Saturday, March 10, 2012

Update on writing goals

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In my February recap post at the beginning of the month, I told you guys I had written 45,000 words on my current WIP, and that I wanted to write at least another 30,000 by the end of the March, which would mean completing draft #1. I also mentioned that I would be having my 2-year-old nephew four days a week from now on, and that I was afraid my writing would suffer.

Well, I hate to brag, but right now I kinda feel like Super Aunt. *searches for something that would make an appropriate cape* I think I got more accomplished this week having Logan here than I usually do in a normal week. How weird is that? It was like suddenly having structure - even though it was unrelated to my writing - made everything fall into place. I managed to play with him (my god, he’s a handful!), get meals prepared for the week, clean, and write. I got a total of 9,800 words written in the last five days on my current WIP. *happy dance*

Not only that, but I also came up with an idea for another novel, or possibly a novella. I was so excited! I don’t know when I’ll be able to write it, but it’s always exciting to have a new idea to work on and expand upon. If you know me at all, you'll know I don't talk much about my writing while I'm going through the process, or when I have a new idea, but I'll give you a little tidbit - it's a fairytale retelling that I haven't seen done yet. I've been wanting to do a fairytale retelling for ages, but the very few ideas I've had weren't original enough. I actually think this one is, and I'm thrilled! 

On a writing-related side note: I feel like I’m becoming a better writer. My current WIP is very different from Blue Sky Days. I’m going from young adult contemporary romance to adult chick lit. It’s a big change for me - the language and tone are different, so it’s a challenge, but a welcome one, and one I’m enjoying immensely. 

I really do feel like I’m becoming a better writer, though. I’m keeping in mind the things my editor pointed out while working on Blue Sky Days, and even some of the things that critics pointed out in reviews of the book. In particular, I'm trying to mix up the sentence structure and language. My editor told me I used ‘said’ a lot in BSD, and I never realized it, so now I’m trying to use it very sparingly. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be coming up with alternatives that fit the tone of the sentence, but I’m doing well. I’ve also been studying sentence structure in the books I’m reading so I can get ideas to change things up so each paragraph doesn't look the same as the one before. I'm also working on my comma usage - I tend to be a little comma happy, like many other writers!

Next week I'm hoping to get at least another 10,000 words written. If I can continue at the rate I went this week, I'll meet my original big March goal with time to spare!

How are you doing with your March goals, writing-related or otherwise?


3 comments:

  1. I totally need to sign up for this. I'm just reluctant because sometimes deadlines make me too anxious. I *maybe might* sign up next month post-blogoversary shindig and all. It would probably help for me to set at least little goals for myself and stick to them.

    I am so excited to hear how far you're getting on your next novel. And an idea for a new novel or novella is great. I have a novel idea that has a side novella possibility attached to it that I can't wait to get into. Novellas are nice to read, and I would love to see more of them out there.

    I've been paying closer attention to books I'm reading too for the sake of my writing. Learning the nuances of writing structure by seeing them on the page of a good novel is extremely helpful. I'm glad you've been able to grow as an author with that. :)

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  2. Best of luck reaching your goal. My March target was to finish formatting a novel for June publication and to be nearing the end of the first draft of the sequel. First one is completed and the second so close!

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~Marie

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