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!)
I achieved my October goal of finishing the first draft of my serial story – Yay!
This month I’m doing a ‘relaxed Nanowrimo’ (if that can be a thing), where I’m not trying to write the novel, just flesh out the characters and explore the world, and maybe a plot outline.
I was busy yesterday ensuring my NaNoWriMo scribblings got off to the ‘write’ start. Today, I’m ahead so can comment.
My October plans were short and brief – having slippe up in September.
I posted my IWSG blog entry on Wednesday 2nd.
My WEP/IWSG entry was posted on time – October 16th – theme: Horrible Harvest.
I replotted my WIP in advance for the rewrite during November’s NaNoWriMo.
Anything else – shorts, reviews, or posts – is a bonus. – Nothing emerged, except my November 6th IWSG blog post done in advance.
November plans are shorter still:
NaNoWriMo – Fevered Fuel. My police procedural WIP revised.
IWSG Blog entry for November 6th – written and scheduled.
Hi, all!
I forgot to post yesterday. My October goals were to:
*finish my current WIP (a novella), and another short story
*blog
*as mentioned, going to Can-Con (SF/fantasy/horror convention here in Ottawa)
I did not finish anything (but did work on them), but I did a few blog posts (about the convention). The convention was awesome and I have lots of ideas for future stories.
For November:
*Nanowrimo (I’m being a rebel and doing several short stories plus finishing the novella)
*I’m taking an online class (https://writingtheother.com/deep-dive-into-building-inclusive-worlds/) that lasts all month (so far it’s great)
Good luck, everyone!
I am reposting my October goals because I did not achieve them.
I did achieve entering a poem in The National Poetry Competition (UK) though, so I am feeling ‘on track’.
NOVEMBER GOALS:
I aim to organise the stories I have begun so far. They are growing in number so I need a system!
Likewise, organise my character profiles so that I can build on them and continue to develop them into a useful resource.
The BIGGY for me:-
Get three stories ready to move with, probably enter competitions. Advice gratefully received.
Good for you. And yes organizing the stories is an issue once you begin writing more. Do you share what you come up with. It’s a struggle for everyone.
When I work it out I will certainly share my outcomes. I already store them digitally in folders but I am a ‘hands on’ worker and like to have hard copies. I’m thinking box files at the moment but am open to ideas!! X
I have made a start on organising my resources but it is harder than I thought ! Any tips gratefully received 🙏.
I have two stories ready to submit somewhere ! A competition or a magazine. Again any tips? Thanks!
Hi, Wendy–Here is a link to get you started:
https://www.authorspublish.com/20-literary-journals-always-open-to-submissions/
I’d recommend a free email subscription to http://www.authorspublish.com because they publish a lot of calls for submissions–short stories, full length manuscripts, poetry. Just FYI, I don’t have any personal connection to AuthorsPublish–just a subscriber.
Good luck!
Thanks Judy! Very grateful.
Well, I actually managed to do Drawlloween over October. Not every day, but I got them all done by yesterday, just not posted. I’ll do that this weekend.
I’m doing NaNo. I’m doing some exchange fics. I’ve got one day left to finish a 10,000 word story. But I can do this.
Congrats on getting through October. And yes I believe you can do it!
Reflection
In October, I wrote a blog post, an essay, and a drabble. I revised a flash fiction piece and a poem, and I’m working on revising another poem. The essay is the only thing I’ve had a chance to submit for publication. I haven’t always worked on writing for 40 minutes first thing in the morning, but I have done something writing-related for 40 minutes almost every day.
November 2019 Goals:
1. Publish a blog post
2. Write down three new things I’m grateful for each day, without repeating myself.
3. Revise and submit the poems I still have to revise and submit.
4. Stretch goal 1: Put the flash pieces I’ve written they relating to my novel in order on novelsuite.com
5. Stretch goal 2: on mornings when I’m struggling to bring myself to do one of the above, I’ll write a drabble using one of the prompts from this site: https://nancystohlman.com/flashnano/
I love these goals!
Last month I wrote every day. I focused on morning pages and some small stories when the mood struck me. I did get a chapter revised on the novel from last year’s NANO. I submitted it to a group and received some good feedback. Some other minor revisions occurred.
I was able to get some pieces out for submission. A few rejections have come in…waiting for the word on the others still.
This month is November. I have a lot of writing irons in the fire and am going to try to combine what I can.
-I will continue daily morning pages
-I will participate in my 30 day energy challenge
-I will write 2000 words a day for NANO
-I will participate in the Iowa class starting Nov 15.
-I will not lose my mind – except on the page.
Fantastic! That’s a busy month!
I fully intended to participate in NaNoWriMo again this year and even sketched out the first twelve chapters of a total re-write of a previously-published novel to which I received my rights back a couple of years ago. Though it received an “in-house” award, it just didn’t sell. Because I liked the premise, I decided to rewrite a (hopefully) better story for NaNo 2019.
So today is November 1, and guess what? I decided to be a NaNo dropout before I even started! Why? Well, I have a WIP as well as a research project I stumbled on a while back and had a chance to pursue while visiting my hometown in September. I do love a good mystery and can dig like a mole for information. In another life, I’d have been a detective–alas, that fell to my son who has made a career in law enforcement.
But too much is too much. I am old–retired–and entitled to do as I please! Therefore, out with NaNo and double down on WIP and the mystery of “Walking John” about whom I wrote a totally fictional short story for the September StoryADay.
Feeling free and excited! And–I’m off next week on a short writing/research trip just because my wandering feet get itchy this time of year!
Tammy and Lisa–you’ve got your plates full, and I’m betting you can do it! Good luck to you both!
Excellent. I’m glad you’re working on the project that excites you the most, Judy. And, I love my kids, but I am looking forward to them being out of school, so I can travel whenever the whim strikes!