I’ve had a bit over a week of resting up after the NaNoWriMo marathon, and now my mind is turning toward the future. I’m always making plans and setting goals and working on projects and thinking of next new projects, but this time of year really brings that out in me.Â
Right now I’m mostly focused (yeah, focused, not obsessing over, just focused a lot all the time) on two things. Thing one–what stories do I want to work on in the coming year? Thing two–what non-writing creative projects do I want to do next year? Tied into these is the overall question of how I can keep myself moving forward. Consistency has always been a problem for me, and I’m brainstorming ways to make that better.
Over the next two weeks I want to continue doing writing practice, not working on any stories, just writing to let thoughts out. I want to set up supplies for doing a vision board and for setting up my planner for 2019. I want to get all of the stories I’m thinking about onto one drive, and then I want to read bits and pieces, fine my old notes if I can, just play with them to see if one of them really jumps out at me as something I want to spend a lot of time with.Â
And then it will be winter break, and I can spend time working on my planner and vision board and looking at the story and doing some jigsaw puzzles and generally recharging so I can maybe calm down from the really stressful and hectic months I’m coming off of, and hopefully I’ll have good, clear goals and a plan for how to reach them when it’s time to start Round 1 of ROW80 for 2019.Â
Writing practice – something all of us need to do more often! (I know I need to.) Sounds like you have a good plan to take a break and do some planning – good luck!
Writing practice is something I return to all the time. It’s as good for my mood and my mind as it is for my writing.
I love your plan!
As for time with old stories, I got a fanfiction review on a story I couldn’t remember. Turns out I wrote a whole series of quite good stories in May, but it was soon enough after Jim died that I’d more or less forgotten even doing that…
I read them all. They’re quite good, and I’m excited to play with some of them more…
I hope you find wonderfulness in your return reading!
Shan, I’m so glad you’re finding such good stuff in your stories! That’s wonderful. I hope I find good things in mine, too.
How I love planning too! Sometimes I feel I might actually plan more than I do… but it gives me a reassuring feeling (as if I might at some point run out of new things to do or write and just finish all I planned…)
Is it similar for you?
Unrelatedly, I’m now stuck with the final song from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in my head which shares its title with this update.
Yes, part of my planning is that I think that someday, when things quiet down, I will know exactly what I need to do next. Things never do quiet down, so I have to figure out how to do things anyhow, but that’s always there as I plan.
LOL! A Buffy ear worm!