#IWSG: Goal Setting

Happy New Year and Happy Insecure Writers Support Group Day. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. 

Thanks to this month's awesome hosts:  Patricia Lynne, Lisa Buie-Collard, Kim Lajevardi, and Fundy Blue!

Happy 2019. Do you always start a new year with resolutions? Do you look at them at the end of December? My answers? Yes, to the first; no, to the second. So what good are resolutions (goals), if we don’t look at them?

My RWA chapter (Mid-Michigan RWA) has a version of NaNoWriMo. Each month, we set out what we want to accomplish that month. I’m very good at that. Then each week, we (sort of) report our progress—either on our discussion loop or on the monthly database or both. I’m not so good with the follow-through reporting. I accomplish my goals, sometimes even more, but I forget to add them in. When the next month comes around, I think “oops, forgot to report my progress.”

I’ve always been a list-maker. I love checking off each item. What helps is taking a large project (like, I will write three novels this year) and break it down into manageable parts. (BTW, that was my goal for 2018. Didn’t make it.) By manageable parts, I mean list what you have to do to accomplish that goal. How many words/day do you need to write for each book? Factor in all the before-I-start-writing “stuff” (character lists, GMCs, research, world-building, etc.) Estimate how many days you’ll need to review/revise/edit each book. Factor in how long your editor will take to edit the book. If you DIY the formatting, how long will that take? Is three books a manageable goal? Did you factor in marketing? How much time do you need to get the word out that you have a new book? Will you do a blog tour? How much time to you need to dedicate to social media each day?

This sounds so overwhelming I’m scaring myself. LOL

The easiest thing for me is keeping track of word count. I made up a spreadsheet with simple formulas so all I need to do at the end of each daily writing period is enter the ending word count (from the bottom of the Word doc.) I get a feeling of accomplishment when I see that I wrote 500 words or 1,000 or 60. Whatever. It’s progress.

I find setting small goals makes me try to reach them. If I don’t set a goal, I don’t try. I mentioned back in October how we had a flooded basement and everything had to be boxed up and moved out. Before Thanksgiving, all those boxes came back in. My office is still full of boxes. It's so overwhelming I don't even want to look at it. So, my goal of January is to empty five boxes. That's a manageable goal. I'll let you know next month. 

Following up at the end of each month by looking at my list and checking off what I’ve done makes me feel proud. Progress. Moving forward.

But here’s a caveat: don’t measure yourself against another writer. I know authors who publish six books a year. That’s one every other month! I also know writers who are still writing the same book after ten years. (Trying not to judge.) Better to measure against yourself, your previous efforts.

Optional question: What are your favorite and least favorite questions people ask you about your writing?

Where do you get your ideas is a perennial one. Not sure if it’s my favorite or least favorite. It’s getting easier to answer—everywhere. I don’t think they want something so vague. They want a specific, magical answer.

How about you? Are you setting goals?

Happy Writing. See you next month.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

#IWSG - BIAW & Me

It's that time again. The 1st Wednesday of the month is Insecure Writers Support Group, the brainchild Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. And thanks to this month's awesome hosts: Jennifer Hawes, Jen Chandler, Nick Wilford, Juneta Key, JH Moncrieff, Diane Burton, and MJ Fifield!

Have you heard of BIAW (Book in a Week)? It’s a challenge like NaNo, only a week long instead of a whole month. The main premise of this challenge (offered by the Kiss of Death RWA online chapter four times a year) is “to get a solid storyline down, a good rough draft of your beginning, middle and ending, and an in-depth idea of your main characters, so by the end of the week you'll have ‘a novel idea’ you can flesh-out and build upon.” It runs for seven days, Monday through Sunday. No word count goals, except what you set for yourself.

In October, I participated and wrote over 8k words. My goal this time was 10k. I wrote over 11,000 words from November 28^th through December 4^th. This was exactly what I needed to give me a good kick in the pants to finish the PI mystery I’ve been dogging around on most of the year. I didn’t do all the advance prep that they suggest since I had a good chunk of the story already written.

I’m not sure why I’ve had such difficulties with this story. It might be because I’m normally a pantser, and I’d figured out the whole story before writing. I knew what would happen in scenes. I knew most of the characters well. Just like a good plotter (even if I didn’t write everything down). Perhaps that was the problem. I’d already “told” the story. There were very few surprises.

Whatever the cause, as you can see off to the right, I’m nearly finished with The Case of the Meddling Mama. Thanks to BIAW.

December 7 Question: In terms of your writing career, where do you see yourself five years from now, and what’s your plan to get there?

What a great question. I’ve planned one year ahead but not five before—although if you treat writing as your business, which I do, you should have a five-year plan. I plan to get one of my books into the Top 100 on Amazon. How? Another good question and the hardest. Active marketing (paid and free) and, most importantly, by writing stronger books.

As you see above, I have the privilege of being one of the co-hosts this month. I’m looking forward to getting around to seeing those on my list, as well as everyone I can get to.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Have things slowed down at your house? They have here . . . a bit. In this lull, my thoughts turn backward then forward. Backward to reflect on 2014, a year that had its low points and high points. I’d rather not have a repeat of the health issues that dominated the first quarter. The high points were so much better. Many small and one huge—our son married a terrific woman and we gained a wonderful new daughter.

I have so much to be thankful for.

Family, of course. Living close to our daughter and her husband, seeing them on a more casual basis than a planned two-hour trip. Playing with the grandkiddies. Visiting son and his wife in Arizona. Seeing extended family at son’s wedding. Most of all an indulgent husband who gives me the space I need to write. Who “forces” me to exercise. And who isn’t buying snack foods anymore because he knows I can’t resist.

Friends near and far. Keeping in touch through Facebook and telephone. Meeting for the occasional lunch or dinner. Getting together with friends to celebrate New Year’s Eve as we’ve done for the past fifteen years.

Readers. I am very grateful that people enjoy my books. Writing is a solitary endeavor. We may share our work-in-progress for critique or brainstorming, but in the end we write alone. How wonderful it is to see that work appreciated by others.

What lies ahead for 2015? Foremost, my son and his wife are expecting their first child in the late spring. I’m over the moon about this. Hubs jokes (as he did when we were expecting our first grandchild) that he’ll have to hide my credit cards. When our children were little (and our money a lot tighter), I was very thrifty. No brand-name clothes. In fact, I sewed their clothes. Now it’s so much fun to buy those cute little outfits. Isn’t that a grandmother’s prerogative?

On the writing front, I plan to release three books this year. The third book in the Outer Rim series. Remember Rissa the tavern owner? She finally gets her own story. Human trafficking, kidnapping, and of course a hunky guy. I’m still agonizing over a title. Then, there will be a second Alex O’Hara mystery. She’s up to her eyeballs in trouble again.

Last year at this time, I planned to expand the short story I wrote for the Roses of Prose blog, “Christmas in Space” and release it as a novella this year. Didn’t happen, obviously. It will in time for Christmas 2015.

Goals give us something to aim for, to focus on. By the end of a year, I don’t always complete the goals I planned. But if I didn’t have some goals I wouldn’t accomplish anything. It is so easy to let time slip away. So I’ll make a list of what I want to achieve. I’ll break each goal down into manageable pieces then check off each item as I finish.

How about you? What lies ahead?

New Year's Eve

Tis the end of another year. Is it just me or are the years going by faster and faster?

As the year winds to a close, it seems like a good time to look back at what we've done. Did you fulfill all your resolutions? I didn't. Not all, anyway. Some of the goals I set back in January fell by the wayside. As usual, I over estimated what I can accomplish. Other things I’d planned to do morphed into different, better ones. 

The way I see it, goal setting (or making resolutions) is like a road map. Great so you have direction but not if you have to rigidly adhere to it when you hit a road block. Or find an interesting detour. Flexibility is the key. Capitalize on what’s going right is my new motto.

Last January, my first self-published book Switched had been out for six weeks. And what I didn’t know about marketing would fill volumes. I joined online author groups and from them learned a lot about self-publishing, marketing, utilizing social media and so much more. I met many wonderfully supportive authors who eagerly shared their experiences so us newbies didn’t have to reinvent the wheel. I’ve tried to be as generous in my support.

Releasing two more books this year (Switched, Too and The Pilot) increased my confidence while the outpouring of support from family, friends and fellow authors was humbling.

As we say farewell to 2012, instead of regrets for what I didn't do I’m counting my blessings. My family is safe and healthy. My writing is going well. Now I’m looking forward to 2013.

What one thing are you proud of that you accomplished this year?

I’ll wait until tomorrow to wish you a Happy New Year when I’m participating in the New Year’s Blog Hop (along with over 200 other authors). So come on back. There will terrific Grand Prizes and I’ll be giving away an Amazon gift card.

New Year's Resolutions

Wait. It’s only November so why am I writing about New Year’s Resolutions? I’m not jumping the gun. Back in January, I wrote about goal setting for 2012. One of my writer friends (thanks, Margo) suggested revisiting this topic. I guess it’s accountability time.

On the personal level, one of my goals was to organize my photos. <nasty buzzer sound> Nope. Didn’t even touch them. I still have eight weeks. Guess I’d better get started. Another goal was to reduce the number of books and DVDs. <ding, ding, ding> I did it! I gave away a whole boxful of books at MMRWA's Retreat and the DVDs went to a good home. Shred old papers was another goal. <nasty buzzer and tiny ding> My intentions were good. Does that count? Of course not. We all know where the path of good intentions leads. Poor Hubs. He made several trips to the recycling center with boxes and boxes of paper, but I hardly made a dent. I resolved to work out four times a week at a fitness center. <buzzer and ding> Most weeks, I make it at least three times so I figure I’m doing pretty good.

Then, there were my business goals:

• Request five reviews of Switched. I requested ten and received two. Two are better than none so I’m ahead.
• Publish Switched, Too by March 31st. Missed my self-imposed deadline by a few weeks, but it went up on June 8th.
• Increase online presence by:
• writing a blog post every week Did it! (or is that "doing" it?)
• host a guest once a month Did It! Actually, starting in August I host a guest once a week.
• increase guest blog appearances by 50% That was under ambitious since I’d only done two in 2011; don’t know what I was thinking with that goal. I’ve done 13 guest appearances so far and am scheduled for two more this year plus two blog hops.

Speaking of blog hops. I’m in (or is it "on"?) my first one this Friday, the Autumn Harvest Blog Hop. Lots of prizes, over 200 participants (which means you can visit all and have over 200 opportunities to win prizes). I’ll be giving away a $10 Amazon e-Gift Card so be sure to come back here on Friday and join the fun.

Regarding accountability for my 2012 resolutions: I’m doing a lot better with my writing goals than with my personal ones. Meantime, I’d better get started on those photos.

How did you do with your resolutions?