WIP Challenge Check-In, Day 27: Monday Writing Plans

[soldierwitch]

gif credit: goodvibesinroswell

Hi, y'all! A new week is here, and we've got a few days until the December WIP challenge draws to a close. Yesterday we celebrated what we accomplished so far in the challenge, so today we're going to focus on what we have left to do (if anything) and start making plans for what we'd like to work on in January.

Here are our discussion prompts:

-Are you going to make your December WIP challenge goal? Do you plan on carrying the project into January's challenge or are you going to move onto something else?

-What are your January writing plans? Do you have a certain fic or fics you want to write in 2022?

-How did you think writing went for you this year? Did you improve in skill and/or the writing process? How do you want to work on your craft in 2022?

Note: You can expect a check-in post on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of this week.

Comments

[soldierwitch]

I made my December WIP challenge goal yesterday which I'm very happy about. The Devil Went Down to Roswell isn't finished yet and won't be for the foreseeable future, so it's going to be a part of my WIP challenge goals for quite some time on here.

I'll be keeping TDWDTR as my priority fic moving into 2022, but I'll be adding my Hunger Games fic (Vorare) into the mix as I'll be resuming posting come January. I also have an Echo (Liz/Max) fic that I want to post in March, so I'm going to start working on that as well.

What I really need to do is start organizing my current WIPs and the fics I want to write and set myself on some kind of schedule. I've really been figuring out what works for me since I joined this community and started writing consistently, so this has really been an illuminating few months, that's for sure. Incredibly grateful for it tbh.

I think I've improved writing wise quite a bit this year. Mainly in terms of really sticking to coming up with an outline and how beneficial that can be even if the fic takes a different direction from what was originally outlined. I've also settled more into the idea that sometimes my ideas are going to be better than what I'd like my execution to be but that doesn't mean I shouldn't write it anyway.

Also, I think I've managed the art of taming the plot bunny which is such a big move for me. It means less of my ideas out in the world, but it also means less stress, so for that I'm glad.

For 2022, I'd really like to finish a WIP. It doesn't matter to me which one, I just want to finish a WIP for once in my fanfic writing life. Other than that I do want to see how a fic writing schedule may work for me like I mentioned above. I used to think that would stifle my creativity but honestly, now I think it might help keep me on track to write and move through the stories I want to tell so that I can keep coming up with even more stories to write. We'll see.

[mistressofmuses]

Congrats on hitting your December goal!

I think I'm with you on needing to come up with a workable schedule for my current WIPs. That tends to be what works best for me... when I figure out what schedule to set!

And I will always sing the praises of outlines, just because they've saved my butt after a hiatus so many times.

Cheers to a 2022 of completing work!

[soldierwitch]

Thank you!

Are you thinking on a loose or strict schedule? I worked on mine yesterday, and I have a clear idea on what I'm doing up until March which is when I'll reassess what I want to do and how much I've achieved. It's pretty loose in the sense that I know I'm posting monthly for two fics and working on one that'll post in March, but I don't have hard deadlines beyond that frankly because I'm terrible with hard deadlines.

[mistressofmuses]

Usually I have a relatively loose schedule for writing, and then a stricter one for editing and posting. Writing is the part that takes me the longest, but once I've got the first draft out, I can usually revise/write the second draft pretty smoothly, barring the discovery of a major structural issue.

I've got sort of loose "get a chapter done each month" schedule in mind for now (though with the hope for more), and then getting second drafts of each chapter done in closer to a week.

I'm also not great with hard deadlines, or at least not self-imposed ones, ha. (Though schoolwork was often completed deadline-induced panic.)

[soldierwitch]

Your schedule sounds doable which is incredibly important and organized. tbh I wish self-imposed hard deadlines worked like schoolwork deadlines. Like the sense of urgency is just not there and it would be great if it were lol because things would get done. In sheer panic haha but done nonetheless.

[mistressofmuses]

Thank you! I try to keep my goals reasonable without being TOO relaxed. If I can finish a chapter in more like a week or two, that would definitely be preferable, but a month seems like a more reasonable timeline.

I DO wish I could take my self-imposed deadlines as seriously as external ones, haha. I know there's the running joke of "Yeah, self-imposed deadlines never work, because I know the person who set them, and they're a total pushover" lol. It's true though.

But boy could I do with a little panic-induced productivity, haha

[linaewen]

I have been unable to write lately, so I may just take the rest of the time off this year and then start fresh. I will be planning in the next few days how I want to approach writing next year, because I definitely have a WIP I want to finish. I have neglected it too long!

[soldierwitch]

Time off can be really helpful especially when you're busy so as not to get frustrated with not being able to sit down and write. Or for some much needed rest. Good luck with planning for next year's writing!

[mistressofmuses]

I know that I'm not going to make my goal for this month, but I'm going to at least try to get a bit more done before the week is out!

For 2021, I wrote more than I think I ever have before - over 200k! But that didn't completely translate into completed/posted projects. I did finish a couple things, but mostly the wordcount just created a fair number of WIPs in different stages of completion, some partially shared, some just on my computer.

So my goal for 2022 is both to continue writing (100-150k is my goal), but for that to include more COMPLETED works this time. So my Dec WIP is going to continue into January... and maybe February, but we'll see.

[soldierwitch]

Wow, that's a massive achievement! 200K+ is quite the word count. Congratulations and good luck on completing more works in 2022.

[mistressofmuses]

Thank you!