Business Plan 2013

This semester has been the craziest of my life. Just last night I finished the first draft for my honors thesis that's due on January 30, so I have a whole lot of work to do! Next semester I'm graduating (SO WEIRD) but I should have more time on my hands. :)

Today Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder, posted on her blog "Business Plans for Writers." And honestly, when I first saw this I thought, "Um...shouldn't this wait for New Years?" until I realized...it's December 13. WAIT, WHAT? Where did the time go?!

So anyway, I thought I'd make my own business plan, as Marissa Meyer did. To make myself accountable, this list is going on the side of my blog, so it doesn't get buried and forgotten. Here we go!

My 2013 Business Plan

• Polish honors thesis
• Apply to MFA programs
• Re-write FORGET ME NOT
• Outline FMN trilogy
• Polish FMN
• Blog 3 times a week and revisit Writer's Guide to the Hunger Games
• Comment on at least 3 blogs every day.
• Practice writing queries (no promises on sending any out, though, I want to be ready when that step comes)

And now, the all-important succeeding at this. Giving deadlines.

JANUARY
Apply to BYU's MFA program.
Rewrite, revise, and edit honors thesis
Blog and comment (this continued the whole time)

FEBRUARY
Turn in rest of MFA applications
Outline FMN trilogy
Begin FMN

MARCH
Continue working on FMN

APRIL
Finish first draft of FMN, send to readers

MAY-DECEMBER
Keep up revising, blogging, commenting, and everything else! Re-visit for more specific goals when it gets closer

So yeah, crazy year up ahead for me. MFA. I wasn't sure I was going to post about it in case I don't get in. And maybe I won't, but I'm trying. I feel like, with so much uncertain in my life right now, that's all I really can do. Just try and try and keep on trying.

What goals do you have for 2013?

New Writing Routine

So I've come to my final year of college (yeah, weird) and for my honors thesis, I'm writing a book! I almost feel professional (minus the agent, book deal, editor, and all that stuff) because for the first time, I have a real deadline for a full book. I started off the year determined to do well in this.

But home is distracting! Friends coming over, roommates doing fun stuff, social media, you know the temptations. Now I've buckled down.

I set a word goal for the day, and I don't leave campus until that is complete.

This works for me because I like home. It's warm and there's food and it's a place to rest after a long day of classes and work. But by staying on campus, I'm still in the mindset of work mode. I have to keep typing until I hit that word count, and only then can I eat food and play around on facebook and start my other homework.

It's nice, here though. One of the buildings has comfy chairs with foot stools, an outlet, and no distraction from the strangers around me. It's working out great and I've gotten to my word goal every day so far!

What do you do to keep distractions at bay while writing?

My crazy goals and how I'll finish them

ICYMI: I'm writing a book for my honors thesis (just got the e-mail that my proposal was approved. Whew!). What this means? DEADLINES. My book will have to be shiny and perfect and ready to defend by next January. Maybe to some this isn't a big deal, but for me...yeah, this is going to push me.

As part of the proposal I had to set deadlines for myself. Deadline for my first draft? A month from now. That's about 2,000 words a day, six days of the week. I started up yesterday.

So now, I'm getting serious. Last week in a late-night youtube marathon, I came across this video from Charlie McDonnell (charlieissocoollike) where he talks about how he keeps up his goals. I learned from him, who learned from the internet, who learned from Jerry Seinfeld, about don't break the chain.

Have a calendar, and every time you meet your daily goal (of exercise or for people like us, writing) cross off the day. Keep crossing off days and don't break the chain. It seems to be working for Charlie, and I mean, if Jerry Seinfeld endorses it, who am I to argue?

Here's hopes of 2,000 words a day, six days a week for the next month.

Do you have any goals? What are you doing to meet them?

The kind of writer I do and don't want to be

1. I don't want to write only to get published. 
2. I want to continue writing no matter what because I love it.
3. If/when I'm published, I don't want to be ungrateful and never be satisfied because of what I don't have (six figure deals, movies, awards, huge twitter followings). 
4. If/when I'm published, I want to be content with the fact that my dream's come true and a physical book exists with the word I wrote.
5. I don't want to feel the need to degrade other genres/writers just because they're successful and I'm not.
6. I want to praise all writers for the fact that they did something hard and published a book, and praise even more highly those who I think did a fan-freaking-tastic job. 
7. If I do become one of the few lucky who's really successful at a writing, I don't ever want to forget that for all the work I did put in, I'm only a slice of the reason why I'm able to support myself in it.

This is my list. What's yours?

Writing Resolutions

With the new year, bear with me as I share my goals for 2012 (at least the writingish ones).

1. Edit at least a page a day.
2. Write 500 words a day, of anything.
3. Comment on at least three blogs four days out of the week.
4. Prepare a query (although whether I actually query...different story).
5. Have FORGET ME NOT into its shiniest form.

I've tried to make my resolutions doable, so I don't end up like the cartoon above. Slow and steady after all.

What resolutions have you made?