February Goals

I'm doing an update/monthly review this week instead of posting a Friday Short Story. I am working on one, and it's going to be longer than past ones.

The One and the Other Volume One Progress

I finished revisions for Episodes 3 and 4, which (along with Ep. 8) needed the most revision. I'm so happy to have them under my belt. Looking forward, I don't think that Episode 5 will require as much revision as I initially thought, and I'm on track to meet my deadline of May 25th. If things keep going the way they are, I might even finished before then. Fingers crossed.

Episode 4 was difficult because I had to delete several scenes and write new ones since I changed the direction of the main episodic plot-line. I also focused on developing my least developed main character and I'm glad to say that she's much more fleshed out now.

Search Engine History for Writing Research

• How long does it take for second degree burns to heal?

• How painful is it to be cut with a knife?

• How much sunlight do flowers need?

• Do thermal cameras work in storms?

• Slitting wrists as a form of suicidal suggestion?

• Coagulated Blood - Google Images

I'm not into recreational pain, I swear--I'm just cruel to my characters.

Rejection Letter Count

4 (I received two back-to-back Wednesday. It just feels great *dies a little inside*)

Creative Writing Workshop

The creative writing workshop I'm a part of has just started meeting for the semester, and I predict that it's going to be another fun, productive semester. There's some great new faces and new ideas and new prompt ideas (which might inspire more Friday Short Stories :)).

Some goals I have for February are:

1. To release a poetry treat for ya'll soon ;)

2. Finish revisions for Episode 5 (and possibly 6 - we'll see how it goes).

3. Submit an excerpt of The One and the Other Volume One to Swords & Sonnets Anthology. The anthology is looking to publish fantasy, sci-fi, or horror short stories about "a woman or non-binary battle poet as a main character". Considering my novel incorporates sonnets into the narrative and stars a female character, I think an excerpt from my novel would be perfect for them. Let's hope they think so too. Their website is http://www.swordsonnet.com/.

4. Perform 2 of my poems for an Open Mic Night February 12. I still hate this idea, but I need to get over my fear and do it.

How has the start of your year been so far? What are looking forward to in February or the rest of the year?

#monthlygoals #writing

Revisions for Episode Three Finished!

For those of you who don't know, I'm currently revising my first book, which is divided into 10 episodes. This weekend, I finished the revisions for Episode Three! Only seven more to go!

As I was revising Ep. 3, I also reached 100K words for the entire manuscript. It's an incredible feeling! I'm so happy. Right now, it's sitting at 101,945 words.

Ep. 3 itself ballooned word count-wise. It went from 9,626 to 15,326 words. Then, I edited out frivolous words, cutting 771 words, so the total words for Ep. 3 is 14,555 for a net gain of 4,929 words. This is my longest episode by 1K words. Eps. 1 and 2 are 12,569 and 13,238 respectively.

Ep. 3 required the most revision out of the three. I wrote new scenes, cut out scenes, and rewrote old ones. It's the beginning of my problem area/trilogy of Eps. 3-5, which needs the most work. I'm moving on to Ep. 4 and it's just a mess plot-wise. I'm taking the main-plot of the episode into a new direction, and I'm moving plot elements from Ep. 5 into this episode while also writing new elements. I predict this episode will the hardest to revise, but I'm excited to take up the challenge.

#theoneandtheother #editing

2018 Resolutions

It’s a new year, and I'm ready to hit the ground running! There’s several things I wanted to accomplish including things I've been putting off and goals for old projects that I want to meet this year.

1. Begin Friday 10 minute Stories

From now on every Friday, I’ll be posting a short story on this blog. Most of them will have been inspired by the prompts I and my friends do in our creative writing club. Some will be longer and more polished than others, depending on the inspiration.

2. Recite my Poetry at Open Mic Nights

I’ve been putting this off because I’m terrified of reciting my poetry in front of people. It's hard for me to share it with anyone, and thinking about performing it just about kills me. But I want to do it because if I’m going to be successful as an artist and a poet, I need to put myself out there. I also think that my poetry would be incomplete if I don't speak it. When I step up to the mic, be sending me good vibes.

3. Receive 25 rejection letters from literary magazines

In 2017, I received eight rejection letters from literary magazines for my poetry, but I also had three poems and two haiku published by Better than Starbucks. I only started submitting halfway through the year, and I want to aim higher this year. Why am I aiming for rejection letters? I was inspired by the article Why You Should Aim For 100 Rejections A Year, which points out that if you work for tons of rejections, odds are that you will receive some acceptances too.

Another reason I’m shooting for so many rejection letters is because I want to:

4. Publish my first poetry chapbook

All the poems have been written, but I don’t plan on releasing the chapbook till late this year. I'm holding off because I want to give the poems the chance to be published individually by literary magazines. Once I self-publish them, literary magazines won’t consider them for publication anymore. If they are published, afterwards the rights return to me, so this chapbook is getting published no matter what. It’s just going to take a little while.

My most important goal concerns my WIP.  I’m currently revising the first novel in my fantasy series called The One and the Other. The novel is separated into 10 episodes like a TV season. I finished revising the first two episodes, and I’m aiming to:

5. Finish Revisions of Episodes 3-10 by May 25th.

Why May 25th? Because for late May and all of June I'm going to be studying abroad in Spain. I’m extremely excited for this opportunity! I want to enjoy the experience as fully as possible and not be worrying about writing projects. I have no idea if I'll have any time to write in Spain--though I probably will write something since I have a hard time now NOT writing. And who knows what kind of inspiration Spain might give me.

Anyway, I want to reach a major stopping point on my WIP before I leave. And yes, it is stopping point. I won’t be finished. After these revisions, I need to let my critique partner, beta readers, and a professional editor critique it, and then I'll make some more edits. So, yeah. There’s still a lot of work to do. Sometimes it’s hard for me to be patient, but I remind myself that I want to write the best possible book even if it takes longer than I want it to.

So, those are my goals for 2018. Let’s hope I accomplish them. I’m really looking forward to this year. What are some of your goals and how do you try to keep yourself on track?

#yearresolutions #writing