I know February is the shortest month, but it’s crazy how quickly it flew by. Now it’s March, and I’m starting to worry about my 2018 writing goals. I fear it might go the same way that 2017 went. However, the year isn’t over yet, and I still have time to complete my goals.
My February writing goals:
- Novel 4th draft – edit 50,000 words
- Write my psychological horror novella
- Plan 2nd standalone novel
- Submit 2 short stories
- Flash Fiction Collection – finalise 2 stories
- OWG anthology – finalise 2 story/poem
- Read The Demon Lover by Dion Fortune
- Read a short story – ‘The Magic Shop’ by H. G. Wells
Well, February wasn’t a great month for my writing. I have extra work now, which is good because I needed it, but it means that I didn’t have much time to work on any of my writing projects. I only completed one and a half goals this month. I submitted one story instead of the two I had planned, and I read the short story ‘The Magic Shop’ by H. G. Wells. I wasn’t able to read The Demon Lover by Dion Fortune because even though I reserved the book from the library, I’m yet to receive it. I also tried to find some of the other books on my female horror author list, but I had the same problem – I think someone might be stealing the library books. Anyway, I’m currently reading Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton, but after that, I’m hoping to find one of the books on my list.
So, that was the goals I managed to complete, but I didn’t have any time at all to work on my other projects, which sucks, but it made me realise that I need to cut down on my writing goals and focus on my main projects.
Early in the month, I decided to put the flash fiction collection on hold until I have finished writing my novella. I’ve also decided (it was a really difficult decision) to stop submitting stories until I finish the fourth draft of my novel. It will be tricky because I struggle to resist the submission calls, but if I’m ever going to finish my novel, I need to prioritise it. So the projects I will be working on is my first novel, novella, my second novel and edit my Oldbury Writing Group anthology stories – this has an August deadline, so I can’t stop working on these. Once I’ve written the novella and completed the fourth draft, I will then return to the flash fiction collection and short stories. Well, that’s the plan.
So, now it’s March, it’s time to create some new writing goals.
My March Writing Goals
- Novel 4th draft – edit 50,000 words
- Write 15,000 words of my psychological horror novella
- Plan 2nd standalone novel
- Submit 1 short story
- OWG anthology – finalise 1 story/poem
- Read an Anne Rice horror novel
- Read a short story – ‘The Gift of the Magi’ by O. Henry
Now, you may have noticed that I added a short story submission to my goals for March, but this is one submission call I can’t miss, and it’s only a flash fiction. However, this will be the last short story I submit for now (cries a little). Hopefully, with less to do, I can focus on my main projects and finally move forward. I don’t want to be editing this novel in 2019. I now need to find time to work on my writing.
How did you do in February? Feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear how everyone else is doing.
Keep writing, folks!
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