May has been the month of getting things done. I started out wanting to do a Chekhov month (write a short story a week), and then got off to a wild start by writing two stories that first week (one flash, one about 3k). I also wrapped up a third short story that had been partially written a month ago, but which I hadn’t had a chance to finish at the time.
While I didn’t *officially* hit four new short stories this month (I mean, who knows, it’s only Tuesday, so we’ve got a couple more days in there where something could pop out), I spent that time editing the heck out of a short story to submit by the end of the month. I’m still not done with it yet, but we’re (I think) getting closer, and I’m optimistic it’ll be ready on time.
And if I *do* get it submitted by 5/30, then that will officially complete my goal to submit four new stories this year! Oh, that’ll feel so good. Last year, while I had a lot of things come out, writing new things and getting them submitted was really difficult (uh, duh, new baby), but that also means that this year I may not sell as much. There’s a lot about short fiction success that requires you to do the legwork the year *before*so that the current year has a lot out and in the works, so not getting prepped last year hurts this year. That said, at least *this* year, I’m getting things moving again, which was the point of the new submissions goal.
Hitting that goal doesn’t mean I stop submitting new things, though. Four new submissions was my minimum that I’d be happy with, so I’m relieved to reach that watermark, but I’ve got a number of other stories that could maybe go over the next few months. And you never know when that story is just going to explode almost whole out of your head, begging to get out into the world (hey, it happens occasionally!). The more I get out this year, the better my odds of having work come out next year.
Moving right along: I’ve surpassed my goal for new rough drafts, which feels fantastic. Not only have I currently found a work method that I enjoy and keeps me on my toes, but it’s producing a lot of new work. Boy, how I love the smell of printer ink on rough drafts. I have no intention of stopping that production, either, though we’ll see how it evolves over the year.
Still no summary draft yet, but it’s been pretty well back-burnered these past months with the current book project raging forward. That said, letting go of a Chekhov month to focus on a summary draft is a total possibility, and may be how I get that done over the summer.
Total word count! Total world count! TOTAL WORD COUNT! Holy crap, it’s only May, and I’ve already written over 100k words. In part, that’s thanks to the short fiction churn-out that’s been happening lately, but a good solid half of it is from the book-in-progress, which feels great. Another 50k on that, and we’ll hopefully be wrapped on Draft 2 (*cough*five*coughcough*) of the book!
In Books Read, I am squeaking up on the end of the month and scrambling to finish two more books. I *think* I’ll be able to do it. I’m finishing up a re-read of The Accidental Creative and I’ve picked up the very short Your Seven Year Old which is a great glimpse at what behavior and development may be coming down the road this year for Thing One (aka B-Bug). Now, NEXT month, I feel like I’ll be pretty well-positioned to finish at least four books, so we’ll see how it goes.
In other stats, those submission attempts are slooooooowly crawling upwards. Hoping to bump those up a bit more now that these three (almost four) stories are getting out and about. Still no personal rejections (aw), and still one sale (yay!) which I’m hoping I’ll be able to announce soon. HA!
^^^
How about your month? What goals did you set for yourself? Were they reasonable, reachable goals or were they stretch-goals?
Did you meet any of these goals, or was May a tough month to make progress? If it was a tough month, what could you do next month to make achievable goals?
If you hit your goals, will June be a month when you can push your goals just a little bit further? Or will June be a pull-back and reflect month?
Maggie Slater 