my writing week 2/1

Hi all,

The new year has begun and, like most writers, I have been thinking about my writing goals for this year. I obviously want to finish the last three chapters of the first draft of the novel I am currently writing. I then want to tidy it up so I can put it out into the critiquing world. While it is being critiqued, and to sit on it for a while, I want to rewrite a novel I wrote the first draft of before I did a few writing courses. Finally, I want to redraft the novel that I have had critiqued.

To achieve all this I am going to have to increase the amount of writing I do. Last year I had the goal of writing every day, which I did, but I think that became a self satisfying goal, rather than the quantity/quality of writing itself. So this year I have decided that I don't have to write every day, just complete a weekly word tally. Originally I was thinking of 7000 words a week, but with a target like that I would probably try and write 1000 words every day and fail miserably. So I have decided to set a word count of 5000 a week, which hopefully allows me a day off writing a week.

If I stick to writing 5000 words a week, on average, I should finish writing the first draft of the novel I am working on and have time to tidy it up by the end of January. I will then give myself six months, to the end July, to rewrite the other novel. This leaves five months to write a second draft of the novel I am currently working on.

I am still writing every day. I though as soon as I hit new year's day I wouldn't go near the computer for a few days, but it seems to have become an addiction.

I am nearly finished chapter 22, with still just the two chapters remaining.

I have read a lot of interesting stuff on writing on blogs and in the papers in the past couple of weeks that will be the subject of another blog later this week.

Graham.