Writerly Ways

[cornerofmadness]

The end of the year tally -

114021 / 125000 words. 91% done!

Missing my goal by 9% isn't bad when you consider I sold three short stories and one novella this year. I see no reason to complain. If I hadn't had my surgery or the two new classes (neither event were known when I made my goals) I would have made it. I consider this to be a successful year.

You guys were the voice of reason in helping me set the goals for next year.

In short my GOALS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD 2012

1. Finish Splinters of Silver and Cold Iron and work on the beta (YA werewolf & fae murder mystery)
2. Finish Until the Ice Breaks and work on the beta (YA fantasy/mystery)
3. Edit Machiavelli Moon and do the parts that need rewriting (urban fantasy/mystery set in Deadwood SD)
4. Finish Riding with Strangers (Urban fantasy/mystery/erotica)
5. pick at Power to Endure, Beneath the Torn Sky, & Voluntary Nightmare
6. try to sell the elf erotica
7. work on short stories for the Scar anthology & Geek Love anthology

I'm aiming for 75K which is pretty much only 20K over nano. Easily doable. I think that I'll attempt the summer nano too in order to finish one of the open novels but I may be moving or having more surgery or cruising or something.

May 2012 be as good if not better publishing year for me.

So what are YOUR writing goals for 2012? Keeping in mind if any of the above stories strike your fancy and you want to trade beta jobs let me know.

Also if you want writing challenges findyourwords is taking sign ups for another few days. It's just a word count accountability site per week. gsd_rtfn is a daily one but no sign up cutoffs. origfic_bingo works like the fanfic bingo cards but for original fiction. picfor1000 one of my favorite challenges, once a year, using a picture to write a story of exactly 1000 words.

Comments

[enemytosleep]

You accomplished a TON and had some great achievements with stories sold! I like your 2012 goals, and I hope you'll be able to get these novels in ship hape and on shelves! \o/

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

thank you very much

[havocmangawip.livejournal.com]

GO GO GO! I love it when my fiction friends get PAID! It's so gratifying. Someday I'll get there, but first? GRAD SCHOOL!

GRE? WHY are you so fail and scary?

No matter, taking it!

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

getting paid is great.

I never took the GRE's (no I had the joy of MCAT's). good luck. I'm sure you'll do well. If some of my students can make it, I have no doubt you will

[havocmangawip.livejournal.com]

The MCAT is at least APPLICABLE to Med School... the GRE is a crappy test. (Coming from a Tests and Measurements/Curriculum and Instruction Geek.)

I'm learning how "normals" think through this test. Albert Einstein would probably FAIL it without sufficient test prep.

BUT, I have to do it, for Move Along, for my Miss Chloe. :) For Greg to have more EXPERTS in his corner.

We're going to change the world, one person or family at a time. (That's not being overly optimistic, it's a FACT.)

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

no the Mcats really aren't even that. it's tangential

good luck.you can definitely do it and achieve that goal

[seta-suzume.livejournal.com]

That's really impressive! Good luck with your 2012 goals!


...I never know what would be good writing goals for myself.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

thank you.

I guess it's all in what you think you might want to accomplish.

[helliongoddess.livejournal.com]

I am so awed both by the discipline you have to write so much, and that you manage to so so much original stuff AND get paid for some of it! All truly amazing in my book.

There were a couple of years where I know I wrote that word count or more (I know because there were three years I wrote lengthy 50,000 - 100,000+ length pieces, plus a lot of other stuff in the same year) but since.... 2009? .... my muse has been one slack-ass unreliable bitch. One of my goals for 2012, providing the world doesn't end and all, is to just write MORE, and more often. A certain amount of it is just a matter sitting my ass down in front of the computer, turning off the damn internets, and making myself DO IT. I probably should try something like dedicating at least one half-hour or hour a day to writing, no excuses.

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

thank you very much. It's easy when you have no other life outside of work.

turning off the internet is my key too. I need to do it more.

There was once a group that was 100 words a day. That gsd_rtfn group might help you and you can join any time. I'm thinking of reviving my group nanomowhinging

[helliongoddess.livejournal.com]

I was just a few minutes ago saying to someone else how much the timed challenge fics I did at one point for a (now defunct) saiyuki comm helped me when I first started writing, and how I should try to find something like that again, especially for the fandoms I want to expand into, particularly FMA and Bleach.

Do you know if there is anything like that for FMA, where once a week (or at some interval) they post a prompt - I guess timed or untimed doesn't really matter, but the timed ones were good for me, because they forced me to sit down and write it all at one go, and keep it short (which is something I normally am not prone to do!)

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

yep fma_fic_contest does. Granted it is a contest but it's low pressure (mostly you're expected to read and vote if you play)

evil_little_dog does one. I think it's called comment_fic which is multi fandom.