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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Progress...... or......... Time to Pay the Piper

I was avoiding posting my progress on my January goals because I wanted to say, "HA! Fie on thee, oh meager goals! I have slain thee with my mighty pen!"

But, um, well....

It seems more honest to post what really happened as I progressed towards my goals, because, well, the muse is unpredictable, as well you may know.

So, without any further ceremony and no further ado:

Ten Gingerbreads (picturebook): The Goal: Revise. The Reality: I read over it once, but I can't see how to fix it yet, so I didn't. I am pretty picky about how things end up and this piece is almost there...but not quite. And I still don't know how to make it wonderful. Maybe I need to lock myself in a room with it..... (but why bother, when there are other perfectly good WIP's calling?)

Chicken Wizard: (chapterbook or easy reader): The Goal: Complete a draft. The Reality: Complete one draft as a chapter book. Didn't resonate. Tried it again as an easy reader. Liked it better. Tried it again as an easy reader with a different plotline. Hmm. Is it there yet? Nope.

Nix the Naughty (chapterbook) The Goal: Revise. The Reality: Revised!! Yay! I was so afraid to open this file, having remembered so little about what I wrote. Happy to say that I really liked it. A lot. Needs a fine tooth comb edit, but I am really pleased with how this turned out.

Wren Faire (YA): The Goal: Finish Draft. The Reality: This is the reason I didn't want to post. I wanted to say that I was finished. I thought I'd finish it today during my lunch time (during which I write for 1/2 hour each day, in addition to evenings) but there were things that needed dealing with and I was the dealer of things today so......bummer. I am hoping to finish before bedtime. We shall see. But it is enough for me that It will be done by the end of the week. I will miss the rollercoaster ride of this first draft, but the revision will not be far off, I think.

Surfiesta: (picture book of silly surf poems). The Goal: Finish draft by completing remaing four poems. The Reality: Two. (So, yeah, so the math. Two more to go.)

The niggling thing: the Goal: No goal. Not in the beginning of the month goals...wha? The Reality: This was the whole prologue issue I was having on a middle grade I finished in the fall. Sometimes, even when you think something is done, it isn't. I re-structured the piece so that it reflects more of the tale I originally wanted to tell. It feels more done now...

The Creepers: (Stuff that creeps up on you that you didn't expect to work on but then find yourself pulled into.) Two, yes TWO brand new picture book drafts completed. I sat down one day and said to myself, "Self, why don't you write something that is just really fun to read. Like, why don't you write the funnest book to read ever??? So, I did. Twice. They await revision.

This post is too long to list the February Goals, so I'll save that for the weekend. I bet you can guess them anyway, but some might surprise you.

Speaking of being surprised, it was pretty cool to stumble upon some new ideas during the month. I think I would rather find new cool inspiration unexpectedly than to complete all goals/tasks perfectly.

But that's just me.

hrh

16 comments:

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Crikey. You were reluctant to post your progress??? Seems to me you were quite productive.
Go, Shelley!

Myrna Foster said...

I agree with Tricia, and I'm happy to hear that "Nix the Naughty" is going well. Such a clever title--I can't wait to read it!

Catherine Denton said...

My son (9 yrs) was standing behind me while I read this. He started chuckling at the title "Good Night, Good Knight" and played with it saying it out loud several times. So good job on that title!

Your goals make mine look rinky-dink. But I absolutely love watching you progress. You show that it CAN be done. Thanks for forging ahead.

Natalie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Natalie said...

I think that sounds like a very productive month. I've been falling behind in my goals too, and it's a little frustrating.

Jackee said...

I still stuck at how long your list is, not to mention you've done something on ALL of them!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Holy cow! How do you keep up with so many things at one time? And why on earth didn't you want to share such impressive progress? Silly lady! :-)

MG Higgins said...

You may not have met all of your goals, but you were certainly busy! I think you should give yourself a huge pat on the back.

BK Mattingly said...

I think you made some great progress. Sometimes, I think that knowing where you are with every project is satisfying a goal itself. :)

Clementine said...

Gracious! And I thought I had too many irons in the fire. You're running circles around me, lol! Seriously, your WIPs all sound wonderful and I'm sure you'll fix the quirks. The answer will come to you when you're doing something else.

storyqueen said...

Tricia-It looks like more when I write it out like that..which is why I wrote it out like that. hehehe

Myrna-Thanks. Nix cracks me up, but then again, I am easily amused.

Catherine-My goal in life is to crack up kids with books...so your son just made my day!

Natalie-Try writing out what you HAVE accomplished. I felt way better about what I managed to get done when I wrote it out. So what if it isn't all finished...

Jackee-You are nice. Actually, I haven't done much on some of them (Yes, I'm talking about you, Ten Gengerbreads), but at least a little got done on most.

Shannon-I have this many projects at a time so that really there is no excuse not to write. Not feeling like a picturebook? Then work on the middle grade. Not feeling like drafting new stuff? Work on the revision.

MG-Thanks. Not a huge pat, though. Maybe just a little tap.

Bethany-Yes! I think exactly the same way. If you know where you are, you have a better idea where you need to go.

Amy-Too True! (But I'm not quilting or anything crazy like that!)

lisa and laura said...

Geez Louise! You rock!

Julie Dao said...

Um, I think you've been mega productive! What are you talking about? That's more than I did last year. Can I also say that I love your story titles? Chicken Wizard is probably my favorite!

Susan R. Mills said...

I agree with Tricia. It seems to me you were quite productive!

Dawn Simon said...

It sounds like you're getting a lot done. Sometimes things don't go exactly as we planned, but sometimes it's better that way.

kanishk said...

Such a clever title--I can't wait to read it!

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