One thing that's been beaten into me at Taylor is deadlines are everything. You meet the deadline, you become your publisher's best friend. You miss it, you mess up the publishing chain, which could result in you missing your print date. And no one wants to miss their print date.
Well, I wanted to send my proposal back to the agent I talked about last week by yesterday. I scheduled it out, every fine detail, so that I could get it back in a timely manner. Well, I didn't account for school. And the fact I'm currently in quarantine. Needless to say, I didn't make my deadline. Don't worry: it was a deadline I set for myself. I'm the only person screwed over for missing it. But it still stinks. I feel like I can't hold myself accountable to get things done in a timely fashion. If it's homework or if I'm doing something for someone else, 99% of the time, I get it done on time. (Even with minor procrastination.) But when it comes to me, I can't hold a deadline. Something I've started doing is scheduling out what writing or editing I need to get done by using something called a Gantt chart. While I was taking engineering courses during high school, we talked about Gantt charts, and how engineers use them to schedule out their projects so they don't fall behind. Everything they need to accomplish is on the chart, whether it's a big job or something as simple as creating that chart in the first place. They're helpful, and normally effective. So, I stole that concept and started applying it to my writing. Currently, I have three different charts going: my book proposal (which I extended the deadline to the thirteenth so I can finish editing), editing and re-writing the rest of the first book in the Dynasty River mystery series (finishing by 10/15), and finishing the second draft of book two (finishing by 10/14). Somewhere down the road, I'll be adding re-writing book three and editing book four. I'm not saying I'm going to follow the chart perfectly. I'm human, and also a full-time college student. But I'm training myself for the real world. I even gave myself buffer days in case I really get behind, or really need a break. Scheduling is something that's never going away, so I might as well get a head start on it now. If this is something you want to learn more about or want to see an example of, I'm willing to put together a YouTube video showing how to create a Gantt chart. I find them helpful, and I want to provide other writers with scheduling systems that work. Let me know if that's something that would interest you! Happy Writing!
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The hardest thing about trying to get my book proposal shaped up is finding time to work on it while getting my course work done.
I just finished my fourth day of my junior year at Taylor University, and I'm so happy to be back on campus and with my friends. One thing I could live without is the homework. I'm only in four classes this semester, which is great. I'm thriving in that respect. And, honestly, I've had busy beginnings to semesters before, and this ISN'T one of them. I just kinda wish I'd gotten edits done on my book proposal before starting school again. In case I haven't said, I've been working on updating and fixing the first book in my Dynasty River Mystery series. I currently have an agent who said it wasn't quite ready yet, but she's willing to look at it again if I make some necessary edits to both the proposal and the book. Great! Awesome! To get those edits done, I made myself a schedule and have given myself a deadline of August 31st to send it back to her. Last week, I did pretty well working on changes and sticking to my schedule. I should have finished editing chapter three and the synopsis and started making changes to the first chapter. Well, this is where I've gotten behind. One of the biggest things I'm trying to work on, whether it's this dreaded proposal or school, is to take every assignment or page of writing as a new opportunity. Instead of saying, "I HAVE to do this assignment," I'm saying, "I GET to work on this chapter and make it better" or "I GET to learn more about [insert subject here]." I'm not saying it's not hard. Are you kidding? Trying to change your way of perceiving something is next to impossible. But it's still possible. So, now that I've posted on my blog, I GET to continue editing chapter three of Dynasty River book one. And you know what, even if I send my proposal back and nothing comes of it, that's okay. Rejections are part of being a writer, and while it sucks, I still need to try. Wish me luck! Well, the last month or so has been one thing after another of cancellations, triumphs, and everything in between. So, to celebrate quarantine year 1,253, here's some of the stuff that's gone on behind the scenes for me.
1. As I said in my last post, Dynasty River Mysteries Book 1 is currently being used in one of my classes at school. I received the content edits and have been working on draft four with them. After 5 weeks of editing, I'm still not done, but I've added 6,000 words to the manuscript, added another chapter, and I feel a lot better about the shape the story is in in general. 2. I created a murder board that the majority of people assume is another conspiracy board. Which is fine. I did create it for a reason, though. The board is the first Dynasty River's murder scheme. I wanted to make sure I had enough evidence against the murderers and made sure the evidence I had matched up with my case notes I kept while I wrote the third draft of the book. I even added some things originally missing which helped bring the story together. It's a great exercise, and if you're a murder junkie like I am, it's a lot of fun to put together. (I was also jealous of my main character in my book who had one of her own, and I wanted to recreate it.) 3. Since I lost my job at the camp Dynasty River is based on, I decided there is no point in waiting to write the fourth book until the summer. The first draft of book four is in it's early stages, but I've found it hard to write. I think I'm still going to have to put it off until the summer to churn it out. It's not fair to the series to write it different from the others, but I'd rather wait for the end of next month and write it than cancel book four all together. The project's working title is called The Summer That Never Was, and as much as I want to dive into the writing process for it, I know in my heart it's not time. It's just giving me more time to clean up book 1 so I can send it to publishers this summer. These are the biggest things going on for me right now. Hope you enjoyed! Are you getting cabin fever, too? Let me know in the comments if you are and how your combating it! Until next time, my friends! Sorry for the radio silence, y'all! I was working on the third draft of Dynasty River Mysteries book one. I'm happy to announce I finished it! It's the first time I've gotten that far on a single manuscript. That series in general is a mile stone for me. It's the only series of mine that has a completed sequel, let alone two! (Soon to be three :) )
Currently, I'm trying to build stronger characters and more descriptive scenes in my writing, and that's been taking up a good chunk of my time. I am trying to work on more blog posts, devotions, and book reviews for you guys, so stay tuned. Thank you for your support so far! If you don't follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, don't hesitate to do that! I update those more often. Hope you're all having a good new year and are trying new things! I can't wait to see what this year has in store! After a long, never-ending semester finally drawing to a close, I've decided to reflect on the things I've learned at school so far this year. It's a pretty interesting list, so please join me for the ride.
What have you learned this semester? I REALLY want to know! Write it in the comments below! |
L.P. MetzgerJust a girl with a dream, but you already knew that. Archives
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