So, let’s look at my goals and what I’ve been doing:

• Write at least 3,000 more words in my WIP. This is looking like a much less hectic week, so I think it’s definitely feasible. Although I did write a lot on my WIP, I didn’t write 3,000 words. I wrote 2,483. More than last week, but not my goal amount. The reason for not writing as much as I thought I would is revealed in the next two goals, which took up a lot more of my time than I predicted.
• Complete assignments in my editing class to help me figure out if my first ms needs further revision. The assignments in the class aren’t mandatory, but I think they’ll be really helpful. They have been very helpful, and a little time-consuming as well. But I’m not complaining – they’ve really gotten me thinking about changes that need to be made in the ms. Working on them does cut into my writing time, though.
• Start reading The First Five Pages. I should be done with The Lost Symbol within the next day or two, so this will be possible. It should be a nice complement to the course I’m taking. Again, this book has been really helpful for me in thinking about my first ms. But it does take a lot of time to do the exercises at the end of each chapter. Very helpful, but time-consuming.

This was a pretty good week for writing, all things considered. I met two of my goals and almost met a third one. The weather helps – I love the chilliness in the air. It makes me want to spend hours in front of my computer, sipping tea and thinking about writing.

Goals for next week:

• Write at least 2,500 more words in my WIP. This is approximately what I was able to do this week, and based on my experience, it’s doable.
• Continue completing assignments in my editing class. I’ve already done today’s assignment and should be getting a new one on Wednesday. I shouldn’t have any problem making this goal, and it definitely helps me with my first ms.
• Continue reading The First Five Pages and doing the exercises in the chapters. The exercises have proven extremely helpful in thinking about my first ms. I don’t know how much farther I’ll get into it. I’m currently working on the exercises in chapter three, so I’d at least hope to be at chapter four by next week.

Anyway, here’s a look at my goals from last week and the progress I made on them:

• Write at least 2,000 more words in my WIP. I’m going to a conference out of town this weekend for my day job, so that seriously cuts into writing time, but I think I can cobble enough time together during the week to do it. – Success! I actually wrote 2,467 words in my WIP last week. All of the writing was done at the beginning of the week because of the conference. I haven’t written anything for it in October yet! That will change this week.
• Start reading The First Five Pages and think about if anything applies to my first ms. Nope, this didn’t happen. I’ve been reading The Lost Symbol instead. My book club will be discussing it this month and I asked a friend if I could borrow her copy when she was done reading it. She dropped it off at the beginning of the week and mentioned that her husband wanted to read it when I was done, so that became my reading priority. I’m about 2/3 of the way through it, though, so I’ll be able to pick up the craft books soon.

But, lest you think I’ve been doing nothing on revising my first manuscript… When I wrote last week’s post I forgot that an online class was beginning this week that I signed up for at the beginning of September through Pennwriters. The class is about being your own best editor:

Have you ever written a short story or novel and wondered if it was done? Have you made revisions and thought you were finished, but then realized once you started to send the piece out that it needed work?

Perfect! The instructor just posted our first assignment and I think it’s going to be really helpful in determining whether to further revise my first ms.

So, what are my writing goals for this week?

• Write at least 3,000 more words in my WIP. This is looking like a much less hectic week, so I think it’s definitely feasible.
• Complete assignments in my editing class to help me figure out if my first ms needs further revision. The assignments in the class aren’t mandatory, but I think they’ll be really helpful.
• Start reading The First Five Pages. I should be done with The Lost Symbol within the next day or two, so this will be possible. It should be a nice complement to the course I’m taking.

And about what I wrote on Thursday: I’m still thinking of revising the current novel I’m shopping around. My critique partner has it and will get back to me about it in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I took out a few books in the library that I’m hoping will help me. Whether they make me feel like “Oh my god, I can’t believe I sent out that drivel to a few agents” or “Wow, I’m in much better shape than I thought I was,” either one will help me (and my peace of mind) out.

The books I borrowed are The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile (which seems, right now, like it was written completely for me), Writing the Breakout Novel, and Plot & Structure. I figure the last one can’t hurt when I’m trying to figure out how to structure my new WIP, which is unlike anything I’ve ever written before. I might play around with formats to see what works best for the MC’s story. Only time (and a lot of hard work and dedication) will tell!

So, goals for the week:

• My current word count is 2,441.
• Write at least 2,000 more words in my WIP. I’m going to a conference out of town this weekend for my day job, so that seriously cuts into writing time, but I think I can cobble enough time together during the week to do it.
• Start reading The First Five Pages and think about if anything applies to my first ms.

The first one, the one I started writing here, I find much easier to write. The words really just flow out when I’m working on it. It’s a contemporary YA, but turning out very different in tone than my first novel, despite having similarly heavy topics.

The second one is a fun idea I had for a superhero novel. Not a graphic novel, though that might be a mistake. I’ve tried to read a few graphic novels and really couldn’t get into them. Maybe I’m reading the wrong things? Anyway, I’ve been trying to put thoughts to paper with this one and I just can’t get it started. Maybe I just haven’t given the idea enough time to percolate in my brain, maybe I’m waiting for the perfect first line to come to me, but I just can’t seem to freaking do it already.

So…my goals for the week. Very funny. Figure out what I’m doing, I guess. Choose one of the projects to focus on and write at least 1000 more words.

I hope all my Muse Mondays aren’t as tortured as this week’s.