Welcome to the Serious Writers’ Accountability Group!
Post your goals for this month and let us know how you got on with last month’s goals.
Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next month, then check back in on the first of each month, to see how everyone’s doing.
(It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)
Did you live up to your commitment from last month? Don’t remember what you promised to do? Check out the comments from last month.
And don’t forget to celebrate with/encourage your fellow SWAGr-ers on their progress!
Download your SWAGr Tracking Sheet now, to keep track of your commitments this month
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Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months
- Finish first draft of story and write 3 articles for my school paper. – Courtney
- Write on seven days this month – Clare
- Extend my reading and to read with a ‘writers eye’- Wendy
- write 10,000 words – Mary Lou
So, what will you accomplish this month? Leave your comment below (use the drop-down option to subscribe to the comments and receive lovely, encouraging notifications from fellow StADa SWAGr-ers!)
(Next check-in, 1st of the month. Tell your friends!)
October goals:
I did finish reading the text, but not doing the exercises (yet) in Save the Cat Writes a Novel. I did continue some edits on An Elemental Girl, and got my computer files transferred to my new computer, so I can really get into it now. Didn’t do my reread of YA Angst. Did submit for Critique Week, didn’t submit elsewhere. Did start working on identifying stories and places to submit, and organizing the information.
November goals:
Reread YA Angst, perhaps aloud.
Get a decent start on rewriting An Elemental Girl
Practice 2 hrs of butt-in-seat time for writing short stories, rewrites, etc. on Tuesday through Friday.
Journal or free associate or write idea blurbs Saturday through Monday, no fixed amount of time.
Take my Idea notebook and start an Idea File.
Be kind to myself and everyone in my sphere.
Last month I did the three-day short story workshop, which was great. I finished three stories in five days and had a productive consultation with Julie. I also had a 2-day writing retreat where I completed another short story. Each story is part of the memoir I’m writing.
November Goals:
1. First draft Edit of four stories
2. Finish watching Malcolm Gladwell Masterclass/Begin reading Outliers
3. Write twice/week – (up to 3000 words)
GOALS FOR NOVEMBER
* Write an article for our village magazine.
* Write daily story sparks.
* Read daily
* Assemble all the first draft chapters for my novel so far.
* Attempt to sequence the written first draft chapters of my novel.
* Identify gaps in my novel.
*Write a possible ending for my novel.
* Prepare a chapter of my novel to read at my writing group zoom meeting, which will be critiqued by the group verbally and by my tutor in writing.
October goals were:
– Complete 2 stories that are in process – One finished, other still refining
– Send out 5 stories. Sent 6
– Journal twice a week. Yes
– Read once a week (20 minutes) about writing & incorporate what I’ve learned into my writing. Yes
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November goals:
– Learn about flash fiction
– Write 5 Flash Fiction first drafts
– Finish 2 short stories
– Submit to 5 journals
– Journal X2 per week
In October, I successfully finished the book on a particular aspect of character development that I had hoped to finish reading.
I also wrote the Halloween poem I had put on my goals for the month.
By working for 30 minutes a day, I also settled on what personality types the main characters in my novel would have. Based on the enneagram personality types, I made notes about the strengths and weaknesses of each character.
Incidentally, I also voted early. I share this only because it was on my list last month.
My goals for November are:
Determine what the emotional wounds and character arcs are for the following characters:
Evelyn
Zeke
Miriam
Capt. Wiley – I think I have to go back and figure out the captain’s personality type. I didn’t work on him last month.
Spend at least 30 minutes a day working on this.
I also want to work on my proofreading online course at least 30 minutes a week.
My goal for October was to work my way through Damon Knight’s ‘Creating Short Fiction’, while writing a story of my own. This didn’t exactly work out. I spent most of last month outlining a story I eventually abandoned for being too complicated. Working on it did, however, prove an interesting learning experience. I’m way more a plotter than a pantser, so it was good for me to get back to doing some serious outlining. It’s an area of the craft I’ve been neglecting lately, to my own detriment.
That’s why, for the next few months, I’m going to focus on developing my process—on simple, but carefully planned stories that will, I hope, allow me to develop a reliable approach for creating solid, finished work.
For November, I’m going to take it easy and try my goal for October again. To outline and, at least, start writing a single short story.
Hi, all!
My goals for October were to finish a longer short story I’ve been working on and then return to my current novel. I didn’t finish the short story, but I did some work on it (and submitted part of it for critique week). It’s coming along well. The current novel has changed & changed again and ended up as a rather different, well-developed outline for Nanowrimo.
November is Nanowrimo. If I get anything more than that done, I will be very pleased (and slightly surprised).
OCTOBER GOALS ACHIEVED:
Checked in twice a week with my writing buddy.
Wrote five story sparks daily.
Wrote and read with a writer’s eye daily.
FAILED TO ACHIEVE:
NaNoWrMo prep. Somehow I couldn’t get into the way of working with the site. Trying to understand it sapped my creative energy. I know everyone loves it but at the moment I don’t click with it.
Entering competitions. I’ve become engrossed in my novel and decided to focus on that.
I felt I had tried to do too much at once ! A trait of mine 🙄🥴😊
Well, somehow I didn’t finish my Drawlloween prompts in time, but I’m going to finish them before the year’s out.
November:
1. Mini-NaNo! 100 words a day
2. Finish a ton of exchanges.
3. Try not to lose my mind
I’m pretty sure I’ve already failed at #3.