It’s time for 2018 Round 1 of ROW80–it starts tomorrow. That means it’s time for a goals post. Which is almost the same as goal post, which is very sportsy and makes me want to cheer. So, GOALS!
Honestly, I’m not 100% sure what my goals are because I don’t know how long some of them are going to take. This round will take us into March. I know by then I’ll be working on revisions, but I don’t know exactly when I’ll be starting on that. I just know that it will be sometime this round, and that’s probably good enough, at least for the moment.
My first goal is to work through Holly Lisle’s Create a Character Clinic. I’ve been doing a little bit of character work during the break, but I want to get a clearer picture of my people and really get to know them so I can get their personalities to come out better in the story. I’m going to work on this 4 or 5 days a week, at least 15 minutes or 300 words worth of work (depending on what the tasks are).
After I’ve worked through the characters clinic, I’m going to start revisions. I don’t know what steps I’m going to use for this yet. I have some articles to read through with tips on how to revise, so hopefully I’ll have a plan by the time I get there.
Those are my writing goals right now. I am reminding myself that I don’t need more. This is enough. This will move me forward, and that’s what I’m aiming for. So this is where I start.
This actually sounds perfect (at least in my opinion, Kim… of course, some others might disagree). You have a plan of attack that will lead comfortably to the next step of your creative process. It doesn’t seem to be too much to interfere with your life beyond the page (I love the bit your posted about the stitch-a-day too)–if anything it seems to complement it well.
Thank you for the encouragement, Eden. It’s always nice to hear that what I’m thinking sounds reasonable to someone else, too. And I am trying very hard to keep my goals in that sweet spot of letting me make real progress without shirking my non-writing duties.
I’ve always wondered about Holly Lisle’s courses…are you enjoying it? Do you find it helpful? Sounds like a great start 🙂
Jo-Ann, I’m just getting started on this one, but I already really like the first exercise. I’ve taken other courses with her several years ago, and I feel like I got a lot out of them. I’ll write more about this character clinic when I’ve gotten further into it.