Jessaca Willis's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-goals"
NaNoWriMo- What's That?
I'm so glad you asked! NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, an initiative to help writers write an entire book in one month!
Each year, there are a few different NaNoWriMo's, and this is the second one 2019 has seen so far. I spent the last one (I believe it was March) writing a new book in a new series because I like to alternate between projects. But now that that mysterious book has been written, it's time for it to take the back burner while I edit book 2 of The Awakened Quartet, Puppets Dream, which just so happens to be my NaNo goal this month.
I wrote Puppets Dream during another NaNoWriMo event a few years ago, so it is ready to be under my knife—erm, pen!
My goal is to edit all 105 thousand words so that I can get it off to an editor by the end of the month.
To any other writers participating in NaNoWriMo this July, good luck to you in your writing goals this month!
Each year, there are a few different NaNoWriMo's, and this is the second one 2019 has seen so far. I spent the last one (I believe it was March) writing a new book in a new series because I like to alternate between projects. But now that that mysterious book has been written, it's time for it to take the back burner while I edit book 2 of The Awakened Quartet, Puppets Dream, which just so happens to be my NaNo goal this month.
I wrote Puppets Dream during another NaNoWriMo event a few years ago, so it is ready to be under my knife—erm, pen!
My goal is to edit all 105 thousand words so that I can get it off to an editor by the end of the month.
To any other writers participating in NaNoWriMo this July, good luck to you in your writing goals this month!
Update: Week One of NaNoWriMo
Yikes! Apparently, holiday weekends are like arsenic to writing goals. After taking just TWO days off from writing, I am already 8345 words behind schedule.
Gasp! Panic! Alarm!
Have no fear though, my only plans this week are to write! This book isn't going to edit itself after all.
For all the other writers out there participating in NaNoWriMo this month, how are you writing goals going so far? Let's keep each other honest and focused!
Gasp! Panic! Alarm!
Have no fear though, my only plans this week are to write! This book isn't going to edit itself after all.
For all the other writers out there participating in NaNoWriMo this month, how are you writing goals going so far? Let's keep each other honest and focused!
Always Set the Bar High
When I was a freshman in high school, I was in all advanced classes: AP English, AP Pre-Calc, AP History...but then I was expelled (that's a whole other story). I transferred schools and started attended an alternative school that prided itself on never giving any homework.
Suddenly, I became unchallenged. Because it was no longer required of me to study for hours to pass my tests, and because I had started working in an environment that catered your education to your own sluggish pace, I stopped pushing myself and started doing the bare minimum.
Now, I work in education, and someone once told me that if you expect your students to fail, they will. If you expect them to not turn in homework on time, then they won't turn in homework on time. And if you expect your students to excel, they will.
During my sophomore and junior year, the bar I set for myself was just to graduate with as little effort as possible.
The story of how I flipped my outlook on education and goal-setting is a good one, but tonight I'm using it as a metaphor for a different narrative: my July 2019 NaNoWriMo goal.
For those of you who don't remember, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a non-profit that hosts digital "camps" for writers and encourages folks to set daily writing goals to help them achieve their writing dreams.
For NaNoWriMo this month, I set the highest goal I've ever set: to edit 105,000 words, the entire word count for book 2 of The Awakened Quartet, Puppets Dream.
During the first week of NaNo, when I was editing the first few chapters of my book—chapters that have already been edited half a dozen times—my word count was flying! Minimal edits were needed because of an already polished manuscript, so I was cruising through page-after-page. I was well on my way to editing my full novel in July.
Then, come week two, editing became a slog. I got stuck revising chapter six, then chapter seven, and then eight. The story itself just wasn't as smooth as the previous chapters. Determination had me trying to push through though, desperate to reach my NaNo word count. But finally, I realized that editing had become challenging because the plot itself needed a makeover.
I took a couple of days off from editing to take a deeper look at the story. I created a chapter breakdown for the plot and took a closer look at my characters' story arcs. I even read some of the reviews that Blood Awakens received, to better ground myself in what my readers liked and what they expect to see in book two.
Then, and only then, was I able to return to the manuscript and begin editing again with integrity. And when I came back to it, I felt a renewed sense of purpose and fulfillment. I knew which holes needed to be filled, which scenes to be added or scrapped, and where I'd backed my characters into deadends.
I wrapped the month up by hitting just over 100,000 words.
So, did I reach my NaNoWriMo goal? Not exactly; not on paper. But did I reach my ultimate writing goal of polishing a manuscript so that I can produce quality novels to my readers? In every way that counts.
But this post isn't about me and my NaNo goals. During this month, I realized that had I set a goal of 40,000 I likely also would've just barely crossed the finish line. Had my goal been 10,000, I would've stretched out my editing time, until the night before the final date when I'd skate in at a cool 10,002 words.
I'm not writing this post to pat myself on the back. I'm writing it because I believe in the power of setting high expectations for yourself. I believe in knowing your comfort zone and challenging yourself to push past it. I believe in setting goals and working your ass off to achieve them.
So dream big, people. Because we are capable of incredible things if we don't set limitations on ourselves. <3
Suddenly, I became unchallenged. Because it was no longer required of me to study for hours to pass my tests, and because I had started working in an environment that catered your education to your own sluggish pace, I stopped pushing myself and started doing the bare minimum.
Now, I work in education, and someone once told me that if you expect your students to fail, they will. If you expect them to not turn in homework on time, then they won't turn in homework on time. And if you expect your students to excel, they will.
During my sophomore and junior year, the bar I set for myself was just to graduate with as little effort as possible.
The story of how I flipped my outlook on education and goal-setting is a good one, but tonight I'm using it as a metaphor for a different narrative: my July 2019 NaNoWriMo goal.
For those of you who don't remember, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's a non-profit that hosts digital "camps" for writers and encourages folks to set daily writing goals to help them achieve their writing dreams.
For NaNoWriMo this month, I set the highest goal I've ever set: to edit 105,000 words, the entire word count for book 2 of The Awakened Quartet, Puppets Dream.
During the first week of NaNo, when I was editing the first few chapters of my book—chapters that have already been edited half a dozen times—my word count was flying! Minimal edits were needed because of an already polished manuscript, so I was cruising through page-after-page. I was well on my way to editing my full novel in July.
Then, come week two, editing became a slog. I got stuck revising chapter six, then chapter seven, and then eight. The story itself just wasn't as smooth as the previous chapters. Determination had me trying to push through though, desperate to reach my NaNo word count. But finally, I realized that editing had become challenging because the plot itself needed a makeover.
I took a couple of days off from editing to take a deeper look at the story. I created a chapter breakdown for the plot and took a closer look at my characters' story arcs. I even read some of the reviews that Blood Awakens received, to better ground myself in what my readers liked and what they expect to see in book two.
Then, and only then, was I able to return to the manuscript and begin editing again with integrity. And when I came back to it, I felt a renewed sense of purpose and fulfillment. I knew which holes needed to be filled, which scenes to be added or scrapped, and where I'd backed my characters into deadends.
I wrapped the month up by hitting just over 100,000 words.
So, did I reach my NaNoWriMo goal? Not exactly; not on paper. But did I reach my ultimate writing goal of polishing a manuscript so that I can produce quality novels to my readers? In every way that counts.
But this post isn't about me and my NaNo goals. During this month, I realized that had I set a goal of 40,000 I likely also would've just barely crossed the finish line. Had my goal been 10,000, I would've stretched out my editing time, until the night before the final date when I'd skate in at a cool 10,002 words.
I'm not writing this post to pat myself on the back. I'm writing it because I believe in the power of setting high expectations for yourself. I believe in knowing your comfort zone and challenging yourself to push past it. I believe in setting goals and working your ass off to achieve them.
So dream big, people. Because we are capable of incredible things if we don't set limitations on ourselves. <3
UPDATE: Puppets Dream
As an author, you're not supposed to read your reviews, at least, a lot of other authors will tell you not to. Apparently, it can be discouraging.
But for someone like me, a masochistic perfectionist people-pleaser, I not only can't NOT read my reviews, but I read them regularly and reflect on how to make sure I'm giving readers what they want.
In a few of the reviews I've received for Blood Awakens, I've seen readers express excitement for the book and anticipation for the sequel—which is so exciting to hear! But behind their words, I sense there trepidation. They're thinking, "Here is a brand new author who released one book. Who's to say she'll ever release another, and who knows how long it'll take."
As a reader myself, I know the pain of waiting for the next book in a series you love. I picked up A Court of Thorns and Roses right when it first came out, so then I was stuck waiting that year for the next, then another year or so for the one after that. It's the hardest thing to do when you love a story and its characters!
So, in response to the trepidatious reviews I've read, I wanted to write a blog post giving my readers an update on Puppets Dream and the timeline I'm working with.
First off, you should know that Puppets Dream has already been written, so obstacle one: check! I finished writing it in 2017, but then went back to do a major rewrite of book 1, so it's been on the backburner a little while.
Currently, I'm in the process of correcting some of the major plot issues that I created by rewriting book 1, but things are honestly going smoother than I anticipated. My goal is to complete this revision by the end of August, so I can send it to my editor so she can work on it in September.
SIDE NOTE: While she has it in September, I plan on editing the other book I've been working on Soul of the Crow. My plan for this book is to send it down the traditional path of publishing though, so I anticipate a much longer process from ink to paper, so don't go getting your hopes up. BUT, I thought you all might like knowing regardless.
Once I get Puppets Dream back from my editor in late September/early October, then I will begin implementing the corrections she's made. Because October is such a celebratory month for me (we do 31 days of Halloween, plus it'll be my kiddo's first birthday), I expect to be editing all through October and November.
My goal is to finalize formatting in December so that the book can be ready to publish near the end of the month, or early January.
However, because as I mentioned earlier I am a perfectionist, and because I don't believe in pushing out a product that is less than perfect, if I feel as if I need more time to make Puppets Dream all that it can be, I do intend on extending this timeline, and I hope that readers can understand that. My ultimate goal is to write books that people will enjoy, and sometimes that might mean taking a little more time to make sure they're as close to perfect as they can be.
Thanks for reading, and since the weekend is right around the corner, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. <3
But for someone like me, a masochistic perfectionist people-pleaser, I not only can't NOT read my reviews, but I read them regularly and reflect on how to make sure I'm giving readers what they want.
In a few of the reviews I've received for Blood Awakens, I've seen readers express excitement for the book and anticipation for the sequel—which is so exciting to hear! But behind their words, I sense there trepidation. They're thinking, "Here is a brand new author who released one book. Who's to say she'll ever release another, and who knows how long it'll take."
As a reader myself, I know the pain of waiting for the next book in a series you love. I picked up A Court of Thorns and Roses right when it first came out, so then I was stuck waiting that year for the next, then another year or so for the one after that. It's the hardest thing to do when you love a story and its characters!
So, in response to the trepidatious reviews I've read, I wanted to write a blog post giving my readers an update on Puppets Dream and the timeline I'm working with.
First off, you should know that Puppets Dream has already been written, so obstacle one: check! I finished writing it in 2017, but then went back to do a major rewrite of book 1, so it's been on the backburner a little while.
Currently, I'm in the process of correcting some of the major plot issues that I created by rewriting book 1, but things are honestly going smoother than I anticipated. My goal is to complete this revision by the end of August, so I can send it to my editor so she can work on it in September.
SIDE NOTE: While she has it in September, I plan on editing the other book I've been working on Soul of the Crow. My plan for this book is to send it down the traditional path of publishing though, so I anticipate a much longer process from ink to paper, so don't go getting your hopes up. BUT, I thought you all might like knowing regardless.
Once I get Puppets Dream back from my editor in late September/early October, then I will begin implementing the corrections she's made. Because October is such a celebratory month for me (we do 31 days of Halloween, plus it'll be my kiddo's first birthday), I expect to be editing all through October and November.
My goal is to finalize formatting in December so that the book can be ready to publish near the end of the month, or early January.
However, because as I mentioned earlier I am a perfectionist, and because I don't believe in pushing out a product that is less than perfect, if I feel as if I need more time to make Puppets Dream all that it can be, I do intend on extending this timeline, and I hope that readers can understand that. My ultimate goal is to write books that people will enjoy, and sometimes that might mean taking a little more time to make sure they're as close to perfect as they can be.
Thanks for reading, and since the weekend is right around the corner, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. <3
