Weekly Goals

Haven't been chiming in here as much as I should. Honestly, setting goals has been more difficult lately.

I feel energized, though, since I now have a lovely cover for my upcoming book! Very exciting! It's a beautiful work, and it was a dream to find someone as kind and talented as Rachelle to help. This is encouraging me to finish the proofreading of the novel so we can get proof copies as soon as possible. I have four chapters left! It's funny, I know I could get it done in one day, but the work exhausts my brain and really makes me want to be distracted. Just tedious.

My drafting has suffered, but only because I've finished the first draft of my historical fiction collection. I know the work to get a new draft will require some major detail upgrades, so there are research projects going on. Honestly, I think I need to approach it differently... Instead of trying to learn everything there is to know about the location/setting I picked, I think it would be more effective to do spot-searching. I should get a copy of the draft out, highlight the locations which need more detail, and seek out the details needed for each scene. That should save me a whole lot of circular reading and endless research. (Too easy to get sucked into the "there might be a better detail... I just have to read this other book on the fauna of Virginia!" The research would never end!)

I think these are sufficient writing goals for this week. I have reading goals, too, and these are general craft research for quiet times. Personal narrative has been fascinating me lately, and I have a book of essays to read and analyze. Genre, too, has been intriguing, particularly popular/scifi/horror (ala Twilight Zone, X Files, etc.) Netflix and I are working on our understanding of these. :)