Tag: stories
2020 two book goal
I’ve decided what my two stories are for my 2020 goal are. It’s the witch story and Tune In (landing page TBA). I’ve already got my prequel Jumpstart almost completed and are now working on the next book in the series. I have no idea where about the story will end, but I think I will have a lot of fun with it.
I’ve given myself the goal of writing 500-1000 words a day on either story so I can at least finish it. I have no idea how long either is and I’m mostly winging it by planning a couple thousand words ahead each time.
Writing Advice from Neil Gaiman | Discover MasterClass | MasterClass
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Prospect
I recently saw this movie and God damn, it’s world building is something I drool over. I wish I could have written this myself. The effort that has gone into everything is amazing. Everything about this movie is what a great story has, worldbuilding, dialogue, cinematography/scene progression. I will write something this good one day.
What value do you bring?
I’m re-reading ‘The Mental Game of Writing’ by Bell and there is a section about uniqueness. More specifically your uniqueness. He asks you three questions about what you bring with your work. They are:
- What do I do well?
- What can I do better?
- What are my unique ‘add ons’?
With me and my self-evaluation and comments from my close ones, I can say that the things I do well are worldbuilding and characterisation. I’m hoping that my plot and storyline are pretty competent as well. Things I can do better in regards to my writing is re-establish my writing routine, finish first drafts and start more marketing.
But what about my unique ‘add ons’?
What makes me different from other writers? I know that there is not another Stephanie out there, but no one can see that because I don’t market myself. I write a lot of novellas because I don’t pad my stories out, but my style is not like that of McCarthy’s The Road. I’m slowly making my way up to larger books because I’m training my brain to deal with larger projects. Maybe despite writing seriously for the last seven years I still have to refine my ability.
What next?
New year but just another common post about 2019 goals. I’ll be turning 29 in three months and I sure as hell don’t feel that old. But with the dawn of a new year and a looming birthday, I ponder what my new goals are going to be. I think I’m almost over my burnout, but my energies are scattered and I haven’t been able to focus them at any one project. I have a few almost ready, semi-ready and tons of uncompleted stories that I can’t stop thinking about.
But I have some vague goals that I want to achieve in the near future. They are;
- Have another story self-published by my birthday (March).
- Have a total of three stories self-published by the end of the year.
- Complete a total of five first drafts (I have many semi-completed first drafts).
On a side note, I’m planning on spending time in coffee shops while writing. In the past, I’ve only ever written at home because it was just my habit, that and I’m also quite cheap. Now I’m going to have to fork out a few pounds for some tea lol.
I haven’t created a hard deadline of when these goals need to be done, but I figured that I’ll wing it.
One month to go
There is just over a month left until 2019 and I’m no way closer to publishing another story. I was hoping that I’d have something ready by now. But alas it is all my own fault for not managing myself properly so that I could achieve my goals. Maybe I could achieve something in the next 30 days.
18 Months
I’ll be 30 in 18 months.
My current ultimate goal of pushing out 10 stories by this deadline is looking like it might not happen. Eeek! Damn my mortal flesh body, you had to go and be organic 😦 I honestly believe that if it were not for burnout then I would have pushed out two maybe three stories by now. I do not know when I’ll pick up the pen again.
But I can tell you that the next stories I will be publishing are; Save One, The Things We Do, and Jumpstart. These are the ones that are only a few drafts away from completion. I’m so close, but I just can’t make myself attend to them 😦
I haven’t really thought about what happens after I get ten books out there. Maybe I’ll start to develop more of a following (That’s a dream I have) without putting that much effort into it . . not likely. Maybe I’ll start a youtube channel, I’ve been thinking about it. Or I’ll just set another goal to achieve. I don’t have much skill in marketing and I’m quite a shy person.
I don’t know how I’ll feel if I don’t complete my goal. I’d imagine I’d feel pretty down. I mean, I’ve had years to complete it. Why didn’t I manage the circumstances to ensure that I completed my goal? What did I do wrong? But that is something I can manage at the moment.
Stephanie Haggarty 