COVID-19 Life Revisions

Hello everyone! I hope you are all staying healthy!

As writers, the concept of needing to revise something should not be a new one to us. We write something, and then we revise it again, and again, and again, and a few more times for good measure before we finally query or publish it.

However, the idea of revising our lives due to COVID-19 has come as a shock to even those of us who are most experienced in making revisions. You’d think that the one activity that wouldn’t be affected by social distancing is writing. (Think about it. You usually do it by yourself at home or in a coffee shop.) But even writing hasn’t been safe from unplanned changes. Libraries are closed, writer’s groups have to find new ways to meet, and conferences are postponed or canceled.

At the beginning of 2020, I designed my entire yearly plan for writing around a conference in June that I was planning on attending. I devoted the first six months of the year to writing and the last six to querying. Now, that conference may or may not take place; the organizers are still waiting to see where we’re at with social distancing come June. On a more positive note, some alternative workshops and online activities for writers that didn’t exist when I created my 2020 writing goals have become available.

As a result of all the changes, I had to seriously consider whether or not my original writing plan for this year was still the best one to follow. To give myself some much needed clarity on what to do, I summarized my writing priority for the year in one sentence: My goal for 2020 is to get something published. With that goal in mind, and after a lot of thought, I gave myself permission to scrap my original writing plan and adjust it for our current, everchanging situation. I then started looking at the options available to me and chose the ones that would get me closer to my end goal of publication.

My Revised Writing Plan for 2020:

1. Start querying the materials that are ready for agents and editors to read.
2. Write a picture book and participate in the free online Peer-to-Peer Picture Book & Chapter Book Manuscript Critiques program offered through the Pennsylvania: East chapter of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators.

During this time of constant change and uncertainty, give yourself permission to adjust your plans (this does not only apply to writing plans). Life looks different right now. It’s not comfortable, but if you search for the positives in the situation, you might be surprised by what you find.

Stay healthy, and happy writing!

Katie

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My 2020 Writing Goals

Hello everyone!

For me, the end of December/beginning of January means it is time to set new writing goals. I have learned that my productivity for the new year is dependent on my setting achievable goals and creating a plan for achieving those goals.

My Rules for Goal Setting

1. Set three-five writing-related goals for the year.
2. Make the goals specific so that it’s easy to know when you have achieved them.
3. Unless there is a deadline, give yourself more time than you think you’ll need to accomplish each goal.

My Writing Goals for 2020

1. Read 50 books.
2. Blog consistently (every two weeks).
3. Have the first three books of my chapter book mystery series, Big Bad Wolf Detective Agency, ready to show to agents and editors by the first week of June.
4. In late June or early July, begin querying the Big Bad Wolf Detective Agency and short stories.

I hope you have a happy, productive year!

Happy goal setting!

Katie

Honest Goal Assessment

Hello everyone!

As a writer, and as a person in general, it is important to self-evaluate to see what we are doing well and where we need to improve.  One way I do this is by setting goals and then reviewing them to see how well I met them.

This year, I had three writing related goals:

1. Complete the re-write of The Four Crystals.
2. Write at least the first book in my chapter book mystery series.
3. Read 50 books.

When I created my goals for 2019, I thought they were achievable.  And, for the most part, they were.

Goal #3: I’ve read or listened to over 70 books.

Goal #2: I got Book 1 of my chapter book mystery series to a polished state and completed a rough draft of Book 2.

Goal #1: Although I made progress, I will not complete the re-write of The Four Crystals this year.

Meeting two out of three goals is not bad, and I have to remind myself of that, but my failure to complete my number one goal bothered me.  When I reflected over why I had failed to achieve what seemed like a perfectly reasonable goal at the beginning of 2019, I came up with the following list of reasons I had not succeeded.

1. I was in a musical during the summer, and between my day job and rehearsals, I did not have time to write.
2. Instead of treating the re-write like the creation of a new rough draft, I attempted to create a first draft, which is a little more polished and takes more time to write.  (My definition of a rough draft is the same as Allison K. Williams’ vomit draft, and my first draft is a hybrid between her story and character drafts.  See “Optimal Editing.”)
3. I am part of two writer’s groups and teach a weekly German class, so some of my free time is devoted to participating in and preparing for those activities.

Once I gave myself that reality check, I had to decide what to do with my discoveries so that I would meet my future goals.

1. Summer Musical: I enjoy acting.  Theater has been a big part of my life, but at this stage, writing has become more important to me than performing.  I decided that unless a local theater was putting on one of my dream shows, I would take a break from acting until at least autumn 2020.
2. Rough Draft versus First Draft: Although writing a first draft instead of a rough draft would not be time efficient for a new project, it is the right choice for The Four Crystals.  I have a very clear idea of what I want the story to be, and I need to see whether or not my vision for the book is working.  A rough draft would not help me to determine that, but a first draft would.  I need to adjust my timeline for the re-write.
3. Writer’s Groups and Teaching: Being involved in writer’s groups exposes me to genres I would not choose to read on my own, which benefits me as a writer.  The feedback I get from the groups is beneficial and helps me to hone my craft.  At this point, I think that staying active in both groups is the right choice.  As for teaching, I made a commitment for the 2019-20 school year, but come 2020-21, I need to consider if offering a weekly language class is in the best interest of my writing career.

What I took away from my goal evaluation is that I still have room for improvement when it comes to time management and that I need to be even more selective when committing to different activities.  At least my 2019 goals were more realistic than the ones I set for 2018.  I am learning and improving!

As 2019 comes to a close, I highly encourage you to look over your own goals for 2019 and determined what worked, what didn’t, and why.  Then, apply what you learned when creating your 2020 goals.

Happy writing!

Katie

Optimal Editing

Hello everyone!

When you set out to be a writer, the thing they don’t tell you is that you will spend most of your time editing.  And, whether you like it or not, editing is a time-consuming process.

This year, I have been focusing on editing my novel, “The Four Crystals,” but I began the editing process two or three years ago.  The biggest mistake I’ve made during those years was trying to take my novel from a rough draft to a final draft in one edit.

It didn’t end well.

What I have learned from reading other writers’ advice is to focus on one thing per edit.

I really liked the way Allison K. Williams broke down the writing and editing process in her article “Seven Drafts.”

The names of Allison K. Williams’ seven drafts are:

1. The Vomit Draft
2. The Story Draft
3. The Character Draft
4. The Technical Draft
5. The Personal Copy Edit
6. The Friend/Beta Read
7. The Editor Read

I hope you find “Seven Drafts” by Allison K. Williams as helpful as I did.

Happy writing!

Katie

Establishing Goals: 3 Strategies for Following through with a Resolution

Hello everyone!

At the beginning of a new year, it is customary to make one or more resolutions for the upcoming year.  I have never accomplished anything by just making a resolution.  Consequently, I stopped making resolutions years ago.  Instead, I set achievable goals for the upcoming year.

In my mind, there is a difference between a resolution and a goal.  Merriam-Webster.com lists many definitions for resolution, but the one that best fits my way of viewing it is 1c: “the act of determining.”  My definition of a goal is the second one given by Merriam-Webster.com: “the end toward which effort is directed.”  For me, a resolution is something I mean to do while a goal is something I work to accomplish.  I might resolve to finish writing my novel, but until I make it a goal, I will never bring that desire to fruition.

My writing goal for 2018 is to finish editing The Four Crystals so that it will be ready for target audience beta readers at the start of 2019.  When I look at all the editing that is required, this is a very daunting task.  In order to achieve my writing goal for 2018, I am applying three strategies.  I hope they will help you as well.

1. Break the Task into Smaller Tasks: Henry Ford said, “Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” Generally, when I feel overwhelmed by the size of a project, I try to avoid it.  To prevent myself from procrastinating my way through 2018, I decided to take Henry Ford’s advice.  I broke my overarching goal of editing The Four Crystals in 2018 into pieces that I could accomplish on a weekly basis.  My smaller, less daunting goal is to edit one chapter a week.

 

2. Track Your Progress: This gives you a visual of your progress. It can be very encouraging.  It can also help you to get back on track if you lose sight of your goal.  For just that purpose, I created a template for the entire year.  Every week, I either write “yes” or “no” in the box that says “Accomplished Goal.”  If I edited an entire chapter, I write the chapter number below the “yes.”  If I fail to meet my weekly goal one week, that is okay.  Maybe I was sick or I was working on a short story and did not have enough time to edit an entire chapter.  There is nothing wrong with failing to meet my goal for one week.  If, however, I notice that I have not accomplished my weekly writing goal for two weeks in a row or that I am only meeting it every other week, I know I have to give myself a kick in the pants and apply more self-discipline.

3. Have an Accountability Partner: I have never been good at holding myself accountable. If I make a plan that only affects me, there is a strong chance that I will change the plan if I don’t feel like doing it.  To make sure that I actually accomplish my 2018 writing goal, I shared my writing goal with one of my writing groups and asked them to check on me every time we meet.  Peer pressure is a wonderful thing when used appropriately.

What are your writing goals for 2018?  If you’re willing to share them with me, I would love to read about them.  You can tell me your wring goals in the comments below or via my “Contact” page.

Here’s to a productive year of writing!  I hope that these strategies help you to meet your own writing goals for the new year!

Happy writing!

Katie