Breakdown

On my personal blog today, I shared information about a group writing commitment, A Round of Words in 80 days. It is about defining our own goals in a way that keeps us balanced, but still achieving our goals. This event theoretically started 9 days ago (and ends on my birthday, June 23rd—YAY!), but I didn't learn of it until yesterday. I figure though, if we go to the end of June, that is close enough and coincides nicely with our own Burrow event (more soon)


The goals I set were these:

1)  finish 1st draft of 2nd Cozy Mystery (I am maybe half way)
2)  line edits and editor requested changes for first cozy mystery (this is a one week edit, then one week read through)
3)  REVISE (one of two) Legacy if Kahlotus stays in ABNA, Kahlotus if it doesn't
4)  Write a fresh first draft during BuNoWriMo (Burrow's WriMo in June which you will all be invited to take part in)

But I thought HERE, on Writing Wednesday, I would expand these goals into the actionables of how I plan to accomplish them.

For chronicity, lets just switch goals 1 and 2, because I am going to do #2 first. It is most manageable and I have a specific deadline on it.



Goal #2—Perfect Garden Cozy #1

Step 1: go through line edits from editor. This is a 5-day job, mostly a matter of accepting her suggestions. I will begin this tonight and go through Sunday.
Step 2: There were three points my editor asked me to tweak in a bigger way. I figure these are a day per change, as they require some actual rewriting.
Step 3: Read the whole MS to make sure any changes that had ripple effects get smoothed (one week)


Total: 15 days, so I will be done April 28th.




Goal #1: Finish writing 2nd Gardening Cozy

I am about 40,000 words in (half way). I can continue writing like I am now for the first five days (so 5000 words), then need the writing break for 3 days, then can get back to it again... 35,000 words in 3.5 weeks is 10,000 a week which means I need to increase my pace, but if I pretend it's a WriMo, it can be done.

Goal, done by mid May


Goal #3: For the sake of delusions, lets assume I keep going in ABNA with Kahlotus, so Legacy is my editing project. I have a reader with it right now who has given some FABULOUS, but sort of big feedback. She notes my 13 year old MC sometimes seems too mature. Now I have justified her behavior because I KNEW a girl with a mess of a mom who really did step up and act mature at 13, but I am going to alter some of the internal dialog so it is clearer part of this is an act or control issues that become ingrained because the OTHER person certainly isn't controlling anything. The second piece is that while my tension events keep ramping, they often come all the way back down... I have written successively bigger hills, when what I should have written is climbing a mountain... up, down less, up, down less, big up, little down... you get the picture...

I can begin a reading and marking while I am still doing the Cozy, then when the Cozy is done, I will begin to change the story,

I want this done by the end of May.


Goal #4: Write a book during BuNoWriMo

Step 1: Define BuNoWriMo for Y'all... Last year the Burrow, with our couple teachers for whom November is bad, and our nut (me) who thinks twice a year is better than once, decided to host a WriMo in June. We did it on Facebook, made badges and all... and had 108 people who participated. (I know, right?)--we were stunned and thrilled, and plan to do it again this year.

Now I've done 3 WriMos and won them all. I don't have any doubts on this front. But I DO need to see which book is nagging at me... I have a YA one I am thrilled with the idea on, but I also have a Sassy mystery (like a Cozy but more naked—yes, I made that up, though I've read one—Kerry Greenwood and her sometimes dominatrix MC)... I really want to write both this year, but I will need to see which feels closer to my heart in June.



So there you have it... my own personal breakdown *shifty*