April Goals Update – I Will Never Do Monthly Goals Again
Way, way back (OK, 30 days ago) I decided to do a April Monthly Goal post, and then stick to it… I usually rely on daily goals to get me through my writing, but thought a monthly one would be more challenging… and it was… and I will never do that again…
Let’s see how I did, kiddies, shall we?
1. Joined the Script Frenzy thing (like NaNo but for screenplays) and the goal is 100 pages in 30 days. I’m not counting this in my word count for the month, preferring to simply write three solid pages a day on average. I figure once I get the hang of writing a screenplay it will get easier… I hope. Anyway, in May Dying Days should be ready for a second draft…
* Or not even close. I stumbled through 26 pages of this, which is exactly 74% short of the goal. Horrible. Everything else kept getting in my way.
2. Still Dying: Select Scenes From Dying Days collection of 13 short stories featuring old and new characters from the series. I’m already at 11k of a possible 27k, so 16k of writing will be finishing this book.
* Again, I came up short. I managed to get to 21k, so I did do 10,000 words, but wanted this finished. Need to do 2 more short stories to complete, and still get it edited.
3. Chelsea Avenue horror novel. The second draft is written but I need about 10k added to it for completion and I intend to have it done by month’s end and a final outside edit. I’m hoping to submit it to a publisher instead of self-publishing.
* Ended up completely shelving this project for the month and letting other things move ahead of it. I just wasn’t feeling it, to be honest. I need to go back to it but don’t know when.
4. Dying Days: Origins novella featuring character Tosha Shorb (from Dying Days 2) in a prequel of her character. 25k in length.
* Only did 7,400 words to it, although I like what I wrote so far. Does that count for anything? Didn’t think so.
5. Finish an untitled zombie novella (not tied into Dying Days) and submit to a publisher in the future. 13k of 25k done, so 12k left.
* Hit another 10k on this, but it still needs another 7k in my opinion. Not yet done.
* * * * *
So, how did I do? Shitty, in a word. 27,400 words of the goal of 60k on these projects. Not good, less than half. I did, however, do other writing that I hadn’t planned on doing… of course.
I wrote 16k on my Tool Shed horror novella and it will be completed (first draft, anyway) in the next couple of days. I didn’t think I was going to touch it but I got an idea for it, and before I knew it I was pounding out chapters.
I also managed to write 2 short stories (9,900 words total) and submit them to anthologies, as well as start another short story based on an idea before I have a place to send it (3,000 words)…
So (technically) I wrote 56,300 words, which isn’t too bad… but starting today it’s back to daily goals…
Speaking of which: 2k on Tool Shed
start short story about spiders (1k)
This entry was posted on May 1, 2012 at 6:00 AM and is filed under dying days, writing, zombie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 1, 2012 at 9:25 PM
I was doing the 500 words a day thing, which was hard enough on some days but now that I’m working, it’s freakin impossible. I get up extra early to have some time to write. It’s quiet and the tv isn’t on. I still don’t even get a whole page done. This novel is going to take me a year to write.
LikeLike
May 4, 2012 at 9:38 PM
My goals are all out of wack. Might as well throw them out the window.Ugh! Did I have a goal? For me, it’s the family that tugs at me and distracts me from my writing. Let’s hope we all do better going forward.
LikeLike
May 4, 2012 at 11:31 PM
Yes, all those things get in the way of writing… my daily goals are much easier to work with… and trying to find the perfect time in the house to write without distraction…
LikeLike
May 8, 2012 at 9:11 PM
I’ve never tried the monthly goal. Have done weekly and daily, and of late, I’ve kind of become more of a, “You have to write or do writing related stuff today” kind of guy.
Unfortunately, there’s so much marketing, formatting, editing, and other chores that don’t follow under the measurable category.
BTW, nice finding you on here, Armand. Look forward to getting to know you.
LikeLike
May 8, 2012 at 9:19 PM
Glad you found me here! And thanks for adding to the post!
LikeLike
May 8, 2012 at 9:24 PM
Absolutely. Got to shoot straight with you though. Me and zombies, we don’t mix. But I like blood, and fellow warriors headed to the top of the writing charts, so 50,000+ words, bloody looking covers, and a hard-ass looking pic? I think we’ll get along just fine.
LikeLike
May 8, 2012 at 9:46 PM
Sounds good to me, too! And most of what I’m putting out in the next six months will be non-zombie (although a few things will be sneaking in, lol)
LikeLike
May 8, 2012 at 9:55 PM
Great, man. Look forward to reading it.
LikeLike
May 9, 2012 at 8:02 AM
[…] and help spread the word. Speaking of which, this is probably a good time to give a shout out to Armand Rosamilia, who turned me on to the M3 […]
LikeLike
May 10, 2012 at 10:28 PM
Whew! You are busy! Good luck with the goals! 🙂
LikeLike
May 10, 2012 at 10:36 PM
Thanks! Getting back to daily goals is helping as well… keeping busy
Armand
LikeLike