Skip to main content

How I did on my writing goals for 2006

Captain’s Log, Stardate 01.06.2007

Year of 2006 in review: Warning: This is probably of no interest to anybody except me. But since this is MY blog, too bad.

Long-term goals:
Complete three manuscripts by December 2006. Uh . . . well, I did two manuscripts, that counts for something, right? Okay, okay, so I slacked off...
Take my ACFW Mentoring group through my articles based on TECHNIQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER by Dwight V. Swain and critique their first three chapters by September 2006. Completed on time!

Short-term goals:
Write three short stories this year--be more prolific! Well, I was very anti-prolific
Write at least one article each month. I started by Story Sensei blog, so I think that counts as at least as an article a month.
Critique one piece each week on Writing.com. Didn’t even do it. This was just wishful thinking. I’m also realizing I need to be more careful about my time, and I’d rather do judging for contests and critiquing for my crit partners and my Story Sensei business.
Update my website each month with something new. Yup, did that.
Write in my blog at least once a week, but preferably everyday for accountability of my writing progress. I became a blogging fiend this year. I blogged way more than I thought I would.

Daily goals:
Spend one hour each day critiquing. Well I did critiquing, but not everyday.
Spend at least four hours each day writing or researching for my ms. Didn’t do as many hours as I wanted to. Spent too much time blogging and doing other things.
Spend three hours each day in marketing, website, blogging, and learning craft. Pretty sure I got this done, but I need to cut back on my blogging.

Project goals:
Finish first ms by April 30th, but finish first chapter to send for critique at Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference by March 15th. (I changed to a new manuscript on January 15th, but I finished On May 17th, in 4 months and 2 days!
Finish second ms by August 30th. Nope. Finished in mid December.
Finish third ms by December 30th. Maniacal laughter.
Complete my articles based on TECHNIQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER by Dwight Swain by May 31st. Finished May 20th!

Learning goals:
Read one book on writing each month. I did read a few writing books, but not one a month. I need to do better next year.
Read at least one article on writing each week. I think I did this, thanks to putting my magazines next to the toilet.

Well? How did you guys do on your 2006 goals? What do you want to improve for this year?

Comments

Popular Posts

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

"Sincerely" by TRUE (from Violet Evergarden)

I’ve been watching the anime Violet Evergarden on Netflix and it is possibly the most beautiful anime series I’ve ever seen. The animation by Kyoto Animation is top notch, the storyline (based on the light novel series ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン by Kana Akatsuki (暁 佳奈)) is emotional and unique, and the original soundtrack by Evan Call is out of this world. The vocal songs in the series are also really beautiful, but the best one is the opening song, “Sincerely” by TRUE. She not only has a beautiful voice, but the melody and lyrics are absolutely gorgeous. I can’t rave about this song enough. 知らない言葉を 覚えていくたび おもかげのなか 手を伸ばすの Each time unknown words come to mind, I reach my hand toward the traces they leave. だけど一人では 分からない言葉も あるのかもしれない But there may be words That I can’t comprehend all alone. さよならは 苦くて アイシテルは 遠いにおいがした 例えようのない この想いは とても怖くて だけど とても愛おしくて “Goodbye” is so bitter, While “I love you” carries a far-off scent. This incomparable feeling Is so very frightening… bu...

Captivating, chapter 3

Captain’s Log, Stardate 06.30.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Monday book giveaway is CONSIDER LILY by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt. My Thursday book giveaway is LOVE ONLINE by Kristin Billerbeck and Nancy Toback . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for CONSIDER LILY and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. Haunted by a Question: Sorry, this is really long again. As before, some things I liked and some questions. Eve—What Happened? The authors say: “[Eve] brought strength to the world, but not a striving, sharp-edged strength. She was inviting, alluring, captivating.” I don’t know if I buy that. I don’t know if I really see how being inviting, alluring, or captivating is a strength. I understand how restfulness (restful inner beauty?) can be a strength, or solidity like a rock. To me, that’s strength. But being alluring? Captivating? Then they talk about “Why do so few wom...

Window shopping

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.14.2005 Knee update: I went to the doctor today for a checkup, and saw his assistant. I’ve been concerned because there’s still inflammation in my knee joint, and it’s been almost 4 months since the surgery. She said she’d talk to the doctor about it tomorrow and call me. Sometimes he suggests laying off the PT to see if that causes the inflammation to go away, but I don’t know if that will work because lately I’ve been pretty active outside of PT. At PT today, the therapist did ultrasound and some sort of electrical current on the joint. Hopefully that will make the inflammation start to go down. I’ll know by tomorrow, probably. Writing: Mt. Hermon conference starts this Friday! On Thursday night, I’ll be at the Santana Row Borders bookstore to help out (and hopefully learn a bit, too) at a booksigning for several of the ACFW authors who are attending Mt. Hermon . That should be lots of fun. I had a good brainstorming time at ...