This Weeks Goals 28th to 3rd

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

Yesterday’s postcard from the Tate prompted a story for me about a guy who had been thrown out of his apartment, on to the street. All he has left in the world is the sofa and some black bags. The question is….why has he been thrown out? I’m kind of thinking along the lines that he’s divorced, and lives with his son. His son has got involved with some very dodgy characters, which has resulted in the fact that he’s taken all his dads money to pay the debts off….and now he’s disappeared……

I’m guest posting today, over at Creative Writing Studies for the lovely Anthony Haynes. Go and have a peek to read me talking about why I blog, and what I LOVE about it! 🙂

I’ve had a pretty productive week 🙂

Last weeks goals were:

1. Turn the prologue back into 3rd person (again lol).
DONE!

2. Try to nail chapter one, so that I have something to read out at class on Wednesday night.
DONE!

3. Finish sorting out the formatting/layout of the whole thing.
HALF WAY THROUGH!

4. Have another read through and work on the ending. I think I’ve worked out where I want it to go, I’ve just got to write it now, which means changing stuff in other places. So yep, I’ve been avoiding that lol.
NOT EVEN ATTEMPTED!

Oh dear, well ok, it wasn’t that productive. I don’t know why I’m avoiding it so much. No, yes, sorry, I do….because its hard work, because I’m confused and don’t know exactly what I want to happen, because I know it will mean changing other stuff that I’ve already written 😦

So this weeks goals are:

1. Finish sorting out the formatting/layout of the whole thing, and I mean REALLY finish lol.

2. Have another tinker with the Blurb.

3. Try to do something constructive towards the ending, even if it’s only 500 bloody words! Lol.

4. Get Chapter 2 sorted, polished up and in ship shape 😉

I’ve come to the conclusion that overwhelming myself with a to do list doesn’t achieve anything, so I’m trying to be a little easier on myself (ha ha ha).

so what are your writing plans for the week?

My current read, recommended by Jeff Goins

This Weeks Goals 14-20th May

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

So did you give the photo prompt a go yesterday?

I was thinking along the lines that it was a guy returning to his family home to introduce mummy & daddy to the latest girlfriend. Mummy & Daddy are Lord & Lady Hampton and the new girlfriend is a cockney, who drinks pints of Ale, smokes roll ups and works as a lap dancer 😉

Right, where was I? Ahhhh, yes, the goals…..

I’m afraid, I failed miserably 😦 My reason? I had to have my dog put to sleep on Wednesday night (the 9th). It was fairly sudden, she became ill over the weekend, vet gave her antibiotics for a chest infection (she was having trouble breathing) and by Wednesday night we ended up at the emergency vets, where an X-ray confirmed a tumour on her lung. Too large to operate on and causing her distress. Always a difficult decision, but we didn’t want her suffering any longer. The vet said it was only her spirit that was keeping her alive. She was 12.

So as you can imagine, I’ve been on a huge downer….bouts of tearfulness and generally the inability to even pick up a pen 😦

My darling Georgie, I will miss you so much….the house feels so empty without you….but, I know I have to pick myself up, carry on, because I know you’re somewhere, reunited with Bill (our Shih T Zu who died of a heart attack in 2010). I know in my heart that one day I will see you again.

*blows nose and wipes eyes* Does how you feel emotionally affect your ability to write? It feels like I’ve just been plunged into a dark space, and I’m finding it hard to focus my eyes. Oooo, that sounds a bit dramatic doesn’t it….I’m fine really.

Right, so lets crack on, I needto focus…… I needto get back into some kind of routine 🙂

The original list from last week was:

1. Finish the spell check (and do it again incase there’s something I’ve missed). DONE
2. Check that’s it’s set out correctly (ie paragraphing and indenting dialogue). STARTED
3. Check punctuation (I have a tendency to forget all about it during dialogue). STARTED

The rest, I’m afraid, didn’t get tackled….however, I did print all 202 pages off. I find it much easier editing it when it’s on paper in front of me.

Yep, so guess what the plan is this week?

4. Change tense where needed (one of my worst habits, I tend to flit between past and present during a longer piece lol). STARTED
5. Print off to start the re-write (I’ve decided to change a few things quite considerably). PRINTED OFF
6. Do the research needed.
7. Write the ending (GULP).
8. Write a synopsis.
9. Decide who to pick on as Beta readers lol (Think of questions to ask Beta readers)
10. Think about what to do with it next (depending on Beta readers comments, I could be starting back at number 1 lol).

What are you hoping to achieve this week? And how about editing Do you do most of it on the PC or print off and use the red pen?

This Weeks Goals 7-13th May

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Vikki Thompson

I started working with daily goals last week, and I have to say I failed miserably. So this week I’m going to try working to a weekly list 🙂

So what’s on the agenda this week?…..

My aim this week is to have the whole of my WIP spellchecked, set out properly and printed off for the next stage of editing (from 1 to 5). I’ve decided not to write any more short stories for the time being, I’m determined to get this novel into some kind of finished state before I start the next one in November.

Sooooo, the to do list with the novel is:

1. Finish the spell check (and do it again incase there’s something I’ve missed).
2. Check that’s it’s set out correctly (ie paragraphing and indenting dialogue).
3. Check punctuation (I have a tendency to forget all about it during dialogue).
4. Change tense where needed (one of my worst habits, I tend to flit between past and present during a longer piece lol).
5. Print off to start the re-write (I’ve decided to change a few things quite considerably).
6. Do the research needed.
7. Write the ending (GULP).
8. Write a synopsis.
9. Decide who to pick on as Beta readers lol (edited to add: Think of questions to ask Beta readers)
10. Think about what to do with it next (depending on Beta readers comments, I could be starting back at number 1 lol).

So, any advice? Is there anything I’ve missed?

For your viewing pleasure, these are my piles of “working” writing stuff on my dining room table lol

It was only 2 piles until I decided to start all those extra notebooks lol

So, I’m hoping, that sharing my plans for the week with you guys will mean that I’ll stick to them. You have my permission to beat me with a large stick if I post next Monday that I failed 😉

What are you writing plans for the week? Do I need to find a large stick to use on you? 😉