Six months into the year, it’s time to see how I’m doing on the goals for the year.
1) Send out a news letter each month.
So far, so good. I’ve written and sent one news letter each month. A couple times I was finishing the newsletter in the last couple days of the month, but I sent one out each month. It has been interesting picking the topics each month. This year I’ve written about: Dwarfs, Journals, Fight Scenes, Where is God, World Building, Where I’ve been.
2) Post at least one character blog entry per week.
Julie – 6
Hector – 1
Samuel – 1
Annay – 2
Turies – 5
Brian – 4
For a total of 19 in 26 weeks.
Better than half, but not were I wanted to be. Part of the problem is that I sabotaged myself. I started looking at my blogs and wondering if they were becoming a prequel to my novel. In other words if they were or should be centering around a central story. While thinking about that question it distracted me from writing just random posts. I think I do want to have the blogs tell a story, but I still want the blogs to be spontainous and free formed. I’m going to spend the next couple weeks mapping out where I want the blogs to go and get back to writing one a week.
3) Have my story flogged.
I sent in the first 16 lines and they were flogged. I learned a few things and I’ve made some changes. At some point I probably should send in my revised 16 lines.
4) Complete the first revision of my book by June.
I’m about a third of the way through and have not made any progress in the last three months. It has been a bit frustrating. I think there are two my reasons that I’ve been making slow progress. The first is that I’ve been working so much at my full time job that I come home I am mentally exhausted. The second is that I think that my check list of things to check in the first revision was too ambushes. I think I need to go back and run through the book in multiple passes.
My new goal is to get through the grammar pass by the end of July. Then I’ll pick something else off my list and try and do that in August.
5) Read the two books I got for my birthday.
I’ve read 3/4 of the manuscript makeover book and skimmed through the other. I want to finish the manuscript book this summer. It is still a little early for the second book to have much meaning to me. Maybe this coming winter.