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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Summer Goals

I cannot believe it!!!

I AM DONE WITH SCHOOL!

So, before I settle into the types of days where I look at the clock and say, "Three o'clock??? How did that happen?" I thought I'd look at my goals for summer. Might as well start out with a plan, which by the way is very different from an outline, in case you were wondering.

1. Keelie of the Lake (formerly called Calista)-Middle grade. Complete first draft.
Already 10,000 words. Needs about 30,000 more.

2. Nix the Naughty(Middle Grade/Chapter Book)- Final revision with agent before it goes out on submission. (Should be done in the next week...then we'll see...)

3. Wren Faire (YA-though I might adjust to tween...?)-Revise for plot and such...big picture revision. BIG project.

4. Surfiesta (picture book/poetry)- SERIOUSLY??? Has this book NOT been on every single one of my goals list since last summer??? Why can't I finish this one? I have one more stinking poem to go and for the life of me, I am NEVER happy with the rhythm and rhyme in that one poem. Okay, If I do not finish it this summer, I will eat the poem that is giving me fits. Eat it.

5. Area 51 Elementary (chapterbook)- maybe 10 more pages. I don't want to finish it this summer, but I'd like to get a little more done. This one is a slow write for me, but comfortable, so I'd like to keep it going, however there is no rush.

6. New Picture Book-? I'd like to be inspired to just crank out something new...the kind of picture book that flows easily in the first draft and seems almost right upon the first read.....*sigh*....(yeah, I know, people in hell want ice water, too.) But I wrote a couple this year that I hadn't planned on, (Icky Chicky, then Bob the Slob and the Wobbly Blob) and they were such fun since I had no expectations....

7. Chicken Wizard and the Egg of Destiny (easy reader)- revise when I receive agent notes....sometime this summer.

So, there they are, the magnificent 7. Seven writing goals by which to navigate my summer.

Wish me luck! I set sail today!

hrh

20 comments:

Catherine Denton said...

You always inspire me! I'm wishing you luck on your goals. Although...it might be fun to see you eat poetry. So maybe not as much luck on that one. ;)

Winged Writer

Natalie said...

I am SO IMPRESSED. I don't know how you can have so many projects going at once. I have 2 MG books that I'm working on simultaneously now and that's enough to confuse me.

I hope you meet all your goals this summer!

Hayley Lovell said...

Yes summer the best time of year! And good luck with your goals!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

You are so ambitious and so productive and so creative. *sigh* I just love that Nix is almost ready to greet the world and that your other stories are bubbling and burbling along. Makes me smile.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Wow. I really wish I had your ability to crank out the ideas and run with them. You are just a treasure chest of story ideas - I guess that's why you're the queen!! :-)

storyqueen said...

Catherine-I am thinking I will cook the poem in a quesadilla (because everything tastes good with cheese) if I have to. But I better not have to!

Natalie-It's really not that impressive. It will just take me longer to do it all because there is more of it. but I guess I'd rather do a bit of this and a bit of that than have to tackle one big thing at a time.

Hayley-I cannot remember a summer I have looked forward to as much!

Tricia-Nix is really the most fun thing ever to write. So, the revisions are even fun (I actually don't know if the words "revision' and "fun" can be used in the same sentence....but in this case...) And it's not too very long, so, hopefully it will be ready, once we figure out what will happen with Trinket.

Shannon-Thank you, but seriously some of the stories don't pan out. Maybe that's why I follow so many leads....

Clementine said...

Woooo Hooo! Yea for you!!!!! I wish we lived closer - we'd go out and celebrate!

Myrna Foster said...

You are one ambitious woman, Shelley! Good luck!

Lydia Kang said...

You are a busy lady! Good luck with your projects. It's great that you have your plan all laid out!

Tess said...

I think you should do that one about monster monster trucks, like the comment you left over on Corey's blog

that was a great idea

and, girl, you have A LOT going on. how do you juggle all of those projects?

Corey Schwartz said...

Holy cow. I am such a slouch compared to do. I'd be happy if wrote one decent picture book.

Dawn Simon said...

Shelley, I always love your lists. They always impress me. Plus, it's just fun hearing what you're working on. Congrats on being done with school for the year, and good luck with your projects! :)

lisa and laura said...

You need a Twitter account.

Mostly because I was reading Good Night, Good Knight for the millionth time today and my kids STILL giggle at all the right parts. And they always roar along with the dragons. Anyways, I really wanted to tweet about it and @you.

So...you rock.

That is all.

storyqueen said...

Amy-Yeah, it's not like you're on the other coast or anything....oh, wait...you are. Oh well. It would have been an awesome summer celebration!

Myrna-probably crazy is the better adjective.....

Lydia-Well, at least I have some sort of direction. We shall see how long I stay on the path.

Tess-I would feel bad stealing that idea from Corey...since it DID come from her son, afterall. She should go for it, thought.
I guess I am just used to having a lot going on....I dunno.

Corey-Hahaha! I'll be happy if one of them turns out decent as well! This is the stuff I am working on, but there's no guarantee any of it will be decent!

Dawn-Thank you. I post the lists here so I don't lose them...and it makes me a bit more accountable.

LiLa-Thank you!! Nothing makes me happier than a kid laughing at my books!! As for The Twitter....to be honest, I fear the time suck. At work, there is just no way I could keep up...I can't even have my cellphone around. And at home, well, if I don't get the actual writing done, then I'd have nothing to twitter about.

I just don't know.

Kimberley Griffiths Little said...

Kudos and luck galore coming your way! Yay for summer!!!

Julie Dao said...

Your hard work is inspiring! I'm sure you will meet all of these goals and then some :)

Jackee said...

I love reading your goals because not only are they inspiring, but they give me glimpses into your process. I love it!

And unrelated (but not really) can I tell you how excited I was when my first grader sat down and read "Happy Birthday, Good Knight" in one sitting, loved it, and then I got to tell her that the author was my friend.

You are my hero, Shelley!

Nishant said...

I have 2 MG books that I'm working on simultaneously now and that's enough to confuse me.
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storyqueen said...

Kimberly-I second that Yay!

Julie-I am not so sure if I will meet them all...but it's the trying that makes me a better writer....and lord knows I can use all the improvement I can get.

Jackee-Thank you! That just made my day! I cannot tell you how happy it makes me when kids read my books, especially on their own! Hope you are still safe!

Nishant-Yay! I'm not the only one who tackles multiple projects at the same time! Go us!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

You've got some great summer goals...

Shelley--Have you ever shared with us who your agent is???? I'm just curious.

I read Good Night Good Knight. Loved it. It was really sweet. I'm going to include a blurb about it on my blog post tomorrow.