2018 Goals

Hey, guys! Yeah, I know. Two weeks ago I said I was back, but then I didn't post last week. . . I meant to, but things got a little crazy. But I'm here today! :D And with a goals post. ;) 

Apparently, I set some pretty lofty goals for 2017. . . Let's go over those, and you'll know why I say that. *is really bad with intros* :P

~ 2017 Goals ~

// Write the rough draft of 1 book //

I did that! I wrote the rough draft of Strangers. :D Well, I had some parts written before but I had to edit those a little bit. I still consider it a rough draft because it's so bad. I also wrote the first 20k of Roping the Overcomer for Camp NaNo in April. (If you're new to the blog, or just want to know more about those WIP, you can go to My Writings page)

// Edit 2 books //

Yeah, no, that didn't happen. I don't think I did any editing last year except the parts for Strangers. So I can only give myself like a third of a book for this goal. :P

// Read 70 books //

I totally thought this was an achievable goal because I read 63 books in 2016. But I guess not because I only read 48 books in 2017. Although, I don't think that's too bad considering I read next to nothing from June until December. Yeah, that was kind of a weird reading slump. :P

// Beta read 1 book //

Okay, guys, I honestly think I crushed this goal. ;) I beta read three books last year.

Found by Audrey Caylin

Dandelion Dust by Faith Potts

Andora's Folly by Abigayle Claire

And not only that, I'm also alpha reading two other books! :D

R+B by Madison Guy

Quantum Gears by Marrok MacIntyre

At the beginning of 2017, I didn't really know what alpha or beta reading was. But I signed up to read quite a few books, and I've learned a lot. I actually feel like I kinda know what I'm doing now. ;P

// Journal more //

Yeah, no. That didn't happen. I think I journaled less last year than I did in 2016. :P

// Take 2 English classes //

I didn't do this one either. I have sets of Great Courses on writing topics. I started them last year, but haven't made it all the way through yet. But I'm learning a lot!

// Study the Bible more and strengthen my relationship with God //

YES!! I did this, and it was amazing! I feel so much closer to God now than I did before. :) I feel like I passed a huge milestone last year, and it makes me so happy. To be honest, even though I didn't meet many of my goals for last year, I'm glad I met this one. :)

 You may remember that back in September I decided that I was going to make a Bible TBR. Here is the list of books that I shared with you:

And I read all of them! :D Along with those though, I also read 1, 2, 3 John, Colossians, Galatians, Song of Solomon, and 1 Timothy. :)

~ 2018 Goals ~

 // Write the second draft of Strangers //

I'm excited about this. :D Some of you know that I sent out Strangers to my alpha readers this past November. They aren't finished yet, but right now my plan is to work on the second draft in the next two or three months. That may change though, it all depends.

// Write at least 1 rough draft //

I have two novels that I've been working on outlines for, so I know I'll write at least one of them this year, if not both. (I'm trying to create achievable goals here. I've learned my lesson from last year :P)

// Read 50 books //

Okay, hopefully, I have an achievable reading goal for this year. I lowered it last year to 70, thinking that was reasonable. That proved to not be the case, so 50 it is.

// Finish reading the Bible //

I'm going, to be honest with all of you. I haven't read the whole Bible. But I'm really close, so this year I'm going to finish it. :D

// Finish lectures //

Like I said earlier, I started the lectures last year. I have three sets, and I want to finish them all this year. I may also be taking a writing course through an actual college this year too, but I'm not making any promises. :P

// Journal //

Yes, I know, this was kind of a fail last year, but I'm going to try harder this year. And one of the reasons is, I think 2018 is going to be a year that I'll want to look back on. :)

And there are my goals for 2018! :)

I was tagged to do three tags in the past two-ish months so I will be doing those in the next few weeks. Don't worry guys, I haven't forgotten them. I waited forever to get tagged, I'm not going to just not do them. ;P And, just so you know, I will be doing one of them this Wednesday so you can come back to see that.

What about you? What are some of your goals for 2018? :)

ONE MONTH LEFT! // 5 Things To Do

Guys guys guys! There is only ONE MORE MONTH UNTIL NANOWRIMO!! XD Like, how are we so close I'm not ready!

But I will be. . . hopefully. :P Although I still have a lot to do, I think I've got myself pretty organized for this month. Just yesterday, I bought a dry erase board (because apparently, these things are helping other writers?). I drew up the month of October and figured out what I'm going to do, in the writing department, each day. I already feel better about this month. :)

So I, myself, have five things to do before November, and I figured I'd share them with you all. :)


1. Outline

Yes, I still have to outline. I'm going to be writing three novels, possible four, for NaNo. Right now, I only have a few notes for each of them, and I've started making Pinterest boards for them too. I don't even have characters yet, except for one, and that's only because it's a sequel. :P But I'm not going to do what I did last year, and not even start outlining until two week before NaNo. There was a good reason though, and that was because it wasn't until two weeks before NaNo that I decided that I was going to do it. :P

You may be wondering why I'm writing three novels for NaNo, so I'll tell you. Last year, I didn't think I would make the 50k, especially since it was my first year/time doing something like that. But I finished the novel I had outlined by the 14th, and then had to find other novels to write. My final word count total was 105,501. This year my goal is 150,000 so I'm trying to make sure that I have enough novels outlined. It's also helpful because if one is giving me a hard time, I can switch to another one and keep my word count going up.


2. Playlists

You probably already know that I'm one of those writers who listens to music while I write. So I need to make playlists. Trust me, you don't want to in the middle of NaNo trying to make a playlist or figuring out what you're going to listen to. It takes time, time you could be using to write. So if you're a writer who maybe needs music to write, I highly suggest making playlists before November. I have an idea of how I'm going to create playlists, I just need to do it now. :P

Also, I'm now on Spotify! :D


3. Caffeine

In case you didn't know, I loove coffee. ;P And I need to make sure that I am all stocked up for November. Creamer too. Why? Because I don't plan on sleeping. Sleep is for the weak. Just kidding, I'll be sleeping. :P But anyway, if you have something that you drink or eat while writing, I suggest stocking up so that you don't have to make a run to the store in the middle of the month. Because if you are behind on your word count, then having to go to the store is just going to waste the time you could spend writing your novel.


4. Word Sprints/Wars

Between now and November, I am going to be doing word sprints, and hopefully word wars too. I want to practice writing large amounts at a time, and limber up my fingers for NaNo. It wouldn't be a bad thing to do if you want to practice too. Or you could be like me and practice writing a whole novel in a month. :P Yup, that's right. I have to write 41,500 words of Strangers this month before I can give it to my alpha readers in November. (Don't worry, my alpha readers aren't doing NaNoWriMo so it's not going to cause any problems.)

So I encourage all of you to do word sprints every now and then. I'm actually looking for someone, or multiple people, who would like to do word wars with me this month (and possibly in November too), so if you're interested let me know! :)


5. Panic

Hahaha! Yeah, I added this one partly because five is a nice number. :P But to be honest, it's not necessarily a bad thing to add to this. May as well get it out of my system. Besides, I plan on having this one done by the 15th. After that, I am not allowed to panic. The two weeks before NaNo starts I want to spend getting myself hyped and excited for November, not panicking.


So those are the five things I'm doing this month. At some point, I'm thinking I'll do a post on the novels I'll be writing for NaNoWriMo this month. You guys don't know anything about them yet, and I'm kind of excited to share them with you. :)


So what about you? What do you have to do this month to get ready for NaNoWriMo?