Add Flexibility to Writing Goals

This year I am writing two novels: FINDING VERITY and CURRENT NOVEL (not the real title).  My original plan was to alternate between projects… One day I would work on FINDING VERITY, the next day I would work on CURRENT NOVEL. 

But this plan went by the wayside rather quickly. I discovered that when I was making great strides on one of the novels I had to continue working on it. I had to give it more than one day of attention. So I had to change my plan.

What this told  me is it’s important to build FLEXIBILITY into our goals.

So my new commitment  is this: I WILL WORK ON ONE OF TWO NOVELS EACH DAY. If one gets ignored for a couple of days or a week or so, so be it.

Here is my new word count: 

FINDING VERITY – 14,523

CURRENT NOVEL - 9,630 words.

Right now I’m readingTHE BOOK OF FATE by Brad Meltzer and I am enjoying it. My thoughts on this book will be blogged about in the future.

The Boy in the Suitcase

I just finished reading The Boy in the Suitcase. It was written by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis.

The story is not for the weak-hearted. No there is not a lot of blood and guts but it is a story about a three-year old boy who is stolen from his mother. He is found, naked and drugged, in a suitcase. It is heart wrenching and written well, told mainly from the standpoint of the boy’s mother and the woman who found him. Other viewpoints include the man who ordered the kidnapping and the man who was going to pick up the boy and leave the money. The story takes place in eastern Europe.

Although the story was dark, it was not the same old same old, something I always look for in a story. (I get so tired of knowing how the story is going to end before I get to the end.) The Boy in the Suitcase had a twist at the end which gave it a kind of upbeat ending.

I read The Boy in the Suitcase on my Kindle. It is also available in a hardback at Amazon.com.

I won’t want to read another book about a kidnapped child for a while but I gave this story five stars out of five stars.

Two Novels at One Time… An Interesting Challenge!

One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to write two novels in 2012. I could not decide which to write first so I’ve decided to write them both, more or less, at the same time.

What I’m doing is this…

One day I work on one novel and the next day I work on the other. It seems to be working so far.

But it is an interesting challenge. One of the novels is written in third person narrative. The other is written in first person. One novel is a paranormal romance and the other is a bit of a social commentary. One of the novels is titled FINDING VERITY. The other I’m referring to as CURRENT NOVEL because I haven’t come up with a title yet. Unless something happens to change my mind I plan on self-publishing both, just like I self-published WINDFALL.

I’m up to the challenge and consider it to be a kind of experiment. I’m wondering if I’ll be able to keep the two stories straight or if this will end up being too confusing.

I’d love to hear from other writers who have written two novels at the same time.

I’ll take all the helpful suggestions you can throw my way!

11/22/63 by Stephen King

My favorite line from Stephen King’s new novel, 11/22/63  is:  When you put on a clown suit and a rubber nose, nobody has any idea what you look like inside.

I loved King’s new novel, an exploration of a time traveler trying to stop President Kennedy’s assination by Lee Oswald. The main character is George Amberson.  While I read the book I  kept asking myself three questions. (1) Will George be able to stop the assination? (2) Will he be able to return to his  real life? And (3) If he is successful and able to return what will life be like? Because when you change history, you change the future.

Maybe I’m the only person in the world who had to look up the word OBDURATE. Because when I started to read the book I had no idea what the word OBDURATE meant. By the time I was finished, I understood its meaning.  King uses OBDURATE with the noun PAST, OBDURATE PAST.

The definition from the online Free Dictionary by Farlex states that obdurate means:  not easily moved by feelings or supplication; hardhearted, and  impervious to persuasion. And stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing.

I read 11/22/63 on my Kindle and I give 11/22/63 five stars out of five. It’s an excellent read! Thank you Stephen King!

Write Down Your Goals…

So today is January 1, 2012. A new year. The mistakes of 2011 are behind us and we’ve got twelve months to go. So, what are your goals for 2012? Whatever they are, write them down. Writing down your goals makes your commitment to them more real.

I have three (maybe four depending on how you count) goals…

The first goal is I want to WRITE  TWO NOVELS  this year. (I suppose this could actually count as two goals.

 The second goal is I want to EXERCISE EVERY DAY for at least twenty minutes. I’m thinking that if I can do this, I will feel  better and if I feel better then, perhaps, I’ll be able to accomplish all my goals.

And the third goal is related to what I READ… In 2012, when I finish reading a book, I’m going to write a couple of paragraphs about the book on this blog. What do you have to look forward to? Well, right now I’m reading Stephen King’s newest novel, 11/22/63.

What are YOUR GOALS in 2012? Take a moment and share them here!

82-year-old student reads in 1939