Planning For 2016

2015 was a huge fail. I had a lot of plans but I didn't leave any room for changes in my plans. This is where I tend to go wrong. I bite off way more than I can chew. So, in 2016, I plan on taking it easy. I'll just work on getting these goals in one at a time rather than having huge plans for myself.

• Write one whole novel series (first draft only) - There should be about 5 novels total. I need to do a lot of planning when it comes to this series but I think it's something I can do in December.
• Edit District Pluto Series (to the second draft) - I don't want to try to do too much so I'm sticking to the low end here. I'm already on the third story and I know that the last two are going to need a lot of reworking. If I happen to finish the second draft of all the the stories, then I'll work on the next edit. 
• Read some books - No set goal for this and I don't have plans for writing reviews for this unless I really feel like it. This year, my reading was on a low end of the spectrum, I plan on reading at least 10 books this year. 

My ultimate goal is to maintain some kind of balance. My work life is getting very busy. I just started a full time job 3 months ago at a daycare and my hours aren't always consistent. On top of that, I'll be going back to school to get my bachelor's degree.

It's going to be a busy year. I plan on trying to make it all work out. But the first thing that I need to do is plan out the 5 novels I want to write. I have a lot to do by the end of December.

Poetry

Poetry

How do you feel about poetry? Do you write any? Do you see the significance of it or do you think it's a waste of time?

Bonus: What is your favorite poem?

I don't mind poetry but it's not something I enjoy writing. I have a hard time writing it for some reason. For those of you who can write it, good for you. I find that poetry is a way for a lot of people to find emotional release.

It might not be something I like to write but I don't think it's insignificant. Everyone has different styles and there are some poems that I really like. I couldn't name them right now but there are a few that I didn't find dull as hell while sitting in English class. I don't go out of my way to read poetry. If it's there, I'll read it but it's not something that immediately grabs my attention.

Archetypes

Archetype
It’s said that there are only so many plots in the universe and all novels/stories are a twist on them. What about for our characters? Can you pinpoint your current main character’s archetypes? How do you feel about the concept of archetypes? Do you think your character is a blend of a few or one steadily - or unique in their own right?

Bonus: Let’s see your interpretation of your character as the epitome of their archetype. Write us a sample or draw us a sketch

I'm behind! This prompt was for April.


Almost every character falls under at least one archetype. The writer might not realize it but there are some traits a character shows that will cause them to fall under such an archetype. It's not particularly a bad thing. Just because it's categorized doesn't mean the character feels like every other character of that archetype.


My current main character is definitely categorized as a reluctant hero. Though she could fit under few other categories, it's the best she identifies with at the moment. As I said before, even though she falls under a reluctant hero, doesn't mean she's like every other character who shares this archetype. There are aspects about her that make her different, as it should be for every character.

Progress Update: Getting Somewhere

So far, I've been doing really well. I'm on top of most of my projects this month. I'm almost done editing The Morality Sentence. It's going much better than I hoped. I think I wrote this one really well and it's one of my favorites so far.

I'm currently writing the Escapist (temp. title). I have about 10k written in the novel so far and it's getting into the interesting and fun stuff.

I'm doing well with keeping up a schedule. Though, I haven't been good with these blog posts. I was going to post the Blogging Circle prompt last week but I didn't finish it.  I should try to work on that soon. And once I get everything set up, I'm going to show off my writing planner. It doesn't sound exciting but it's keeping me on track of everything. I can't keep track of anything on the computer because I tend to ditch it after a while. My planners are always around.

Anyway, this is my really quick and random update.

Progress Update: First Edit

It has happened. I finally finished editing the first draft of the Sacrificial Son. I'm not sure if it's going to be called that but that's the title I have now. It will be what I'll call it until I figure out another name for it. Anyway, it's finished. I'm letting it settle for a moment before I go through it again.

I already know there are scenes that need work. Mostly the ending scenes. They are important to the story since it introduces a much bigger plot that encompasses the series. This editing process was a journey. I'm still trying to figure out what works for me but there are some things that I find really help. I'll be sharing them in another post later down the road.

For now, I'm going to continue planning my new novel The Escapist. That is also a temporary title. I only picked that because it was the only thing that fit for now. I don't have all of the details worked out yet so the title is more than likely going to change. As far as planning goes for this novel, I think I figured out a fair bit but not enough to get started yet.

Planning Notebooks

When I first started writing I never really cared about what kind of notebook I used when it came to planning. That was until I started getting annoyed with the smallest things that made me ditch the notebook all together and try to find something else. I tried keeping my notes on a computer but that didn't last long at all. I didn't realize how picky I was until I found the notebook that worked for me.

I went through a lot of phases. The regular A4 notebooks that are always on sale and even when they aren't, they are still really cheap. They were too big and I ended up bending the spirals because I tend to carry around some heavy things that squish them.

A5 journals are generally what I like to go for. They are the perfect size to fit in almost any bag and the hardcover versions are durable. I'm not talking about the spiral bound ones but the perfect bound. They don't have spirals that I have to worry about and they just hold everything I need in them just fine.

There are a variety of these kinds of journals. Moleskine. Ecosystem journals. Piccadilly. Piccadilly is my favorite and currently, they sell for a decent price. These journals are just for novel planning or for when I plan out a short story series.

There are some saddle-stitched journals that work just as well for the more smaller pieces I work on. Some short stories that I write that are stand-alone stories tend to fit these better than a full sized journal. Again, the a5 journals are the size of choice. They are much easier to carry that way.

Lately, with the saddle-stitched journals (even the stapled version), I've been adding them to my felt fauxdori my sister and I made one day. Though, I use my felt fauxdori for more journaling purposes than planning.

I can see how this method would be great for planning though. It allows books and other things to be added or changed out once they are no longer what you need. This could be perfect for when you are writing a huge series and need to split some things apart. It would help with organization. There is a definite advantage to having this as a planning method of choice. Also, it helps that the inserts are easy (and cheap) to make.

There are still several options I haven't tried yet. Eventually, I'll explore that but for now, I'm going to stick to what I have since that is my only option at the moment.

Progress Update: A Balanced Schedule

So, I haven't updated in awhile, which is usually when I disappear for months and pop up around October. I'm snapping out of that pretty early. But, sadly, I don't have any major plans for this month. I was going to join CampNaNo but I decided against it. I want to try to make a balanced schedule instead.

I'll still be writing and editing but I want to do it in moderation so I don't burn out quickly. That always seems to be my problem. I find that writing down a list of the tasks I need to do helps. I try to finish them as soon as I can but then I have a lot of free time on my hands, which isn't a bad thing but I tend to get in  the habit of procrastinating when I realize that I have plenty of time to finish my tasks. Eventually, I stop doing them.

So, making a schedule/routine that will stick with me for a long period of time will be helpful. If something comes up, that extra time will be helpful to move things around as needed.

It's still a work in progress but I hope I find a schedule that helps me be more productive.