3rd Quarter 2019 Writing Goals

Reading, Writing
Image of hound dog

I do quarterly goals instead of monthly or yearly goals. Three months is long enough that I can keep an eye on my overall vision, and short enough that I can regularly evaluate and make adjustments when life throws a curveball.

The thing about having a blog is you can stick your goals and your wins/fails out there for all to see, so it helps keep you accountable. Here I am being accountable for the goals I set last quarter:

Second Quarter Goals, Wins & Fails:

Mentorship!

1. By the end of April, polish first 5000 words of Manor House. I will submit this sample writing to the Horror Writers Association in hopes of entering their mentorship program.

DONE! I got a writing mentor from the HWA! Awesome! (I would say who it is, but I’ll respect her privacy.)

2. By the end of May, complete first edit of Manor House.

Done!:-)

3. In June, attack (like an animal, grrrr!) whatever assignment my mentor gives me.

Done. Lordy, I learned a lot about how ghost stories start, especially the difference between literary haunted house stories and commercial fiction haunted house stories. Which means I went back and changed the beginning of Manor House and changed characters, and that rippled through the rest of the book . . . it’s like rewriting the whole darn thing. But when Kelly Martin (the talented, prolific author of Trinity Row plus a whole bunch of other books) said her first book took NINETEEN versions to get it right, I didn’t feel so bad.:-)

4. Make deep, focused work a daily habit.

This was a win for me, but it’s still really hard. I have to turn off every frickin’ audible and visual notification, no dings, popups, or trills. And no background music, TV, or scrumptious plate of cookies.

Fail.

5. Outside of my WIP, study the craft three hours per week.

Fail. It’s hard to squeeze everything in time-wise. I think it’s important to keep learning, though, so it’s going back on my goal list for third quarter.

6. Read through my already-bought TBR and attack my to-purchase (or borrow) TBR as practicable.

I made progress . . .

And now, my third quarter 2019 writing goals:

1. Finish this new draft of Manor House while telling myself it’s okay even if I have to do 16 more drafts.

But what does this have to do with my DOG in the feature image of this post? Nothing. I just love my dog.

2. Do whatever other writing assignments my wonderful writing mentor suggests.

3. Research China and bugs for my November Nanowrimo book.

4. Read through my already-bought TBR and attack my to-purchase (or borrow) TBR as practicable.

Shirley Jackson was rather verbose.

5. Study the writing craft three hours per week. (This week I’m studying the narrative voices of various authors. Shirley Jackson was rather verbose, but not in a bad way.)

I wish you the best on your writing goals!

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42 thoughts on “3rd Quarter 2019 Writing Goals”

  2. Your dog is definitely handsome – understood about making him the cover photo. 🙂

    I’m fascinated with both China AND bugs. I’ll be interested to see what you come up with for a NaNoWriMo project.

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  10. Hmmm, this is most interesting, Priscilla. I don’t set writing goals quite like this. I set book goals, more or less. I am currently aiming to finish my dystopian novel and I have stories in two more anthologies coming out this year as well as my own horror novel, Through the Nethergate. I am still genre experimenting as this goes with my endlessly moving character and mind.

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    1. I think we all learn from other writers by way of their books. I speed up and read fast on books that I don’t think are so good so that they don’t stick around in my head, and I slow down and “listen” to the wonderful books. Thanks for commenting, Butimbeautiful!

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  12. Congratulations on the mentorship!
    And take away everything but the cookies.
    And one more – I admire that you make goals and stick to them. Do the 16 drafts, you’ll be amazed how the first and the last compare (when you think that they’re still the same).
    Good luck keeping your next quarterly.

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  18. Oh… China and bugs for Nano huh?!! How interesting! I’m outlining a new project too a YA post apocalyptic/Magical Realism/SciFi about the last observatory on a devastated earth 🙂
    A mentor! That’s so fantastic! I had the goal of finding a mentor in 2017 but got sidetracked I should look into it again! Maybe with this new project. So proud of you for winning a mentor and working so hard with her! I don’t think I’ve ever read a literary horror! Unless… Is Poe literally horror? Would you recommend one? I’d love to try it! It must be fantastic!

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    1. The last observatory on a devastated earth . . . the characters are in dire straits no doubt! Sounds good.

      Poe is totally literary horror. Shirley Jackson’s House on Haunted Hill, too. And more modern authors like Michael Barsa’s Garden of Blue Roses and Andy Davidson’s In The Valley of the Sun. Those sorts of books aren’t everybody’s cup of tea, but I love ’em!

      Thanks for stopping by, Daniela!

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  19. This has definitely inspired me to be more attentive to my to-do lists!

    By the way, I laughed when you commented about this post’s feature image, your dog, who has nothing to do with this post. Gotta love our fur babies! 🙂

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