• What were your goals last week and did you accomplish them?
• Describe what you worked on.
• Set goals for next week.
• Did you learn something during this week?

Here is a list of things that you can do each week as we work on our novels (suggestions welcomed).

• Writing on a novel
• Characterization
• World Building
• Relevant research

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Last Week's Goals

I was only able to write around 1,000 words last week, far short of completing chapter 7. I did get writing done so I can be happy about that at least.

My goals for next week:

• Finish chapter 7
• Analyze my goals

I will continue setting the goal for a chapter each week for now. However, I may need to evaluate my weekly goals. I have not done very well at all for the last several weeks.

What did I learn this week?

When I bought this laptop I thought it would be nice to write in bed before going to sleep. However, I unfortunately found that going to sleep became too much of a temptation too frequently. I found that I would quit writing earlier than before when I used my desktop computer located in my office. So, I may have learned the hard way that I need a more formal environment to write (rather than a more relaxed one).

The second thing I learned this week is that I just need to get the novel written and not be so concerned about getting the right words, at least for the first draft. I can be a perfectionist and this causes problems because I will sit at the computer thinking of the best way of describing the scene. What I need to learn to do is simply write the scene and move on. I hope that experience and practice will help me subconsciously determine what words to use. For now I just need to write. In the past when I did that I could get well over 1,000 words written in a session that way (2 hours or so).

Conclusion

I may need to determine what goal to set for each session because trying to write a scene each night is not always possible and that may be discouraging me. I don't know whether I will set a word count goal or a time duration goal. Either way, since every scene is different, I cannot always finish one scene in a single session.

Here's to hoping for a better week.

Last Week's Goals:

Dreamer's Rose: Chapters 4 and 5.
No. I did finish chapter 4 last night. It's a very rough draft, but then this is the first draft.

The Shaman's Curse Query and Synopsis:
Yes. I went through the critiques I've recieved. I think I've done what I can on these, at least for this go round.

The Ignored Prophecy: Continue the chapter exchanges and revisions.
Yes. In fact, this is what I've spent most of my time on. But I'm very pleased with the progress.
Apparently adolescent Lerian (Dreamer's Rose), even though he's a demi-god, is no match for Vatar (The Ignored Prophecy). Maybe that will change when I get through the next few chapters.

The Fairy's Kiss:
No. Didn't touch it.

All in all, I'm quite pleased with what I've done this week and that's the main thing.

Next Week's Goals:

Dreamer's Rose: Chapters five and six. Five should be easy, because I don't think the previous version needs very much change. Six will be a little trickier. I'll be moving into entirely new territory.

The Shaman's Curse: Start sending out queries again. I'll set a goal of five queries sent. Current status still stands at fourteen sent, eight rejections, and six I haven't heard back from.

The Ignored Prophecy: Continue chapter exchange and revisions. This part is fun. The story is in place and I can play with new scenes and revisions. The chapter exchange is helping me find a lot of holes where I inadvertantly assumed things I'd established in The Shaman's Curse. Thanks Natej11.

Goals from last week:
1) WotF stuff - I got some critiques done, and am going to send out my own draft after I finish this post.
2) Write the next chapter of SB - I finished the current chapter, which I guess counts.
3) Scribble down misc. ideas - I tweaked and edited a few stories that I've been meaning to get to, but just haven't had time.
4) Find my power cord - I can now use my laptop again, which is very nice.
5) Watch the new HP movie - It was research. Really.

Current: Continue my SF studying and researching.
Goal: no set word-count-based goal, just keep at it.

Wow, have I ever run across an interesting issue. No doubt, I'm over my head on this one, but the learning and the discovering has been a blast.

Current: Increase workload on my "main project"
Goal: Produce more than I did last week.

Bwahahahaha! Define produce more.

Actually, I'm still making forward progress, so I'm happy.

Current: Continue ironing out the Order of Events for my mainstream novel
Goal: Notice I didn't use the word complete. Any forward progress on this story will make me happy.

Plenty of happiness here.

UPCOMING WEEK

Current: Revise the "Metzgerhund Empire" synopsis, as needed.
Goal: I've reminded myself that this is the first time I've written a cover letter / synopsis for a novel. With that in mind, this goal will take as long as it takes. Too bad I've got the patience and the attention span of---ooooooh, the ice cream truck! Bomb Pops rock!

Current: Continue my SF studying and researching.
Goal: no set word-count-based goal, just keep at it.

Current: Increase workload on my "main project"
Goal: Produce more than I did last week. Any future results cannot possibly be any more screwed up than what I churned out last week. And, you would think I'd know better than to make statements like that.

Current: Continue work on my mainstream novel
Goal: Order of events, character sketches, actual scenes...whatever I'm in the mood to work on.

This week: Keep on working on completing the first draft of WC so I can stay ahead of the chapter exchange. Good enough for me.

I completed a first draft of the plot for my novel. Though nice to get to this stage, the plot resolution is, well, lame. Now, I have the same problem with playing chess: I might wipe out the opponent's pieces but don't know enough endgame to be able to quickly declare checkmate. But back to the plot: at least now that it exists it can be massaged into something more interesting.

I also came to the realisation that I want to work in a theme inversion in one of my characters, and in a couple of other places reinforce the theme through subplots that help echo the issue faced in the main story.

So that's the rest of the week - as well as tidying up the character sheets and doing a little research - before starting the actual writing in August, with or without a completed plot.

World Building: Finish drawing a plan of the MC’s house –

I finished drawing what I needed of the MC’s house--the first and second floors, excluding some details of the servants’ quarters. An image of the basement is firmly ingrained in my head and the third floor doesn’t play a significant part in the story (as far as I know), so I didn’t bother with those. I couldn’t reproduce the floor plans I’ve envisioned for the past year, because my visions disregarded fireplaces and other necessities for a New England home built in the early 19th century. Fortunately, my image of how furniture and other decorative items fit in the rooms works with the new floor plans.

Planning: Outline chapters 4-6 –

I finished outlining chapter 4 and started chapter 5. To determine what else happens through chapter 6, I must starting writing chapter 5 or focus more on character building. This version of the story includes new characters I haven’t profiled in detail, and those characters are creating uncertainty in the steps between major scenes. For example, the actions of one character (N.S.) have become a major source of tension, but in the earlier version, his opposition to the relationships of the major characters was simply an annoyance. A new sub-plot is developing, and I don’t yet understand what effect it will have on the main plot.

Planning: Complete scene and sequels worksheets for chapter 4 –

Accomplished.

Story Writing: Start drafting chapter 4 –

Accomplished. I’ve drafted two and a half scenes for chapter 4.

Next Week’s Goals

• Story Writing: Complete a draft of chapter 4 and start chapter 5
• Characterization: Complete a new character profile for N.S.
• Planning: Complete scene and sequels worksheets for chapter 5
• Research: Decide in which towns the characters reside and start compiling (or adding to) notes on those specific areas
  

Lessons Learned

Hmm… what have I learned? Remembering whether or not I’ve learned anything is always a challenge for me. When I learn something, I don’t categorize that new information in a special file in my mind; it’s mingled with everything else I know...

I guess the biggest lesson was that a character can kill the flow of a scene by saying or thinking something completely irrelevant. It’s worse than if an actor on stage were expected to say “You destroyed my sister!” and instead said “Did you hear the bluebird outside? I think I’ll go look for it.” It’s worse, because I’m not sure what the actor’s line was, only that the conversation is meant to erupt into an argument about the sister.

I stopped and flailed around for a while more than once this past week until I found an appropriate line in each situation. The second part of the lesson was to keep experimenting until the scene flowed again. Ignoring the scene doesn’t get me anywhere.

(Of course, I already knew all this. Another reason I don’t remember what I learn each week is that I’m usually re-learning lessons. I’m just dense sometimes.)

I think I accomplished my first goal, although I just thought of another scene I might want to add.

My second goal, however, was not accomplished. I'm about 2/3 through the scene so far. Part of the reason I haven't finished is that I have a paper due for my summer research program, and I've been working on that. Which isn't really a bad thing, I guess. It's just not nearly as interesting.

I've learned that I need to keep a character's goals and feelings in focus when I'm writing, otherwise I get really bored and I'm sure the reader would get bored as well. Of course I had read this advice before, but knowing something and learning something are very different, aren't they?. Ooo! That's something I learned too.

One - Sometimes I just have to start writing. I had time and a little energy only one night this week and I sat staring at my computer having already read hatrack, checked all my e-mails and facebook. I finished all my stalling and procrastinating and only actual writing was left but I wasn't inspired or motivated and I was tired. Instead of calling it a night and going to bed I just started writing and I managed to get out around 900 words, pretty good for me in one night. I wasn't all bad either. Well, it wasn't great but there were things I could work with.

I struggled a bit this week, rewrote the first scene five times, but now I really like it although it is far from perfect. I feel that I am starting in the right place with the right POV, which was something that I had a hard time deciding.