Writing Goals

8th of May 2023 – Building A Structure

Peter Germany Health, Horror, Horror Writer, Life, Lifestyle, Men’s Mental Health, Mental Health, Preparation, Sci-Fi, Short Fiction, Writer, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Howdy folks, I hope everyones week has started well. I had a good start with work and when I got home I got some words wrangled and did some gaming before dinner.

I managed to scrap a few words during my break as well on a short story but not many. All in all I wrote about 1300 words today give or take. I’m particularly happy with one section where I took a scene that was kind of filler and gave it some depth while building up a subplot for the early part of the book.

I’ve tried to map out what I want to achieve this week on a desk planner. This is something I’ve tried and failed at before but I’m hoping with the changes in life I’ve made and what I’ve learnt will help me make the most of it.

So far this month I’ve 7137 words, I’m trying to figure out what my targets should be and make sure they’re realistic. At the moment I’m working off a rough target of twenty thousand words a month, but I think I should be pushing to have that a minimum goal rather than a target to aim for.

None of the three cats were very helpful today….

I know writing before work, during my break, and when I get home works for me. So why not push and make that my routine and try and focus on building from that? I’ve looked at my work rota for this week, as well as non-writing bits and pieces I need to be doing. As well as time with family etcetera. I’ve worked out my daily targets from looking at what else I have each day. Thursday for example; I’m working 11am through till 6pm. A somewhat unusual shift for me which doesn’t leave much time before work (unless I actually get up at a decent time!) to write. So I think my words will be written during my break and a few after. I do feel like I’m low-balling that number, but I’m also looking responsibly. If I hit target for the other five days of the week (I’ve got my little one at the weekend so I won’t be writing then) then I’ll have 4500 words for the week.

The problem I’ve had in the past is when life throws a curveball I have a habit of loosing momentum with writing, when that’s the time I need to be writing the most. Not only is it good for my mental health to be writing but keeping that habit of writing each day will keep some structure in life. Even if it’s just writing during a break or when I have a spare moment, it’s still writing.

2023 Goals

Peter Germany Health, Horror Writer, Insperation, Life, Lifestyle, Men’s Mental Health, Mental Health, Planning, Preparation, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So, here we are, 2023. I feel like the last few times I’ve tried getting goals scribbled down I end up loosing track of where I am on them. This time I’m hoping to be able to stick to them much better. I feel more focused, more capable at the moment and like I can actually follow through with these plans.

1 – Publish my zombie novella

2 – Publish one vampire era story to my ko-fi a month (this covers me till august)

3 – Continue writing War Child (2022’s NaNoWriMo project)

4 – Find publishers to submit Penal Earth to

5 – Complete Black Blood (just need to do the final edit)

6 – Continue planning for Penal Earth 2

7 – Spend no less than half an hour a day, for at least twenty-five days of the month working on writing projects

8 – Blog on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays

9 – Continue serial killer story

10 – Find anthologies to submit to

This feels like a big list, like there’s a lot I’ve lined up for myself. I do feel like I can do it though, I don’t feel like I’m fooling myself with what I want to achieve in this calendar year. A lot does rest on me continuing working on my life in general. I’m going to try and map out some personal growth goals as well, but I’m not sure where I want to start with that one.