Goals for June

As part of a writing group, I send out my goals at the beginning of each month. Others do the same. We check in throughout the month, encourage and, sometimes, harrass each other.

My goals for June are:

--Pick a new mainstream novel to start.
--Outline and possibly start new novel.
--Stay current with Apollo's Lyre submissions.
--Send back critiques to the two authors who asked for them.
--Refrain from bugging Jenny about MMG.

I usually list way more than I can easily accomplish, especially with work, family and friends. But even checking off one or two is a nice little rush. This month seems a little light, actually.

One of the people on the list made a comment about only being motivated by "real" goals, not these self-imposed ones. Excuse me? At this point in the game, all writing goals are self-imposed. I guess you could find a patron who would pay you for completing a set amount of writing in a month. If there are any patrons out there willing to support me as long as I churn out x number of pages, contact me through the comment section. Please!

Anyone else ready to commit?

Pondering

Fleur made a great observation this morning. She said that just sitting and pondering is good for the soul.

Amen.

I think that as a society we tend to downplay the benefits of sitting around thinking. We have to go go go, do do do. Even our kids are scheduled every minute of every day.

As writers, we often fall into this same trap. "I must write X words a day." Not that it can't be helpful to have a goal. Sometimes we do need to just get the words out. But where do they come from?

So, my goal for June is to allow myself some pondering time every day. Maybe instead of running errands every lunch hour, I'll go over to the park and sit.

Thanks, Fleur.

Style Over Substance

I'm noticing an interesting trend in some of the submissions I've received for Apollo's Lyre over the past several months. Instead of just worrying about telling a story in 2,000 words or fewer (no easy feat in and of itself), the authors use different stylistic devices. One was formatted like a poem. Another told in one long paragraph (it was not, however, actually only one paragraph).

Where is this coming from? Do they think it gives them an edge? Is there a website out there giving this advice?

To quote my heroine, Miss Snark: "Just follow the damn directions." Read my article on what I'm looking for in a submission. Keep it under 2,000 words. Have a beginning, a middle and an end. Tell an interesting story. Run spell check.

I won't even start about the "Dear editors" I get when my name is right there on the submission page.