Young Writers Society

I currently have two really interesting ideas. One, I've written close to two chapters. the other sprung from a plausible contest entry which I just can't stop thinking about. So, this year, writing wise, I hope to:

-Stick to my plots, even if they seem to go nowhere. DOn't give up on them.
-Finish my Hyderabad story.
-Edit it.
-Get through my metro romance. (some of it)

1. Finish up Bound for Glory: Our Brethern. *sulks*

2. Start writing Bound for Glory: Fight for the Fatherland. Yay!

3. In Nov. - take a long, long, well deserved vacation. This revolves around in lots of celebrating. It marks fours years I embarked on this journey, and sticking with it completely.

4. Dec. - Look at both novels and begin the editing process of Book 1. Yeah, I'm hoping I can finish the second book this year or come close.

1) Finish second draft of my novel and start on third.

2) Write at least one helpful review every day on both of the writing sites I frequent.

3) To write at least 200 words a day.

4) Attempt NaNoWriMo and kick its butt...

These are my goals... And so far, I have succeeded everyday... *whoot*

1. Finish the second draft of Firebrand by the time I graduate.

2. Let someone I'm afraid of help me edit (i.e. my Nazi English teacher - gulp).

3. Read some classics (currently top on my list - Pride and Prejudice and Where the Red Fern Grows).

4. Write a little more each day - even if it's only a sentence.

Hmm.... lets see here.


Goals:
1. Get caught up between typing and writing
An absolute priority. There's currently a... hang on a moment... a 153 page gap between my written pages and my typed ones, and there is no excuse for this.

2. Get A Rip in the Sky to Part 3 before the end of the school year, and Part 4 before the end of the year.
I'm too much of a perfectionist, which leads to a lot of bouts of "writer's block," which in my case, let's face it, is mostly lack of motivation brought on by fear of making a mistake. I need to teach myself, once and for all, that the rough draft isn't permanent and edits can be made. Forcing myself to move forward for the sake of meeting a goal should help out.

3. Complete initial editing of Land of Sky, Land of Rain-- that is to say, go through it at least once as self-crit, get it all posted on YWS chapter by chapter, and go through it again, incorporating critiques from others combined with more self-crit.
I'm going to try to post 1 chapter a week. There are 54 weeks in a year. There are 25 chapters in the book, six of which are already up. Therefore there is no good reason I can't post it all by... the end of May, or so. That leaves 7 months to go through it again, more mecilessly and with other people's help behind me.

4. Reach 100 reviews, and get more involved with the community on YWS.
Honestly, this may be the toughest one for me. I'll do my best, though. I do spend a lot of time on YWS, just... lurking. And I know I don't read and review enough.

5. Be able to work better with my characters (or, specifically, de-Gary Stu-ify Kagami of Ranzai)
...Nevermind, this'll be the toughest one. Damn you, Kagami. Way to ruin a story.

6. Finish Land of Sky, Land of Rain's epilogue.
Oh boy. This should be fun. I was struggling with it at first, so I just sorta... left it. But no longer!


How to Accomplish Them
Well, for 1, 2, 3, and 6, I've got a plan. This year, I plan to devote 2 and a half hours each evening for All-Purpose Zerithia Trilogy Progress Time! (It's a working name, okay...?) For right now, that's 30 minutes to edit chapters for YWS posting, 1 hour to type , and 1 hour to write. Once the ordeal of typing is done with, I can use that time to work on the epilogue, and once that's over, that time can go to editing. It's worked out just fine so far, (especially because each task is currently at a totally separate place in the book, I don't get bored that way). Things might be tough with the addition of homework into the equation, and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to keep it up at the exact time I'm doing it now when the writer's strike ends, and my shows are back on... but I'll just move one activity to a different time. Plus I usually am able to write in school... especially because I eat lunch all alone this year.

Anyways, I hope I'll be able to make a bit of progress that year, even if I can't make these specific goals. Here's to a new year! ^_^

> Finish a novel. Really any one of the six million of them would be fantastic.
Even just the first draft. With whip cream and cherries on top.

> Revise one of my short stories and get it published. For real.

> Find a new place to write outdoors each month.

> Finish another novel, perhaps.

> Publish a book of poetry. Or maybe just one piece.

Really, I don't ask the diction and plot gods for very much.

Read/review a hundred books.

- I kept track of what I read one summer when I was in fourth grade. I read nearly sixty books. Looking back at last year, I read a whopping total of ten throughout the entire year, including the things that I read for school. Sam's face= -_-. Ergo, I will read like a fiend.

Outline Hourglass/ write The Sleepwalkers.

- It's insane and needs to be outlined. The Sleepwalkers--or what was the second part--will be difficult because I'm scrapping the first, and will need a way to work in all of the backstory. (Because, as we all know, 33,000 words of backstory is Simply Not Acceptable.)

Finish editing D.

The first fifty pages will need to be Done by March--I was considering entering it for the Scholastic Art and Writing awards. *scholarship whore* But mainly, I truly love it and want to see it finished. Properly.

Write Lazy Bones.

I fell in love with it again for some reason, even though it's going to be Hell to write. *grumble* It won't be very long, which is a consolation.

1. Complete my first novel

2. Edit, revise, edit, revise!

3. Send it in to a publisher.

4. Get published!

5. Write at least one COMPLETE short story.

6. Enter AT LEAST one contest.

7. Write everyday

Hope to break 1000 chapters of FEC in first draft format.
Hope to edit the first 200 chapters of FEC.

Re-rewrite Ragnarok