This seems like an odd thing to put on the list, but it’s so rare that I do something that doesn’t have an end goal of progress or some practical outcome.  I want to do something on a more regular basis that’s just for the sake of doing it.  I’m not putting any kind of restrictions for what this might be or how often.  Just a reminder to do something for the hell of it, for FUN.

8 thoughts on “2013 Round 2 #ROW80 Goals

  1. Like you, I had a fun aspect on my list for a couple of rounds (I dropped it this round, since I do it fairly regularly now). Sometimes we get so focused we lose sight of fun for fun’s sake. I hope you have a great round!

  2. Great goals, Kait. I’m glad you added “play” to the list. I think that’s very important. And I might try the meditation thing and see how that goes.

    I can tell you, you CAN live without sugar. I thought it would be harder, but since I CAN’T have sugar, I just…don’t. Maybe a bite or two now and then, but that’s it. So it can be done.

    1. I’m actually not normally a sugar addict. I don’t bring sweets into the house and I don’t make them myself usually. But when I get exposed through social stuff or other people bring them, it primes the pump so to speak and then I CRAVE IT. I’m ready for a hard core veggie detox!

  3. Hey great goals and I’m curious about the fast drafting let me know how that works out. I need to come up with something like that as well to keep me organized and just make the writing process smoother… Yeah that will happen ;P

  4. I just added three writing goals to my list but I like your ‘play’ goal. Sounds like you’ve got lots of exciting projects on the go – good luck with them all!

  5. Yay for fun:) – I decided to put in more ‘me for the fun of it’ time last year because I had to and I find I’m enjoying it – had forgotten what it was like – all the best with your goals – they all seem doable – except maybe the sugar one:( have been trying for years to cut it out, only cut down achieved )

  6. Play. That one stopped me. I should have put that on my list. Know what the worst of it is? I’m not sure how I’d go about playing. Seems like everything I do is oriented toward writing or photography, and those are things I take seriously. I need to mull this one over a bit…

    As for a deep outline or fast draft, are you familiar with Mike Stackpole’s 21 Days to a Novel? You don’t write a novel in 21 days. Rather, you get to know your characters, conflict, and plot, so when you’re ready to roll, you can make good time on your draft.

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