Suzanna's Writing and Reading Goals for 2023

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It is that time of year where I make some new goals. Hooray! I absolutely love making writing goals.

While I did not quite finish unpacking all of the boxes from my move, I did make significant progress. I am hopeful that in the next two-ish months, I will not have a single box in sight because they will comfortably reside in the closet or the recycling center. I found a lot of surprising things (two booklets of stamps!) and stuff that I am embarrassed to share on the internet. Cough. Needless to say, not everything survived and might be in the landfill or recycling center.

Here are my writing goals for 2023:

1. Write 100,000 words in 30 days as part of a NaNo project (Camp in April, Camp in July, or NaNo in November)
2. Write at least one children's book in each category (board book, concept book, early reader, wordless, transition books, narrative nonfiction, etc.)  
3. Write at least one new short story.
4. Edit at least one short story from my undergrad days.
5. Write at least one new poem each week.
6. Put together a poetry collection.
7. Work on the draft for writing a nonfiction book about the day job.
8. Work on the draft of the graphic novel.

Of course as a writer, I also need to read.

1. Read at least 10 children's books in each category (board book, concept book, early reader, wordless, transition books, narrative nonfiction, etc.) and focus on one category each month and then rotate. 
2. Read at least one book of short stories each month. 
3. Read at least one book of poetry each month. 
4. Read at least one literary magazine each month. 
5. Read at least one nonfiction book regarding the day job each month.
6. Read at least one graphic novel each month. 
7. Read a total of 150 books in 2023. 
8. Participate in every Kindle Reading Challenge this year and get at least 90% of the badges. (The hardest one for me is the perfect month where you read every day in the month.)

What are some of your writing and reading goals for 2023?

June Update on 2022 Goals

  

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I posted in December 2021 some of my 2022 writing goals.

Six months into 2022, let's check my progress.

1. Unpack from the move. 

    Hooray! I have some boxes left to unpack. I am still figuring out how to organize my studio, and I have made significant progress in unpacking several stacks of boxes. Any tips on organizing paper? Marie Kondo and Clea and Joanna have been helpful, so I have been working through their systems to get myself organized. Labeling shoe boxes of art supplies was more satisfying than I anticipated. 

2. Get my writing office set up.

    Not exactly what I want my final set up to be, because making rainbow pen holders has been on the list for a while. It is nice to see my fountain pens again and get back into writing letters. It has been much too long.

3. Schedule bi-weekly write-ins with my people.

    Well, I have scheduled some write-ins with my people, but I was definitely not consistent. With the office set up, and adjusting to my new job hours, I hope to have more write-ins in the next three months.

4. Show up to scheduled write-ins.

    I showed up to the ones I scheduled. I have not been able to attend others that my friends have scheduled due to work schedule changes.

5. Sit down and plan what project I will tackle in the new year.

    I am definitely focused on working on my graphic novel project and a Beauty and the Beast retelling at some point this year. I am combing through my old NaNo projects to see what projects I would like to start rewriting and editing. The plan is to work on the graphic novel project during July Camp and then outline the Beauty and the Beast retelling, probably for November NaNo.

6. Plan my next NaNo novel. 

    In the works. My plan is to see what happens in July Camp, and start planning for my November NaNo project. I want to try Save the Cat, StoryGrid, and The Hero's Journey for July Camp, and then make a decision from there of how I will plan my November NaNo project.

7. (Maybe do Camp in April and July).

    Ok, I am going to be doing July Camp NaNo. So I will be working on my graphic novel. I did not participate in April due to switching jobs in April. 

8. Make writing a daily routine. 

    Not quite there yet. It will be easier to dig into a writing routine once unpacking and studio organization is more polished. In the meantime, I will write during the bi-weekly write-ins. 

What are your tips for organizing your writing spaces? Any special ways that you organize/sort/display paper, like writing drafts and rounds of edits?

Celebrating 2021 and Preparing for 2022

 

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Well, here we are, days away from saying goodbye to 2021 and saying hello to 2022.

I accomplished a lot of my career change goals, all the while dreaming of the good ol' days where I could write my morning pages daily, and then work on some poems, stories, novels, and graphic novels. With the major shifts in my life, 2021 did not see a lot of writing. I did complete NaNo successfully, which re-ignited my desire to figure out how to balance my career with my passion for writing.

First I need to unpack from the move. Get my writing office set up. Schedule bi-weekly write-ins with my people. Show up to scheduled write-ins. Sit down and plan what project I will tackle in the new year. Plan my next NaNo novel. Maybe even do Camp in April and July. But most importantly, make writing a daily routine again.

How was your 2021? What are you planning for 2022?

It's that time of year...Camp NaNo!

 I do not usually participate in Camp NaNo, though I have occasionally been able to work during April or July on a writing project. Camp NaNo is part of National Novel Writing Month and it differs from NaNo in November because you can set your own unique goals for Camp. If you want to write 30,000 words as a goal? Go for it! Since November NaNo was so successful as a motivator for grad school deadlines, I decided to try April Camp NaNo, even though it is my final semester with a goal of 50,000 words, because why not?

Some of my favorite writing tools for preparing for a month-long creative project:

No Plot? No Problem! By Chris Baty, as a reminder of the encouragement and cycle of the four weeks. I always struggle with week 2, so I try to bulk my word count during week 1 to offset the smaller word counts in week 2. I reread his encouragement before Camp and as needed for motivation.

I enjoy examining plot structure as a reminder of my outline and whenever I get stuck or do not know which scene to write with Save the Cat. Is this the Darkest Night? What is my B Story?

The Writer's Journey reminds me of my own life journey and the Hero's Journey can relate to the story's structure. Call, Ordeal, Return with the Elixir.

 

Story Grid is also a resource for story structure. I love reading books in the same genre and creating my own Foolscap. What scenes are vital to each genre? What are the reader's expectations? What are my expectations as the first reader?

So this time I will be rewriting Beauty and Beast, different from my November 2020 retelling. I am drawn to the characters and the story structure. Do you have a story that you retell? Which stories are you drawn to retell?

Are you participating in Camp NaNo? What are you working on?

Camp NaNoWriMo, Procrastinator's Edition!

How did everyone’s Camp NaNoWriMo go? Personally, I forgot about it entirely, although what with moving halfway around the world, I probably wouldn’t have had time for it anyway.

So…I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo this month! My goal is to prepare for this year’s November NaNoWriMo by writing a page of brainstorming ideas every day for my YA historical fantasy I’m calling Project Julie. So far, I’ve got five pages of ideas. For the most part, it’s just “what if X” and “I like the idea of Y” because the general idea for Project Julie is so new. Keeping the manuscript on a low simmer on a back burner in my mind has been really helpful, and I keep coming up with little ideas here and there. Hopefully by the end of the month, I’ll have enough started to get me going in November!

Did this slip anyone else’s mind? If you were on the ball and got some work done last month, how did it go? Tell me about it in the comments!

C is for Camp NaNoWriMo #AtoZChallenge

Operation Awesome's #AtoZChallenge theme for 2018 is... 

OA to Z! We'll be correlating our usual posts with the challenge letters, plus, each weekend, you'll get a chance to get to know one of our bloggers better.

C is for Camp NaNoWriMo, a writing event I look forward to twice a year! While I love regular NaNoWriMo, it's actually quite difficult to serve as a Municipal Liaison and write 50K words in a month. But during Camp NaNo, I get to sit back, set my own goals, and stretch myself a little. It happens every April and July, and there's still time to sign up this month if you want to join! I highly recommend it.

My goal this month is to finish the first draft of my WIP and begin revising it. I'm so close! I think the added push of Camp will help me devote more time to this book. My husband is defending his master's thesis this month, and I'm helping put on a major fundraiser for my kids' school. It would be easy to take this month off from writing. With Camp NaNo's help, I'm hoping to keep my head in the writing game.

Are you doing Camp NaNo this month? What are your writing goals?

Camp NaNoWriMo is coming!

If you've been reading our blog since last fall, you know that I love celebrating National Novel Writing Month in November. The official NaNoWriMo event runs from November 1st to November 30th, and the goal is to write 50,000 words of an original work of fiction during that time. It's definitely tough, and many people find it especially difficult to make their word goals the week of Thanksgiving in the US. But make it to 50K or not, the camaraderie is great.

In April and July, the NaNo group hosts Camp NaNoWriMo, a writing event where you set your own word count goals. In keeping with the camp theme, you get organized into "cabins" of 11 people, where you can message each other throughout the month and cheer each other on. You can be sorted into a cabin and meet new writing friends, or set up a private cabin with people you already know.

Last April, I set the goal of outlining a new WIP and writing the first 10,000 words. I was plodding along with that book, so in July I made my writing goal getting to 40,000 words. This time around, I have a complete MS that I need to finish first-round edits on. My goal is to get all 70,000 words edited by the end of April. I absolutely love the flexibility of Camp NaNoWriMo.

If you enjoy the spirit of NaNoWriMo in November, I highly recommend giving Camp NaNo a try.

First Drafts: Camp NaNoWriMo!

Today, I'm wrapping up our July writing tips on first drafts by talking about one of my favorite times of the year to hammer out a first draft: Camp NaNoWriMo!

For those of you for whom November means the stress and chaos of holidays and/or school year obligations, the lovely folks of NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month) offer two additional opportunities for the camaraderie and excitement of the NaNoWriMo challenge: one "camp" in May and another in July.

Unlike regular NaNoWriMo, in which all participants are encouraged to write a 50,000-word novel in the 30 days of November, in Camp NaNoWriMo writers can set their own goals. Feel like writing a 25,000-word MG novel? Great! Want to challenge yourself to a 100,000-word high fantasy novel? Go for it! Determined to finish a 1,000-word flash fiction piece each day? That works, too!

What's more, in Camp NaNoWriMo, you can choose to be placed in "cabins" -- groups of up to 12 writers (either invited by you or randomly picked) who share their own private chatroom that allows these small teams to cheer one another on throughout the month.

Just like NaNoWriMo, the camps help writers stay on track with their daily writing goals, provide encouragement and support, and facilitate opportunities for writers to connect with others who enjoy writing, too -- locally and around the world!

You've still got a few days to sign up -- just head on over to the Camp NaNoWriMo website and join the fun!