Author Goals Update
Thought this week I’d give an update on my writing and how I’m doing with the goals I set back in January. It’s been a busy three months!
1. Proofread my 3rd historical fiction novel
This was my first, main goal. Most of 2020 was spent deep into the edits of my 3rd novel. For a while I even had ‘editor’s block’. By January 2021, I knew it just needed a final proofread, to get it as ready as possible for submission to my publishers.
Well, I’m thrilled to say that last Wednesday, 31st March, I finished the proofread and submitted it to my publishers! It might be a while before I hear from them, but I’m excited to have achieved this goal.
2. Outline and write the first draft of my 4th historical fiction novel
This was also a goal I set for the end of March. The idea of a potential fourth novel in my Celtic era series was ticking away for much of 2020. However, apart from jotting a few ideas down in my notebook, I hadn’t done much plotting for it.
I’m excited to say I hit this goal too! After plotting the outline, I also started writing my first draft. I set myself a target of 50k words to get, also by the 31st March – which I hit!
3. Participate in NaNoWriMo events
Ever since my first project in 2018, I’ve loved NaNoWriMo events. If you’ve not heard me talking about it 100 times already, Nano stands for ‘National Novel Writing Month’ is a global online event where writers challenge themselves to write every day to hit goals.
The main event happens in November, with writers all aiming to get 50k words of a new project written by the end of the month. Then there’s Camp NaNoWriMo which happens in April and July, where writers can work on whichever project or goal suits them.
So, I’ve hit this goal by taking part in April Camp NaNoWriMo 2021. I’m setting a goal of 15k, which works out about 500 words a day. I’m moving in a couple of weeks and so wanted to give myself a goal without too much pressure.
I’m also working on the mystery project I wrote for April Camp NaNo 2020. This mystery was originally a bit supernatural and featuring dreams etc, but in hindsight, I’m not sure how well it worked. So, this year I’m rewriting it. My goal is to take the setting and the characters and rewrite the plot as a classic ‘whodunnit’ murder mystery. I’ve got just over 3k and I’m excited to see where it goes.
4. Have a look at old NaNoWriMo projects
Interlinking with the previous goal, I thought it would also be good to work on some older Nano projects. With my current rewrite project I’ve already kind of ticked this one off, but I also took part in the NaNoWriMo ‘What Now?’ challenge of editing last November’s project in January and February. I finished the first round of edits in February and it’s now ‘back on the shelf’ for a while.
5. Blog regularly and write newsletters
I’ve sent out a blog post weekly – 12 in total – on my website since my post about goals in January and really enjoyed hitting this goal. If you’re new to my blog, you can check out other posts here. I post about a variety of topics, including my ‘writing craft’ series, book reviews, or something to do with the world and setting of my novels. Occasionally, I’ll write a flash fiction or give you an author update.
Then, I hit my newsletter goal by sending one out each month for January, February and March. I’m looking forward to writing April’s and I’m also currently considering doing an ‘extra’ edition in the month too. Stay tuned!
6. Read at least 12 Indie Books
Finally, I wanted to keep up my reading goals, since getting back into reading last September. I set myself the challenge to read a book a month, or 12 books this year. These last three months I’ve read 6 books and currently reading my 7th! I’ve read some brilliant reads. I’ve done book reviews of several of them and 3 of them have been ‘featured books’ in my newsletter. Here they are below if you’d like to check them out:
The Gift of Life: Peaks with Valleys by Sean Stepehns
The Crucible of the Crimson Lion by Elizabeth Eckstein
I, Richard Plantagenet by JP Reedman
Finding You by Elizabeth Holland
A Fatal Finale by Kathleen Maple Kalb
Of Shade and Shadow by Naimh and Rebecca Schmid
So, those are the updates on my goals so far! Now to crack on with Camp NaNoWriMo and then get back to my historical fiction.
Till next time,
Maria 🙂