Beautiful People: Writerly Resolutions and Goals

You might (not) remember: back in November, I did a post called Beautiful Books. This is from pretty much the same link-up, except it’s called Beautiful People. Click below to get to the link-up on the blog of Cait @ Paper Fury (who is the soon-to-be majesty of the world). The title isn’t all that this blog post is about, and I’m really excited for the opportunity to elaborate on #TheProject.

What were your writing achievements last year?

Well, for one, I won NaNoWriMo for the first time ever and that was pretty awesome. I also started my journey from total pantser to plotter, which is something that is working well for me (though waiting to write is starting to get a little rough).

Tell us about your top priority writing project for this year.

My top priority project is currently The Project, which I’ve talked about a little bit before in a few different posts. However, I’ve decided to share something I recently drafted (and this is rough, so please keep that in mind): a fake jacket cover summary.

Amy is among the most recent of Sanguinex’s incognito superhero teams. When another team—not from Sanguinex—breaks into headquarters and steals… well, something, Amy re-encounters the best friend who left her behind years before. She and her team take it upon themselves to return the stolen item, but this turns into a greater issue of finding someone who may be dead and who, regardless, does not want to be found. This becomes especially challenging when Amy begins to doubt whether Sanguinex deserves her trust.

List 5 areas you’d like to work the hardest to improve this year.

1. Plot // This is, hands-down, my weakest area of drafting, and I think I’m on my way to improving, but I want to continue working on this as much as possible. I want to understand!

2. Consistency // Due to school and work, I sometimes don’t write for weeks or even months on end, and I’ve decided to put a stop to that. My current goal is to write for about 90 percent of days, which is going decently well so far.

3. Completion // I have this terrible habit of not seeing my writing through completion—through multiple drafts and edits and revisions and beta readers. I usually finish it and stop there—often, I don’t even finish it in the first place. I want to finish this draft and see it through to its logical conclusion, whatever that may be.

4. Editing and Revision // While I like to think I am decent at helping others in this, it is not a strength I have for my own creative writing. I want to practice this as much as I am able, and opportunities are about to present themselves.

5. Feedback // I want to get better at giving others creative feedback, but I also want to get better at taking feedback, especially harsh feedback. I don’t have a lot of practice at this, unfortunately.

Are you participating in any writing challenges?

I intend to participate in NaNoWriMo and, at minimum, one of the Camp sessions. The April one may be perfect for finishing up my first draft, actually.

What’s your critique partner/beta reader situation like and do you have plans to expand this year?

So, I recently got some wonderful feedback on the outline for The Project, but I am still in search of both of these. If you’re interested, you can contact me or fill out the form on the page for the Project.

Do you have plans to read any writer-related books this year? Or are there specific books you want to read for research?

I’m currently making my way through KM Weiland’s Outlining Your Novel and it’s really interesting so far. Other novels I’ll be looking at were recommended to me by the wonderful Ava Jae and include (but are not limited to):

Pick one character you want to get to know better, and how are you going to achieve this?

… how about all my side characters?

Personally, I’m fond of interviewing characters, but for side characters I might go a little simpler and just do short biographies.

Do you plan to edit or query, and what’s your plan of attack?

I plan on editing, yes. As I write, I’ll be sending my first draft to my instructor, alpha readers, and critique partners. At the end of the draft, I will take a break, hopefully work on something else, and return to reread and edit the MS in late summer early fall. I hope to be ready for second draft feedback by early December.

Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”  What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?

Say it with me now: DIVERSE GROUPS IN GENRE FICTION. Personally, I’m trying to be diverse in my writing, and I hope to find people to fact-check my representation.

What do you hope to have achieved by the end of 2016?

1. The first draft of #TheProject
2. Edit that first draft at least once.
3. Get feedback on that first draft.
4. Have a working plan for the next big thing ❤

 

Thanks for reading!
What do you think of this writerly meme?
I would love your answers to any/all of these in the comments!

 

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