Goals: The Bottom Line

I was having a conversation with my sister the other day and it inspired me to extend the conversation on goals. The bottom line is to never stop working on and writing my stories.

Yes, I want to participate in the Nanowrimo challenges because they are a great way to push myself. Yes, I want to see my stories in print because I know my stories are needed. But does that mean that if I don’t complete Nanowrimo one year that I won’t complete a manuscript that same year? No. Does that mean if I don’t get published I will stop writing? FULL STOP. NO. The bottom line for me is that I love writing and I love my stories. I love my stories enough to delete 20,000 words of a 50,000 word manuscript and rewrite if it’s the right move for the story. I love my stories enough to kill my darlings (both painful experiences though, let us not forget) if it’s what needs to happen. And I do those things because they are in service of my first goal, my ultimate, ultimate goal, which is to write my stories.

Last week I completed the paper revisions of the chapters for my Nanowrimo 2018 manuscript through chapter 10 and got those revisions into Scrivener. I’m quickly realizing that this manuscript is going to need a LOT of additions after the revisions. I’m finding that I’m cutting out large chunks of info dumps that need to be reworked back into the story as action and scenes that move the story along. I thought about stopping and adding in the rewrites as I am revising, but have ultimately decided not to do that. I’m in one mindset when I’m revising in that I am looking at what is in the writing that is dragging the plot and losing the momentum and focus. I need to strip away all of that to get to the foundation of what this story is and then I can go back and rebuild. I didn’t get to work on the new manuscript. Adding to the new manuscript is first on my agenda this week.

What goals do you have for this year for your writing? Know that you are doing your best and you are more than enough.

Happy Writing!