). I think this is relevant because like OSC says, healthy body, healthy mind.I will start with my personal goal of finishing the rewrite of my murder mystery novel, which should be something like 80-90k words, by Halloween. (I'm actually hoping to do this by the fifteenth, but I'm only promising the 31st.) At that time I will set editing/polishing goals.
I hope others will join me in publicly voicing goals so we can all cheer you on.
One thing I've found out about myself is that I'm a pretty slow writer. I rewrite a lot, becasue it takes me a long time to figure out what I'm tyring to say. Thus, I don't have any goals in that sense--goals on when to finish a project. It's done when I can't do anything to make it better.
My only goal is to write every day, which I've been doing with complete success since I started keeping a notebook. I suppose in my mind my goal is to complete a short-story a month--but I've never made it an "official" goal.
[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited August 15, 2004).]
-Multiplicity (1st novella), rough draft by the end of December. Maybe into the 2nd one by then.
-A whole bunch of Metaphysics papers throughout the semester.
I can't promise anything, because unless they're made face to face, I've a tendency to break promises, (it's just the way I'm wired), so instead, I'll post my most relevant New Year's Resolutions, to be completed by the end of the year
--a completed first draft of my novel in progress
--at least one short story ready for sumbissions (done), and five more in some various stage between first draft and completion. (Also done. Sort of.)
--Lose 30 pounds (yeah, right. ). I think this is relevant because like OSC says, healthy body, healthy mind.
That's them, and I'm doing my damndest to make sure they're done. Except for the third one. 
CVG
[This message has been edited by cvgurau (edited August 15, 2004).]
It's done when I really, really, really like it. So, with that I will promise only that I will finish the 2nd Draft of "bad Wishes" by the end of September. (This thing is really making major changes).
And then I will sleep. And there will be much rejoicing. And then I will start plotting the next one in earnest, and editing this one, and the bookfog will come back in season.
[and if I had ever learned how to type it would go faster!]
[This message has been edited by mikemunsil (edited August 15, 2004).]
1: complete the fairy tale rewrite by the end of this month;
2: write, revise/edit, and submit at least 6 short stories by the autumnal equinox (works in progress included)
3: have at least 6 chapters of a novel done by the winter solstice (Currently seeking another idea to blend into the story; hopefully it will come to me in time!!)
4: lose 30 pounds by the winter solstice (so I can gain 1/3 back at Christmas!! Wheee!!!! *VBG*)
5: write *something* every day, without fail!
Oh, and ah.. work with the horses every day. 
Thaaaaat ought to be enough goals for a while, methinks!
Susan
)
I will submit at least one story to a professional market from Reykjavik.
[For those tracking my progress, I'm in Minneapolis now.]
Finish scan through "The Penitent" and let my brother in law finally read it! He's been waiting for ages. Two weeks?
Come October re-edit "A Dream of the West" (Again) and start work again on the sequel! Long term prospects...
Hmmm - and come end of October throw all this out the window as will probably be horrendously occupied with number 2... 
At any rate, I'm game: I'll commit to finishing the rough draft on my Fantasy "Vfraal" (hey, it's a working title...) by the end of August. That's about 70% left to complete.
Goals. Erg.
But here goes.
1. Have two short stories (Neverking and Lost Horizon) ready to submit by Dec. 31st.
2. Read at least one non-fiction and two fiction books per month.
3. Outline of my restructured novel(s) (translation: Tome turned Three-volumes) by Dec. 31st.
4. Daily personal prayer. Gotta get better at that one, because if I'm going to accomplish 1,2,and 3 I'm going to need the help.
Write everyday, I'm bad at that.
'Winston' ready to edit by the end of the year. (which is sad since it's probably short.)
Get going full force on my Collaboration. (pretty hard since my collaborator is on the other side of the Nation.)
quote:Just don't make that the "Subject" line if you ever submit this via e-mail.
I am going to try the National Novel Writing Month this November, and write my SF murder/mystery "Virus Attached."
Are we keeping the writing promise report forum active? Because if we are, I am pleased to report that I finally finished the current novel, despite the extreme anxiety and self-doubt which seems to hit near the end of anything I can't convince myself is unimportant. (How did I deal with it? I kicked myself and my laptop out of my apartment and didn't allow myself back in until it was done, that's how. Tough love. And burrito. And tea.)
Now, to the second part of my promise: the sleeping. *conks out, despite it being pitifully early*
Onward!
I still plan on doing NaNoWriMo and I will add to my list to write a new story to submit from Iceland.
So, please, use it.
I got the scan through of the Penitent done and its printed up. Just have to make it out to the BIL's house sometime in the near future and give it to him.
Oh, and another one - follow up on Short Story "The Wolf's Sister" sent out AGES ago!!!
R
For a few years now I've been haunted by memories of junior high. Don't ask--I don't know. They just won't leave me alone. In fact, too many of my stories eventually become stories based on junior high. After reading an old interview with Harlan Ellison and an old interview with John Gardner, I realized--no, I think I finally accepted the fact--that sometimes we have stories that we MUST tell, and I saw that junior high for me was a kind of mythical history that, for whatever reason, I need to explore.
So.....
after much thinking, I decided to write a memoir of junior high (which is perhaps why I was interested in starting a nonfiction thread). I don't expect anything from it right now, because right now all I can do is write down the memories as they come. The story--if there is one--comes later.
Anyway, I've found that each night I can write down about 2000 words (10 pages) of memories, so that's my new goal. Though I don't know for sure, I'm projecting that the first draft will be between 600 and 700 pages.
So, needless to say, I'm not writing much fiction now adays . . . at least not for a few months.
[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited August 30, 2004).]
As for myself:
a) Sister of Betrayal - 3rd draft finished, at 72k words!
b) Friend or Food - Finished, though one last minor polishing needed.
New promise:
By end of week come up with new idea for a book and start on it.
well, I followed up on the short story - it only took a total of 14 months after server failures, mails going missing etc. Not sure if its a record.
I got a rejection, but it was a very nice rejection and quite heartening. It still feels wrong to say "a very nice rejection", but the editor was very complimentary and it was firmly on the "It's not perfect for us" rather than the "this is garbage" side.
To quote (and salve my bruised ego) "I'll have to return it, with genuine regrets." He also invited me to try them again soon.
So now I just have to find somewhere else to submit it and get back to writing. I'm pleased on the whole as I don't write many shorts (and my shorts arent that short to begin with).
I've got a little list...
R
If you haven't already, try this site for markets:
My goal is to complete the first draft of my first novel during NaNoWriMo, called "Outleaf." I think that is a pretty big goal, so I won't add to it yet.
I would like to commit to writing every day, but I don't do ANYTHING consistently every day (up to and including eating, sleeping and other normalish things. I am the opposite of a creature of habit.)
So for now I'll just commit to the draft, because that is a whole month of writing every day, which would be a very major accomplishment for me.
1. Get the first draft of my short story finished by mid-october (I've seen others of you say you can get a draft for a short done in one sitting, but I'm incredibly slow so I'm giving myself a good range of time ).
2. Complete a draft of my novel, which currently has no title, during NaNoWrMo.
3. Hey, I'd like to loose a little weight too.
4. Actually come up with titles for both my short story and my novel.
Just get it finished.
By New Year's. (<----This is me, talking to myself. That's not right.)
Whew. Wish me luck.
CVG
it was Black Gate and the genre was heroic fantasy. I've checked out that site before and its a really handy one.
I'm thinking of submitting the story to the Next Writers of the Future, although I need to have a good scan through it and tighten up a bit. I fully intend to take some of his other comments on board.
Otherwise, I just have to get down to doing some work
R
1) Finish ANYTHING by the end of the year. This includes 1 short story (working title - Joker and Thief), 1 poss. novella length work (working title - The Great Crossing), 2 novel ideas (no pun intended) that need further plot development, and two screenplay ideas that need development also.
2) Submit something to publication!
Reward? That I can have this baby this spring without any guilt that I'll have less free time for a while.
I think that will do for now.
Finish editing of novel by halloween!
I will do 50,000 words during Nano.
Rux
Rework my novella, "Last Magewood Standing".
Start and complete that short story that's been buzzing in my brain: "Fire on the Sea".
Get a working outline for NaNoWriMo novel, "Man of Stone" plus all the background information and character sketches and so on.
November:
NaNoWriMo. Word count goal: 25,000. Real goal: Just write the story until it's done.
December:
Begin reworking of "Man of Stone".
Get "Last Magewood Standing" polished up and submitted.
Begin and finish another short story.
---
I'm not exactly prolific. Instead of focusing on writing more stories, I'd rather just write more, period. I hope that makes sense.
Cut 40k off my novel before the new year.
Cya,
CC
PS, Kolona, I hear ya on the Maass wb. It's such a great book, and I hope to implement it the way it should be done after I shave 40k off my novel.
[This message has been edited by cicerocat (edited September 29, 2004).]
I'll have a short story ready for submission by next February.
[This message has been edited by DeepShadow (edited October 05, 2004).]
-Multiplicity (1st novella), rough draft by the end of December. Maybe into the 2nd one by then. *Close enough to make it*
-A whole bunch of Metaphysics papers throughout the semester. *Sigh.*
Trip Trap ready to send as a submission this week!
Neverking advanced draft completed. Must solicit critiques.
Prayer--doing better. Required for sanity these days.
I am still hoping to complete that promise, nevertheless, I feel the need to insert a new promise in here:
I promise to have a once-through revision of this novel completed by the end of this month so that I can write the last couple of chapters. (I've missed something somewhere...the character change isn't set up right or something...I don't know where it broke down but I've got to go back and find it. )
I then make the following promises regarding this work:
1. That I will send the novel to my parents to read during the month of November, while I'm writng furiously on another novel.
2. That I will *SLOW DOWN* and comb through every chapter, every page, and find the strongest way to present material, even if this means rewriting sections of the novel to make it more believable/more interesting/less confusing/less obvious (if that's the case...this is a mystery, after all)
3. That I will start researching publishers and agents but will not submit this novel before it is as good as it can be, including story and wordsmithing.
4. That I will not impose schedules on myself because that's the best way to get my novel thrown in with the other 99.9%. If this takes until October next year to get right, then so be it!
Strange that I am actually taking away set goals and the like, but lately I've realized tha these set goals are forcing me to write crap. (excuse the language) My novel got broken somewhere (that was passive voice...I broke it, actually.) and it might still have happened if I had slowed down and thought about things a little more as I wrote. (Maybe...maybe no.)
Starting in November with National Novel Writing Month I am going to work on novel #2 and I think this will help. Every day my goal is to work on one or the other, whichever the muse strikes me to do. I have a feeling that at first it will be novel #2 because I'm frankly getting sick of the other one, but then again maybe that just means I need to leave it be for a few months and come back to it with a fresh eye.
Thanks for letting me rant, guys! (not that you had much choice. I suppose if you complain loudly enough Kathleen will erase this message... )
Rant on!
er, I mean
Write on!
1st goal: Keep writing on it and try to everyday until it is done. I'm hoping that will be done by Feb '05.
2nd goal: Come up with a title to my superhero genre story. (I don't know how long it will be yet)
3rd goal: Look back at "NightCreeper" revise, edit and re-submit it to F&F for further comments, hopefully by end of the year.
4th goal: Think of a story to do with my favorite D&D character. Had so many thoughts about it at work yesterday.
I think that will suffice for now. I will try to do all of this between working and going to school full-time.
Also I promise to thank each and everyone of you guys that have helped me out with the monster that has become "Olympus Uprising".
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL.
-Bryan-
Uh, I mixed in other writing responsiblities that are taking over my life, hope that's ok.
08 Oct 04 - Complete and submit abstract to go to meeting in Salt Lake City in Feb: DONE. Check. Yea!
22 Oct 04 - Complete discussion section of manuscript and send to my advisor
30 Oct 04 - Decide which story to write and think about it
11 Nov 04 - Begin writing story
17 Dec 04 - Complete all data taking for thesis project, whether it works or not and leave for Christmas
04 Jan 05 - Complete story in hand upon return from lovely, very long, and well deserved x-mas vacation
31 Jan 05 - Have story in final form
01 Feb 05 - Start making presentation for meeting
19 Feb 05 - Have another story idea
20 Feb 05 - Go to meeting
01 Mar 05 - Start writing story
30 Jun 05 - Have 2nd story in hand, first draft complete
Should be enough, and was never good at deadlines anyway.
back again at last - albeit briefly I expect. I kind of had to drop off the face of the earth for a while there and all my plans are currently up in the air as my daughter - due at the end of October - arrived four weeks early (so as to disrupt her brother's birthday party, I suspect). She's still in the hospital, although I am home six days now, but she is out of the ICU and well on the road to recovery. Between trips to the hospital, minding our son and trying to stay sane, I haven't been doing much of anything and seem to have an attention span reduced to something akin to a gnat's! I've just started writing again myself. It's very fragmentary.
I don't think I have anything yet to crit, but if I do have something of yours and haven't replied, let me know. I'm sorry if that is the case and will try to get back to you eventually, but things being what they are right now, it will be a while.
When I get everything back on track, and Emily home, I'll be back. That's my promise for now.
R
Dang! None of mine had enough consideration for their mother to come early. They were all late! And BIG!
It's hard to leave the hospital without your baby, but at least you know you'll be able to go back and get her and bring her home eventually.
My first goal will be to write every day of this coming week for at least 1 hour.
(i figure it's too daunting to propose an endeavour such as writing every day for the rest of the month, year, or even life ;P so lets try interval intstallments)
thanks for your good wishes. just to let you know that Emily is now home and doing well, though we're all exhausted. Check ups during the week and an unbelievably regimented feeding schedule, so things are still crazy, but its starting to look up.
Talk to you soon
R
1--take care of the baby as she needs you
2--take care of yourself as you need to
3--the writing will take care of itself (even if it doesn't get taken care of for as much as a year--consider it grist for the mill and don't feel guilty--your creative energies are needed elsewhere)
4--you are welcome here, even if you aren't writing--keep your skills up by reading and critiquing for others if you can manage it once in a while, and just say "Hi! I'm still alive!" if you can't manage any more than that
Khyber, how'd the hour a day go? Wonderfully, I hope .
Fire on the Sea needs a middle. Will correct that in the next couple of days. And once it is done, about that can be said for it is that it's short.
Meanwhile, I have a pretty good rough draft of a short story "Pleading With the Stars" that is a much better story than either of the aforementioned stories despite the fact that I really need to define the POV better, and pick a tense and stick with it.
And I'm at 10K longhand on NaNoWriMo novel, but I am waaay behind on my typing.
I have too many stories on my plate, if you ask me. But nobody's asking.
my commitments therefore will be to get my arse going and get my christmas parody short story for the rewrite challenge going so that i might have something for it by the deadline.
and my other is to get a good start on my big baby novels of Searth before going out on my mission... i've been working on Searth since i wrote my first searth short story (major, major crappy writing i might add) back in 7th grade... i'm hoping that i can make the story much better, fuller, more real in the new novels... and i hope i can get them published 
that's it for my writing goals, my one other goal is to get a day job so that i can start getting to that goal my bishop wants before i can start working on my papers to go on my LDS mission
Confession time. Since the day I posted here, I have not even picked up Maass' workbook, which I was supposed to have finished by October. I've read other writing books, wrote, entered some writing contests, painted rooms, etc., etc., but completely avoided the workbook. My subconscious is obviously very perverse. Maybe I'll have to promise not to read Maass' workbook.
The writing is still scattered, but I've started reviewing some older work - the short story "The Wolf's Sister" and I've rewritten the first three chapters of my novel "A Dream of the West".
I've got a bit more of the novel "May Queen" down, but its still fragmented. And "Fisher's Mask" the novel I sat down and plotted and then couldn't write has raised its head again. It's slow going but at least its something.
Main thing I'm finding is I'm having lots of ideas for new things, but I'm not much on follow through right now, so I'm just trying to jot down something and move on. Hopefully they'll see the light of day in the future. I even find that I am possibly *gasp!* (whispers for fear of eavesdropping) missing work. (checks temperature and wanders away muttering to self!)
Talk to you soon
R
New goal: finish first draft of novel by January 31st.
Complete at least one short story between now and then, as well.
On "Olympus" I have rewritten the beginning several times and have been trying to figure out which direction I want to go with that.
On "NightCreeper", I have decided to change the genre from YA to Adult, because I can get more descriptive and can write it the way I think it should be.
On my superhero story, I haven't yet come up with an idea for the title yet, however I have come up with some of the content of my world.
On my D&D character driven story, I have a few ideas, but none fleshed out yet.
Now I return you to your regularly programmed forum.
Thanks
-Bryan-
I'm now reduced to the status of lurker for a bit until my schedule eases up a bit. Hopefully during the winter break I'll have a chance to resubmit "Olympus" (once again).