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| Photo By: Melissa @ Spellbound in a Flash (Me) |
Happy New Year!!
Hard to believe another year has rolled by and we are looking at twelve new months. Where does the time go?!
I thought I'd share my resolutions for 2017 with results. *bites nails* I'll copy the resolutions as I typed them at the beginning of 2017 and type results in blue. Drum roll please....
1) Write/edit every other day. (except when working on editing jobs, which are worked on daily) I know it's said to write daily. But writing daily seems to stress me out more. I went through a period a few years ago that I wrote/edited every other day. It might have been slow moving, but I didn't feel stressed and it seemed to give my brain time to digest and move on with what I'd written, making it all fit together better.
I started to do this. I didn't hold to the every other day schedule though. I looked back through my monthly posts for 2017 and I did get many hours in on projects, which helps.
2) Finish Christmas Warmth. I started this in November for NaNoWriMo, and stopped with the holidays. This is a small goal, one easily reached, as there isn't much to add to the story to bring it through to a conclusion that's sitting in my mind.
I did finish Christmas Warmth in the beginning of the year! A win! I didn't have much to work on, so knew this would be an easy win. It's now ready for a full round of re-writes.
3) Get re-writes of Christmas Spirit done. There are many things that need to be added to the bones of this story, things I missed in my thinking when writing it. So, I'll need to add and adjust the story in this first pass of re-writes. It could easily take me all year with my pacing.
I did get through Christmas Spirit with one round of re-writes! I worked on paper copy then went to the computer and made more changes while typing in the changes. I'm actually working on a another round now. Woot! It's not a complete win as it's not finished to send off, but I didn't know how many rounds I would go with this one.
4) Write a short story. I have this idea that I started to research and stopped. I want to research it again and outline it. Maybe even get to start writing it. It's a secret project but I can say it's got steampunk in it. ;)
I did not get to this story idea. And...I think I know what this was to be, but I'm disappointed to say I'm not 100% sure what story this was to be.
5) Send something to a friend. If things go well this year, I'd like to get something to a rough point to send to someone to read. This is a first for me. I've sent no words to anyone to read. I've had no faith in my words to send them out, even to a friend. I want to overcome this fear.
I did not do this either. I was hoping the round of re-writes with Christmas Spirit would bring me to a point where I could send it to someone to help me with the next rounds. But, I've got another round to get through as there are things I want to tie in through the book first.
It's hard to face the music. I know I didn't follow through like I had hoped. But I did get a few huge goals completed, that being headway on Christmas Spirit and Christmas Warmth.
Now, on to 2018's Resolutions.
These resolutions are going to be similar to 2017's. I am determined to get my Christmas Business series up and going.
1) Write/re-writes/edits every other day - I still like this schedule. It's easier on my stress levels and helps me keep up with working.
2) Finish re-writes on Christmas Spirit - I want to get through this one round of re-writes and get help from friends on it.
3) Send Christmas Spirit to someone to read - This is so I can get another set of eyes on it to help iron out those tough, rough spots and flow of the story.
4) Start re-writes on Christmas Warmth - This one depends on what I learn about Christmas Spirit. I really want to get Christmas Spirit done but want to start on Christmas Warmth as well.
5) Outline for Christmas Wishes - Okay, I don't really outline, but I do make rough plans on where the story will go.
6) Join NaNoWriMo in November - I so love the rush to get through 50,000 words and really missed it in 2017. I want to get the rough bones of Christmas Wishes started in NaNoWriMo so I have something to work on in the future.
7) Exercise - This is unrelated to writing, but so very important in all angles. Exercising helps give me a release for stress and frustration, but it also gives me energy to keep up with all I have in my plans.
This year I have very specific ideas for what I want to do. I feel I'm getting closer to wanting to get a book out to shop around, so these steps are very important to get there. (And see if the book is really ready, along with me.)
What are your resolutions this year?
