Revising Goals

This week I reevaluated and thought out my goals for the revision I'm working on.

When I first began in the fall, I made my goal to finish the revision before June. One of my favorite beta readers is finished with school then, so she'll be able to dive in without being worried about homework. Another possible beta works at a school, so he can read while there are no kids in the building. However, I soon realized, when I finished Part 1 of the revision in December, which is the longest part, that this would change.

 

It seemed like a miracle; I would be able to finish revising sooner.

So my new goal became May 1 to have it completed. It still gave my betas the time frame they need, and it also gave me additional time to read my story and revise it before handing it over. I was to complete Part 2 before March 1. 

March 1 has passed, and I am well into Part 3, into the new parts of the climax. Its scary, and rather exciting, so my goal is to be revised again, but in every good way possible. I'm so excited to reread this and give it to my betas, and even more eager to work on my next series I have plotted out and planned already. 

My new goal? Finish the revision by April 1. Once I am done, I will print it out and stick it in a binder. I also want to shrink the pages down and get a look at it that way, just to try an interesting new form of revision (a blog post will follow on this). Once all my paperwork is completed, I will set my novel aside and--with enormous difficulty--ignore its existence. 

In between April and May, I have various other projects to work on. One is a recipe book for my mother, another a purge of various paperwork in my room, another a T-Shirt quilt. Will this distract me from my writing? Or will I need to actually work on real writing to help myself forget it? We will have to see! How did you wait out your month? 

At the start of May, I will begin revising and reading, including reading it aloud to find errors and reading it to myself to find errors. 

Sometime in June--which is a rough estimate--I will print and hand the revised copy out to betas. I am so excited for someone to read this and even more thrilled that the plot has ended up the way it has. It's come so far, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Setting goals is so important for me and one of the few ways I manage to get things done, that and the prospect of crossing something off of my to-do list. I plan to write down this list of goals and hang it in my room so whenever I pass it I am reminded to keep working, to never give up, and to pursue my dreams, no matter what the consequences. 

#FP - Week Three

Week Three

The lion woke up surprised to find a small child standing before him. She pulled at his mane. “Get up, our adventure won’t wait.”

The man cried, “Aid me! Kill the most evil man in the land!

The wizard smiled. “It’s done. You already drank the poison this morning.”

Her headache grew worse and worse until finally she took off her head and threw it against the wall. Much better.

In a heartbeat, the assassin feel dead at her feet. Stumbling back, alarms ringing in her ears, she looked towards the trees.

Her fear outweighed her common sense. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She held her breath, closed her eyes, and let go. #WIP 

#FP - Week Two

Week two is brought to you by these five Friday Phrases, from Friday's past!

• She ran. The portal was on the other side of campus. If she wasn't quick enough, the battle would be lost. Her father would be killed.

• As she wrote in her notebook, she found a small note stuck on the other side of the cover. "Write my story next, please?"

• In the late hours researching, she fell asleep with her head bent, smelling the pages of the book. Marvelous.

• The old man was said to have possessed magic. But on the other side of his fingernails, we found no trace of it.

• He didn’t want to go to sleep. As soon as he closed his eyes, he would witness a nightmare—a hell he couldn’t escape. 

#FP - Week 1

I have been keeping track of my Friday Phrases, thanks to Timehop!

How about I share them? Every Friday, until I run out (or come up with more!). They will include some that are recent, but most will be older.

Week One

• Eleanor’s voice was calm. “My story will be heard—that time will come. Until then, I wait my turn on the other side of Jessica’s brain.”

digitalblasphemy.com 

• “To get out of the book,” he said, “You have to work your way through the book—to the other side. When it’s the end, you’ll be free.”

• “The other side of the universe is a far drive m’lady, just relax.” Heeding the captain’s words, I pulled my book out and started to read.

• This world was perfect, but not like the other. Touching the mirror’s cold glass, she wondered how she could get back to the other side.

• On the other side of the bookcase, she found no hidden passageway. She found a book that had fallen: the diary of her great grandmother.