Category Archives: goals

goals, Harmony of the gospels, Life Group lessons, Life On A YoYo, Writing

November Report

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Time to report on how I did in November relative to the modest goals I set.

1. Blog 10 to 12 times. I managed 13 posts; so met and slightly exceeded goals.

2. Finish planning “Life On A Yo Yo”, and begin writing as needed, with a target to present to our life group beginning in January 2009. Completed as planned. For this lesson series, I’m not going to have weekly handouts as I did with the Elijah and Elisha study; at least not fancy ones.

3. Begin planning two other life group series. One will be “From Slavery To Nationhood”, which looks at the Israelites during the Exodus and the years of wandering. The other is the one I thought of last week, which needs some more work before I make it public. Completed this. Both of these two studies are planned. By this I mean: I know how long they will be (how many weeks); I have the full list of lessons identified; I have a short description of the goals for each lesson; I have the scripture identified for each lesson.

4. Evaluate the life group lesson series I thought of based on a story in the Apocrypha. I sort-of did this. I have thought through the short lesson series, decided it is viable, and have brainstormed how I would teach it. I have not yet put much down on paper.

5. Since I found more writing things that need to be filed, and since I ran out of file folders and couldn’t file all of those I found, finish filing writing stuff. I have not yet purchased the file folders I need, but I think I have gathered everything into one place (my filing pile), put them in order, and discarded duplicates. I should be able to finish this in December. Didn’t I say that in November?

6. Work some on one other writing project. Alas, I cannot think of anything I did this month that would qualify as meeting this goal.

7. Continue typing the harmony of the gospels that I wrote some years ago. I made excellent progress on this goal, typing for 30 to 45 minutes almost every evening. I began with the part I worked on last, and progressed backwards. The reason I did this was that I found some of my early work did not have enough explanatory notes, and sometimes it was a little difficult to be sure of what the actual harmony was. I’m not back to some of my earliest work on this.

goals, poetry, Writing

October Report

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Time to see how I did against my goals.

1. Attend 1 meeting of my critique group. It will meet three times this month, but I’m not sure I want to devote six hours (or ten hours including driving) to this activity this month. Did this; attended the first meeting of the month.

2. Complete my submission log. I came close a couple of months ago. An hour should suffice for this. Did this, including for the rejection I received mid-month, 14 months after I submitted the poem.

3. Contact the editor who has had The Screwtape Letters study guide, mailed three months ago today. Did this; the editor came back with a rejection (duly recorded), and we had a nice, brief e-mail exchange.

4. Continue to cull through the many writing-help items I have printed from Internet sites. Read or scan as appropriate, and discard anything not absolutely essential. I actually finished this, I think. I have freed up five notebooks at home and three at work, which formerly held printed material I felt would be helpful in a writing career. Some of these I had never read, and I read them all as I discarded them. Okay, a few of them, which I’d read before, I only skimmed. I am now down to one notebook at home that contains the essential advice for submittals. That’s all I’m keeping.

5. Add a few (say three or four) posts to the poetry workshop I started at the Absolute Write poetry discussion forum. I added some to this; not sure if as many as three or four; probably only one or two.

6. Gather all my writing, all the scraps and sheets that contain things as small as haiku or as long as chapters, into one place and file them as appropriate. I’m not really too far from having this done. I think three hours might be enough. This is somewhat far along, but not quite done. I think I have everything together that was at the house. Some of that is not quite properly filed, but is AT the place where it needs to be for filing. I ran out of file folders, and haven’t bought more yet.

7. Plod along, as time, energy, and motivation allow, on three writing projects: the Elijah and Elisha Bible study; In Front Of Fifty Thousand Screaming People (maybe write one more chapter); and the Documenting America column. Although I’m not planning to market it at this time, I don’t want to abandon it totally. I didn’t do much on these; in fact, I might not have done anything on these three writing projects, except maybe write a page or two on the E&E study. I worked on other projects (only a little), and captured some thoughts for potential future projects.

8. Post 10 to 12 times to this blog. Thirteen posts, so this was a success.

goals, Writing

October Goals

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While I am in this maintenance time, my goals will be modest.

1. Attend 1 meeting of my critique group. It will meet three times this month, but I’m not sure I want to devote six hours (or ten hours including driving) to this activity this month.

2. Complete my submission log. I came close a couple of months ago. An hour should suffice for this.

3. Contact the editor who has had The Screwtape Letters study guide, mailed three months ago today.

4. Continue to cull through the many writing-help items I have printed from Internet sites. Read or scan as appropriate, and discard anything not absolutely essential.

5. Add a few (say three or four) posts to the poetry workshop I started at the Absolute Write poetry discussion forum.

6. Gather all my writing, all the scraps and sheets that contain things as small as haiku or as long as chapters, into one place and file them as appropriate. I’m not really too far from having this done. I think three hours might be enough.

7. Plod along, as time, energy, and motivation allow, on three writing projects: the Elijah and Elisha Bible study; In Front Of Fifty Thousand Screaming People (maybe write one more chapter); and the Documenting America column. Although I’m not planning to market it at this time, I don’t want to abandon it totally.

That’s enough. I may possibly come back and edit in another one or two if I think of something.

ETA: Shame on me; saw one right away.

8. Post 10 to 12 times to this blog.

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The September Report

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Time to check in, and see how I did relative to my goals.

1. Attend critique group once (it meets every two weeks), and present the next chapter in my work-in-progress novel. I did this. I actually came close to attending the second time, but life got in the way.

2. Blog 10 to 12 times. I’d like to do more, but will settle for that. Did this one too. I posted 13 times, so slightly exceeded my goal.

3. Update my submissions log. I filed a few papers last night, and discovered I haven’t entered in my log the last several submissions I made. That may be important come tax time. I only partially finished this. Entered a few of the missing submissions, but not all.

4. (If I finally decide to market it) Submit Documenting America to about twenty newspapers as a possible self-syndicated column. As I posted last week, I have decided, for the time being, to shelve “Documenting America”, due to not wanting to commit to the time it would take each week. My loss, or the nation’s loss? Who knows.

5. Work on, and complete if possible, the proposal (with four sample chapters) for the Bible study requested by the editor. I did very little work on this project. Did some hand writing of the first sample chapter, and typed that, but then laid it aside while in the throes of decisions about DA. Maybe some in October.

6. Wait (patiently) for a response on the two projects I currently have out with an editor and agent. How else can one wait? Next week will be the week to follow up with the editor, and the first week in November for following up with the agent.

7. Continue to work on my reading list, the writing help book and the next one, whatever it is. I did fairly well on my reading list. I completed two books, and reviewed them both on this blog. I am more than half-way through the next book, Totem by David Morrell. I may be able to review that either late in the weekend or early next week; it will take a couple of posts. I don’t even remember what the next book is on my list, but I think it’s non-fiction.

One thing not on my September goals list, but which should have been, was:

8. Lead an on-line discussion group about “The Line as a Poetic Device” at the Absolute Write poetry discussion forum. I did this. Completed the research in early Sept, and began the workshop on Sept 5th. I let it lag after awhile, but will likely pick it up again, if not in October then probably in November.

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August Writing Goals

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My writing goals will be few this month, as I start the month away from home and will have other things to distract me during the month and prevent me from spending as much time on writing as I’d like. Here are my goals.

1. Complete the book proposal, requested by an editor, on the Elijah and Elisha Bible study, and mail it.

2. Complete the planning phase of my next two Bible studies

3. Complete the research I need before undertaking an on-line poetry workshop in September (may start in late August). It is a workshop I will lead at the Absolute Write poetry forum, with a limited scope.

4. Attend one critique group meeting; present the prototype for the Documenting America newspaper column.

5. Read in some writing how-to books.

6. Wait for the editor and agent to respond to the two proposals I have out right now.

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July Goals

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This will be the first month in a long time that I set writing goals, and the first time I’ll post them here. This may be a progressive post, edited several time today as these goals come to mind.

  • Type final edits on the Screwtape Letters study guide proposal; mail to the editor by July 3.
  • Complete proposal on In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People; edit; mail to agent by July 10. This will include work on the first 30 pages of the book, which are to be included.
  • Begin work on proposal on the Elijah and Elisha small group study guide. By the end of the month I would like to see the proposal essentially complete, and the weekly study sheets I prepared for Life Group expanded into chapters. If I can have it ready to mail to the editor by then, fine, but I’ll be satisfied mailing it in August.
  • Attend critique group twice. At the first one present the synopsis for In Front of Fifty Thousand Screaming People; at the second present the concept for the Documenting America newspaper column, including marketing letter and one or two sample columns.
  • Finish organizing the scattered piles of paper about the house. Actually, I’d be satisfied to simply bring improved organization to this, even if I don’t finish it. At least I want to have all papers of all works in progress filed together, and drafts of all poems put in their assigned places.
  • Organize the business end of writing, including establishing a mileage log so I can get rid of the scraps.
  • Continue to post to this blog, at least 10 posts this month, and preferably 15 to 18.
  • Begin outlining the next life group lesson I’ll teach, and prepare it in a way it can become a small group study guide.