Ready. Set. Write! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, Elodie Nowodazkij, and Katy Upperman. All the details are HERE.
Also check out #RSWrite on twitter.
Now it's time for GOALS and CHECK IN!
1. How I did on last week’s goals:
- More specific planning for new project. Character worksheet filled out, more notes.
- YES! I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo starting July 1, so in lieu of diving in, I spent time doing prep work. I wrote first person journal type brainstorming in each of the main character's point of view. SUPER helpful.
- Finish polishing WIP and send to either reader or agent.
- YES! I sent 2 chapters to a reader and waiting on that. We chatted via email and I made some changes. Soon to the agent :)
- Attend RWA meeting about crafting characters. Get ideas!
- YES! This was such a fun class taught by an instructor from Story Studio Chicago. One cool exercise we did was to describe 5 characteristics of a person we know, then we assigned a physical attribute to that quality. So an impatient woman might wear sloppy clothes. This was really fun and gave me ideas for my new story.
- I also met up at coffee shops twice this week with writers from my chapter. Yes, we spent time talking, but story questions and plot problems found resolution!
- Finish reading current book and start another.
- YES! Finished P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han, and now onto Tiny, Pretty, Things all about an elite ballet academy and backstabbing. Very Black Swan.
- Work in fitness classes 3-4 days this week (I've been slacking last 2 weeks) And back to using My Fitness Pal tracking.
- I did 2 classes at the gym and 1 night I met with a group of women to walk a 3 mile circuit on a wonderful park path by me. That was great because I got to catch up, some I haven't seen in a few years! I also tracked fitness/calories for all of the weekdays, but I usually end up trailing off on weekends.
2. My goal(s) for this week:
- Start Camp NaNoWrimo! Very pumped to get this new story going. My code name title is YA Road Trip Story. My wordcount goal for July is 30k. This week I'd like to get 5-8k written (factoring in Friday day off from work, no planned meetings this week, and I already have notes that may add to my wordcount).
- Submit entry (completed WIP) to RWA chapter contest; deadline June 30
- Host the first #YARWAChat on twitter, Tuesday 6/30 9 pm EST. All of you reading are invited to jump in! Our first topic is romance in YA since we are a chapter from Romance Writers of America.
- Attend 3 classes at gym and/or 1-2 days of walking, biking, fitness video. Use My Fitness Pal for tracking during the week.
3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised:
- A factor in my mostly-finished WIP I discovered is somewhat inaccurate after chatting with a reader/ subject matter expert. Finding a variety of readers is so important!
- Not starting my new project! I resisted diving into the story to get more planning down.
5. Something I love about my WiP:
- The one I'm finishing is heartfelt and has a lot of potential. Even better it's basically done. ;)
Please share what you've been writing, reading, or plan to do for the next week. Don't forget to check the other blogs linked above and provide support!
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Good luck on Camp NaNo! My local writers' group is having a snowflake plotting workshop on Tuesday, the day before Camp starts. I'll probably shoot for 50K during July, since some of those words will involve revising already-written words as well as creating new ones.
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome! Challenge groups (like this & Nano) help me so much. Good luck this month!
DeleteYA Road Trip stories are the best! I've kind of been in love with them ever since I read AMY & ROGER'S EPIC DETOUR. I love that you're journal brainstorming from your characters' POV. That's such a great idea! I'll have to give that a whirl sometime. I often find it difficult to really get to know my characters and their motivations, so something like that would be helpful. Good luck with this new project and with Camp NaNo! :D
ReplyDeleteI just read Amy & Roger. I loved Second Chance Summer and liked her road trip book even better.
DeleteYES - finding a variety of readers IS so important - for sometimes that very thing you described. I can research the heck out of something and then someone who really knows will point something out to me that I missed. So helpful. Also, that crafting characters workshop sounds awesome and wonderfully helpful!
ReplyDeleteGood luck this week with your goals!
Wow, you're on a roll! Best of luck with Camp NaNo! :)
ReplyDeleteYay Camp NaNo! I was thinking about doing it, but I think I just won't be able to handle it. But good luck to you! I always find the NaNo sessions to be super motivating. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the sound of that character exercise. You did great on your goals this week! Rah!
So many goals and you did so well! Good luck with Camp NaNo. I wish I could juggle this year, but can't. I only have space for one writing marathon per year and that is in November. Finding different writers IS important and you are so lucky to have the selection. Good luck this week!
ReplyDeleteI signed up for Camp Nano last year and had to back out. I was basically chatting with the cabin as a cheerleaer to them. This time I hope I can get some good wordcount in :)
DeleteSounds like you knocked your goals out of the park!
ReplyDeleteI was driving the other day and wishing for a really great road trip book to read!
Hopefully I'll remember about the YARWA chat happening tomorrow. Sounds great.
Yes, join the chat if you have the chance!
DeleteYou're doing GREAT! :) And yay on the YARWA chat :) :) Good luck with Camp NaNo!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on hitting your goals this week. Sounds like all of your planning is really going to pay off. Love the idea of journaling in the character's POVs to get to know them better. Good luck with Camp NaNo!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on accomplishing all your goals for the week, Stephanie! Road trip stories are the best (I just finished AMY & ROGER for the first time, so I'm super into road trip stuff right now).
ReplyDeleteAnd ooh, I'm hoping to pick up P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU soon. I really enjoyed the first one. <3
Happy writing!
That crafting characters class sounds like so much fun! And the journaling exercise sounds brilliant, too. I need to do that for a couple of my characters in the WiP that I have recently gone back to. I need to get back inside their heads! Good luck with your goals this week!
ReplyDelete