• 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

Wow. It's been a while for me. The holidays kept me busy and I just disappeared.

Last week went well. I only got about 2,000 words or so written but much of the work I did was to reorganize and revise the first 18,000 words of my novel. I now have contiguous scenes starting at the beginning to the inciting incident. I'm letting myself consider that progress.

My goals for next week:

• Improve scene details
• Write detailed scenes

At this point I'm just writing the scenes I have outlined so far. Every now and then I need to improve the details I have for each scene before I write it but I'm trying a new tactic.

Once I have a basic outline I think I should just start writing rather than trying to get every single scene detail completed first. So far it's working. I can always delete a scene that does not work or revise it later. It's better to at least be writing than outlining. Maybe. I'm still discovering my process.

What did I learn this week?

This week I suppose I learned a couple things. First, I'm still trying to discover my writing process. Outlining versus Discovery. How much outlining before writing? And so on. Second, I need to build up the discipline to write consistently. I'm allowing my wife to read what I write now. This is a huge step since I am a perfectionist. For some reason she likes what I've written so far. Since I'm focusing on the story only in this first draft that's fine. Characterization, setting, etc. will come in later drafts. Having my wife read the work gives me accountability. Whether she's correct that the writing is good is less important than giving me that accountability and forcing me to write. I'm hoping this will help

I hope everyone here is well. Take care.

Last Week's Goals:

On the Shelf:
THE SHAMAN'S CURSE
THE IGNORED PROPHECY
BLOOD WILL TELL

DREAMER'S ROSE: Get back to the rewrite of this.
Yes. I can't say I've gotten very far, but I have gotten back to it.

MAGE STORM: Finish polishing the synopsis and the query letter. Send the first queries out.
Yes. Five queries sent, one rejection, and one request for a partial.

SEVEN STARS: Continue working out the idea until it's ready.
No. Didn't really work on this at all.

OTHER:
Update my blog twice a week.
Yes.

Next Week's Goals:

On the Shelf:
THE SHAMAN'S CURSE
THE IGNORED PROPHECY
BLOOD WILL TELL
BLOOD WILL TELL will get a few new readers next month. Then we'll see about that one.

DREAMER'S ROSE:
Finish up this chapter finally.

MAGE STORM:
Send five more queries out.

SEVEN STARS:
Continue working out the idea until it's ready.

OTHER:
Update my blog twice a week.

quote:

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It's good to be back, especially since I can report that I actually did some writing.

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That's Good... Always nice to do some writing.

Now to my writing:

It's pretty much the same as last week. Except I did no work on New Mage. I've been placing that last on my list of things to do so I've not been getting to it,, well except for the last three nights were I've been mostly working on redoing chapter one of "Bright Lights and Chaos" for the chapter exchange.

I did do some work on "Storm Born". My MC is in the middle of getting a rebuke and what may or may not be prophecy. It will provide him a clue to where the bad guy is even though it should take him at least a chapter to recognize that, at the same time the comment will help with the relationship with his now ex-fiance but that won't come until the very end.

My goals for next week are to finish the revision of chapter one of Bright and to work on New Mage. I need to put her in a life and death situation again not sure what though... oh yeah the near rape. I need to figure out how the guy drugs her though. Maybe using magic to transport the drug into her system but she should be able to sense that. And she wouldn't let this guy anywhere near any food and drink she has. Something different would help.

Anyway: I don't know if I should include this here but other hatrackers have added something that didn't have to do with the topic to answer a question.

There are quite a few workshops around. Dean Wesley Smith is doing a few this year. Odyssey has one, Clarion has one. And a bunch of others. All have good reviews from the people who attend. I could go to one of Dean's if it's still open but there's a personal problem I have to overcome and to decide if I really want to go to that one.
I wouldn't mind going to OSC's if he is still doing it this year. The same problem goes with that one though plus I have one other to overcome. If it's not full I would have to be accepted.

here is a link to Dean's but if any interests you check to see if they are full or not.

I could go to another one of Dean's workshops even though he thinks I shouldn't. It involves a lot of intense writing and I guess he thinks I'm not up to it.