This is it! This is the first post of the tenth anniversary year for StoryADay! Expect big things for the anniversary this May!!
In the meantime, 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
- Write a story a day in May – everyone!
- Revise at least 10 short stories – Iraide
- Write two short stories. – Jami
- Attend one writers’ conference – Julie
- Write fable for WordFactory competition – Sonya
- Re-read the backstory pieces I wrote in May and see if I can use them within my novel – Monique
- Research the market – Jami
- Focus on my serial – Maureen
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!)
Last month I started my winter theme story and wrote not every day as I planned but much more consistently!
This month my goal is to finish first draft of winter story and write 3 articles for my school paper.
1. Write on seven days this month (not including my weekly writing class).
2. Enter Morgen Bailey’s 100 word story competition for February. https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/100-word-free-monthly-competition/
I wrote on seven days in January. I entered the NYCMidnight short story competition, and Morgen’s competition, too.
Reflection
1. I didn’t work on poetry in January. My old novel project was on my mind.
2. Thanks to the stack I bought from infostack.com. The software is called Novel Factory. The company did not pay me to advertise it here. I’m giving it props here because it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. It’s both a learning tool and a place to put all the pieces of the novel writing process. It can also be accessed using the Web browser on any platform, including mobile ones, so I can keep track of my outline, write scenes, gather research, keep track of my word count and keep records of my submissions all in one place, wherever I am. The software is available through a subscription service, and the downside is that it is quite expensive, but so far the cost seems more than worth it. It offers templates and examples for all different genres, including short stories You can find out more about it by googling The Novel Factory.
3. Using the software, I drafted an outline for a novel that I tried to write panster-style in the past.
4. My blog post this month wasn’t as long as it is sometimes, but I did post about my publications.
5. At the end of the month, I began an essay advocating for the publication of more poetry e-books so that poetry collections will be more accessible for people with disabilities.
February 2020 Goals
1. Finish the poetry accessibility essay.
2. See if I can submit it somewhere for publication.
3. See what research I can get done toward answering the historical questions I have relating to my old novel idea.
4. Draft an outline for my Snow White retelling.
5. Publish a blog post.
6. Read at least one essay, one poem, and one short story per week. I’d like to read a lot more than one per week.
I actually managed to write about 6 complete stories this month, so that was good.
For February, my goals are:
Finish FTH fics (which I again neglected)
Do femslash February (try to do it the whole month)
Get my outline of my bio in for Anthology project done
Stay sane with work
Hopefully, I will accomplish all of these, but if not, I’m not going to beat myself up about it.
I achieved my January goal of joining a local writing group and it was a huge step for me to share my work with strangers, many of them published authors. I did it and really enjoy the experience. I edited my four stories but I was still not happy enough with them to enter any competitions. I am in the process of getting some shelving to help store my ‘writing stuff’ so hopefully I’ll feel more organised soon. Still not sure how to categorise the work at various stages. I seem to have so much. I have subscribed to The Writing Magazine.
FEBRUARY GOALS
To write every day for at least an hour.
To complete my four stories I’m currently working on and send them off somewhere!
To extend my reading and to read with a ‘writers eye’.
Begin editing another of my longer stories.
Great progress Wendy. Forward momentum and creating those habits that keep writing in your life. Go you!
Hello! Looking forward to the 10th anniversary of StoryADay. You’re a legend, Julie.
So. Fam and I found a city place, so we’re moving back starting Monday.
That said, I pitched an article, and I’m working on another one.
Let’s see how the change of scene helps my productivity!
Thanks Lorna! Been thinking about you. Good luck with the move. Excited for you.
Hi, all,
I started this year by renting a writing space and re-scheduling my job so I could treat finishing my novel as a part-time job. I am incredibly privileged to have been able to do this (it would have been impossible for me even a year ago).
My January goal was to re-write/edit the first half of the novel and I’ve done that. I have about 6 more days at my current rate to finish this pass of the novel. (For anyone interested: 73 hours over 13 days, 98 200 words (edited/written). The novel was 77 000 words to begin with (too short for SF) and is now ~120 000.)
February’s goal is to finish this pass; re-read the whole thing and identify remaining larger issues (and figure out what I’m going to do about them) and begin the next pass (last or last but one).
Good luck, all.
Fabulous, Monique!
You’re an inspiration!
February 2020 goal: write 10,000 words