Just leaving a quick note here to say the blog has officially moved over to SUBSTACK. You can subscribe to have an update from me show up in your email inbox every single Monday. Hope to see you over there. 🙂
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Author: lazytequilaafternoons
Writer of Romance / Women's Fiction.
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2020 Goals and Plans
Well, hello there blog. It’s that time of year again where we pick up the WriYe Blogging Circle again… Just in time to talk about our goals and plans for the upcoming year!
What’s your WriYe Word Count goal for 2020? Why did you chose it?
My word count goal for 2020 is 200,000 words. The reason I chose this goal this year is because I plan on writing two complete novels this year, both with projected word counts of 90,000 words. That along brings my total up to 180,000, but then there are things like genre stretch, a shared collaborative project that my writing group and I are working to get off the ground soon, and any other sort of random writing decides to grab my attention this year… So, I figured an extra 20k wouldn’t be terribly hard to come by.
My word count goal for 2020 is 200,000 words. The reason I chose this goal this year is because I plan on writing two complete novels this year, both with projected word counts of 90,000 words. That along brings my total up to 180,000, but then there are things like genre stretch, a shared collaborative project that my writing group and I are working to get off the ground soon, and any other sort of random writing decides to grab my attention this year… So, I figured an extra 20k wouldn’t be terribly hard to come by.
What are your plans for the year? What do you want to accomplish with your writing?
My plans for the year are pretty intense and scary, if I’m being entirely honest. The “easiest” of my goals is writing two complete novels. In quotes because I know writing a full novel is never as easy as my brain wants me to think it is. It doesn’t matter that I’ve finished several in my life already, each book is a wildly different experience and some are much more difficult than others. The two I’m working on this year brings my most familiar / oldest character (Audrey) to the forefront and finishes up her story. I’m expecting the novel I’m starting off the year with to be the easier of the two because I know 100% what happens and where the novel needs to go. The emotions in the novel are easier to access… But the other novel? The final in her trilogy? Well, that story is much less clear-cut and there are aspects of it that are just completely foreign to me. So, we’ll see how that one comes out.
My plans for the year are pretty intense and scary, if I’m being entirely honest. The “easiest” of my goals is writing two complete novels. In quotes because I know writing a full novel is never as easy as my brain wants me to think it is. It doesn’t matter that I’ve finished several in my life already, each book is a wildly different experience and some are much more difficult than others. The two I’m working on this year brings my most familiar / oldest character (Audrey) to the forefront and finishes up her story. I’m expecting the novel I’m starting off the year with to be the easier of the two because I know 100% what happens and where the novel needs to go. The emotions in the novel are easier to access… But the other novel? The final in her trilogy? Well, that story is much less clear-cut and there are aspects of it that are just completely foreign to me. So, we’ll see how that one comes out.
Then is the editing. I’m looking to edit at least 3 novels this year. Two are already in various stages of editing already (one is getting ready to go to betas for the FINAL edit, one is in the process of going from the first to second draft) and the third is a novel that is still being written. This is honestly probably the stage I’m looking forward to the most. I like taking things that are already written and making them into something much more interesting to read and playing with the way specific words sound.
But, the scariest part of all of my writing goals in 2020? Is finally starting the publishing process with my Lazy Tequila Afternoons series. There’s obviously a lot that goes into that whole process that I’ll be going into here throughout the year. I’m currently finishing up the last bit of the line edits I did on the novel over the summer, then by the end of the month, I’ll have it out to my lovely beta readers for them to tear apart… All the while working hard to do all of the other steps alongside the day job. I have big plans and such for this, but I’ll go through that in a dedicated post soon. Just know that there’s a lot of (positive) nervous energy around that right now.
Bonus:
What are you most looking forward to in 2020?
The thing that I am most looking forward to in 2020 is actualizing my dreams. I’ve wanted to publish / be published for a long, long time. I’m also really excited to get to work (hopefully) with friends in a lucrative and creative way.
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Reflection: Write Like a Pro
After a long 10 weeks of a challenge, Write Like a Pro (WLaP) has come to an end. I’m not sure how successful it was as a site-wide challenge, but it was interesting enough within my personal writing group, so at least it was a semi-success? I know it was long and people were unsurprisingly unwilling to give up their opportunity to sleep in on their days off from their day-jobs, so that definitely hurt the challenge a little. But, there were a handful of people who tried to do the single day each week, so overall, I’m calling it a win. Will I run it again? Probably not. But it was a fun summer experiment that served the exact purpose that I wanted it to serve — figuring out when, where, and how I prefer to write and helping me to start to figure out what an “ideal day” would look for me as a full time writer.
It helped me confirm something I’ve always known: I am a morning person. Through and through. Which works well because apparently most non-substance-abusing writers are also morning people. Maybe it’s because they want to still appear to be humans, rather than vampires, maybe it’s because they’ve read and believe the studies that people are scientifically more productive once they’re accustomed to waking up earlier, maybe it’s because in order to get things done, they’ve decided to actually get up and treat writing like a serious, full time job. Regardless of the reason, the majority of the “known” writing schedules started before 7am. Which was not ideal for my summer vacation mindset, waking up to an alarm on the weeks that were earlier than 6am, but… For the challenge, it was worth it.
It also helped me learn that I do best with a short burst of writing and then a break for some sort of physical activity. Don’t be fooled, I’m no Murakami, running a 10k daily, but working out and getting some sort of physical activity in was surprisingly helpful for my creative process.
And lastly, something the final week taught me was… I do not have the brain power to be creative at work all day and then turn around and be creative at home. If I weren’t completely starting from scratch this year at work, I’m fairly confident that would be different. Unfortunately, this year, that wasn’t in the cards for me. Maybe I’ll try Kafka’s schedule again another time when I’m a little more equipped to split my mental capacity between multiple different endeavors (which, I actually am doing technically, teaching 3 brand new classes, but that’s beside the point).
Now, the real end goal from this is going to be coming up with an ideal writing week. So… I’m still working on coming up with my own, but that’s a thing for everyone to look forward to.
What’s your ideal writing schedule?
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August Knows Best
We’ve all heard “Write What You Know.” What do you think? Truth or fallacy?
Is there an option for both? Because I’m going with both. #OwnVoices is a genre for a reason. And right now? When the world seems like it’s quickly going up in flames and headed off the side of a cliff simultaneously, while the only possible course to fix it is by understanding each other and showing compassion? Yeah, writing what you know is more important than ever. But, that in and of itself is a double-edged sword. What if you end up outing yourself / someone? What if feelings are hurt when the truth is put down on paper? Relationships can crumble under the pressure, the reality you know falling apart around you.
And, maybe an even harsher reality: what happens if all the agents you submit to reject you and no one wants to hear your side of the story after all?
Writing books is painful. Especially when you’re writing what you know. But that’s also part of what makes it so great.
Of course, that’s also assuming you have a story to tell. Maybe you’re just an average person with an average life doing average things. Should you create a novel / character based around your life if you’re just sitting around your house watching TV and going to your 9-5 job? Probably not. There’s enough of that in the real world that I can’t imagine a book really being able to find and fill a need in that niche. So, for those people, I encourage them to get a hobby, go out and see the world, and pull pieces from those experiences into the novel you’re wanting to write.
Do you have to live in a city to set a novel there? No, of course not. Does it help to build authenticity? Absolutely. Do you need to get a job as an accountant to write a novel with a protagonist who is one? No. That’s what research is for. With information being easier than ever to obtain online, you don’t have to go out and experience those things to be able to write about them effectively. It will always help, of course, but as long as you’re good at your job researching and finding editors / betas to help nitpick the small stuff? There’s not a desperate need to do it.
Bonus:
Do you write what you know?
A little bit yes, a little bit no. With locations, I tend to write about places I’ve either lived or spent enough time visiting that I felt like a local in the time I was there. I want to know where the weird bumps in the sidewalk are from tree roots pushing them up or about the way a certain traffic light always knocks up against a branch if the wind blows hard enough. But I don’t have to live there to experience those things. A visit is enough for me. Sometimes, Google Maps / Streetview also works — or serves as a decent reminder if I’ve forgotten.
I listen to people’s conversations or watch them in the streets and make up background stories for them in my head. Both of those things get adopted into my novels. But that person up above who just sits in their apartment and goes to work? That’s me. I’m boring and okay with it. But my life as it is right now? Wouldn’t make the best novel (unless I wrote about my day job. That would be heartbreaking, honestly) for anyone other than me. So, sure. There are bits and pieces from my every day life mixed in, but I don’t rely on just the things I know. Research is great.
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August Plans and Goals
August is a very busy month for me. To the point where several times during the month, I will forget to eat and accidentally skip up to a third of the meals I’m meant to be eating. With that said, my goals writing-wise are very minimized compared to last month’s progress.
August Goals:
- Get through first 25% of edits (85 pages)
- Keep working on putting paper edits of SoL into the computer
- Finish watching / working through the Publish and Thrive courses (Modules 4 & 5)
- Add 10 completed pages to the Lazy Tequila Afternoons story binder
- Update the “books” section of my website.
That’s it. Very low pressure, not a lot to focus on because honestly? Getting through the month of August at the day job is more than enough to work on and survive at this point.
I’m hoping as time goes on to be able to slowly incorporate more writing / loftier editing goals into my daily routine, but not in August.
And, similar to the goal list, today’s post is short and simple. Hope that’s okay with everyone and I’ll see you next week!
Aliquet Press 