You guys! Is it really May?
April and May are two of my favorite months of the year because I love Spring. I like the idea that things that have been lying dormant all winter, seemingly dead, start to bud and blossom and come back to life. Renewal and hope, new beginnings and fresh starts, are everywhere.
The connection is especially potent for me this year. A story I thought was long dead has started to bud, as have many other areas of my life which flatlined during the long winter months. I haven’t done a goals post in a while, but now seems like the perfect time to do so. I need to set some goals for my writing again and work hard toward achieving them.
The first week of May, I spent some time exploring a few options for writing goals, and now I’m ready to commit them to writing. Here are my May 2017 writing goals:
- Revise Always the Last to Know. I spent last week working on revisions to the first two chapters of this story and figuring out revisions to a few more chapters. I’m coming up with ways to make the writing stronger and work in some of the changes the Love Inspired editor suggested. I’m spending my days off and mornings working on this and enjoying the fruit of this labor.
- Find the perfect beta reader/critique buddy for ATLTK. I need to find the right beta reader/critique partner for this project–someone who loves the premise and the characters but is able to offer constructive criticism of my execution, especially with regard to the Love Inspired line. I have a couple people who have offered advice and help, but no beta reader lined up.
- Read GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict by Debra Dixon. This book has been suggested and recommended by countless authors I admire. I know I need a lot of help with internal and external conflict in my stories, and I think this book will help me better understand these areas.
- Make a decision on finding an agent. I’ve wrestled with whether or not to submit to an agent for a while now. I’ve only tried to catch an agent’s eye a couple times through #pitmad and a blind cupid contest. I know an agent will open me up to more submission opportunities (especially in the Christian market) and I can benefit from their expertise, but I’m not sure if an agent is for me. I plan to do more research and make a firm decision whether or not to submit this project to an agent for representation.
I’m not rushing through these revisions. I’m letting the story and characters lead me this go round. I’m not paying too much attention to the suggested revisions right now. I’m fixing what I see isn’t working, with some of the revision suggestions in mind. Since I had to cut over a third of the book, I’m focused on getting a workable draft before I look to fine tuning. I’m giving myself the same deadline I had to submit for Blurb to Book. By July 15, 2017, I will hit the submit button on revisions to Always the Last to Know. I believe this is a scary but attainable goal. This gives me two months and one week to craft a story I love. It will also stand me in good stead to hear back on my submission this year. I’ll also have plenty of time to start the next book in the series and put together a proposal for the series while I wait.
What writing goals are you working on this month?
Tentatively dipping a toe back in fiction waters
Erica
Copywrite1985 