Monday, February 11, 2013

Realistic Goals

It's been beautiful up here in the Great White North. 5-10 ºC or 40-50 ºF, so I decided to take advantage and go for a walk. I've always loved going for walks because that's when I think, plan, and set goals then hope that I remember it all for when I get home and can write it down.

What I need to do is follow my friend Stina's advice and take a pen and piece of paper with me.

In the past I've made very ambitious goals. I'm going to edit a chapter every three days then do a major revision in a week and have it ready to be sent out in a month. Totally unrealistic, at least for me. I like my sleep too much.

On Friday, I went to get some Vitamin D and the whole time I thought about my book and what would be a realistic goal to get it query ready.

And here's what I came up with.

I've got ten chapters left to revise (some are small edits, lots are total rewrites).

So if my math is correct, and lots of times its not. If I do two chapters a month (including this month), I should finish by June. I'll spend the summer editing, revising, making everything as good as it can be before I send it to betas in September. Hopefully I get it back in a month, make final edits, and have it ready to query in November.

Sorry, you probably weren't interested in all that, but I'm hoping by making it public, I might have a better shot at completing it. At the end of every month, I'll update my progress.

So how about you? Made any realistic goals lately?

12 comments:

mshatch said...

my plan is to finish the first draft of my current wip, then it will be on to revisions for which I already have lots of notes. I'm hoping to be ready to revise before summer but we'll see...

Miranda Hardy said...

Making goals is great; however, it's not always easy to follow through. It's easier to hold yourself accountable when you make them public. Lol

Heidi Willis said...

I think that is a totally realistic goal. I seem to sabotage myself by making unrealistic goals, and then it's so easy to give up. This sounds perfect.

And I agree with Miranda... making it public is a way of holding yourself accountable. :)

Southpaw said...

I always overestimate what I can get done. I think it has to do with wishful thinking.

Melissa Amateis said...

I'm not sure if mine is realistic or not, but I've got about 20K words to go yet on the novel and I plan to have it finished by mid-March. I really hope I can do it because I have another book under contract that I HAVE to write!

Good luck with your goals. Just remember - be gentle with yourself on the days you don't get to the manuscript. I think the biggest problem when we set goals is that, if we fail miserably one day, we don't tend to get back on the wagon, but just lose focus. We need to be kinder to ourselves!

strugglingwriter said...

I haven't made any goals, although I do try to write a chapter a month.

When I go on walks I take my iPod with me and use the notes feature to capture story ideas. This works out pretty well.

Paul (paulliadis.com/blog)

Stina said...

I always love hearing about other writers' goals. Then I can cheer for them. :D

I need to run outside again. It's just soooo icy. :(

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Loving the new look. I long ago stopped planning my goals ahead believing I'd do things when and only when truly inspired rather than worrying that today I hadn't done such and such a thing.

Emily R. King said...

It's good that you're setting goals. I'm revising a chapter a day. It's doable with, well, life! :)

Best of luck with your revisions!

LTM said...

GREAT plan! And a very realistic goal! Good work, Patti, and good luck with revisions! You can do it~

Happy Valentine's Day! <3

Misha Gerrick said...

Your goals make sense to me. My goals... not so much. I only have big ones at the moment they're taking a hit under the pressure of querying and submitting.

Carol Riggs said...

Excellent! Best wishes as you carry your goals out, and good luck with those revisions!! Small bites at a time help accomplish goals. :)