Ready. Set. WRITE! is a summer writing intensive that encourages goal-setting and accountability, and provides an opportunity for us to cheer each other on wherever we’re at with our writing projects—planning, drafting, revising, or polishing. This year, your RSW hosts are Alison Miller, Jaime Morrow, Erin Funk, Elodie Nowodazkij, and Katy Upperman.
Everyone's setting their goals today and checking in every Monday that follows. The headings for this summer are:
1. How I did on last week’s goals
2. My goal(s) for this week
3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised
4. The biggest challenge I faced this week (ex. finding time to write)
5. Something I love about my WiP
And now for my goals! Drumroll, please..........
PROJECT: Expanding my short story "Halfway to Honduras" into a full-length manuscript.
WORD COUNT: I'm going to aim for 3k a week (a little less than 500 words per day).
H2H is my main summer project, but I'd also like to get some of my thesis short stories revised and submitted to literary magazines. So...
SECONDARY PROJECT: Revise 2 stories from thesis and submit them to at least 5 literary magazines EACH.
Trying to keep the goals manageable. My blog posts will be pretty short so I can focus on writing, but I'll definitely be checking in. Can't wait to see what everyone else is working on this time around!
Also, HELP NEEDED! My manuscript focuses on a strong friendship that falls apart over time. If anyone has book recs that focus on friendships (female friendships in particular), send the titles my way! :)
H2H is my main summer project, but I'd also like to get some of my thesis short stories revised and submitted to literary magazines. So...
SECONDARY PROJECT: Revise 2 stories from thesis and submit them to at least 5 literary magazines EACH.
Trying to keep the goals manageable. My blog posts will be pretty short so I can focus on writing, but I'll definitely be checking in. Can't wait to see what everyone else is working on this time around!
Also, HELP NEEDED! My manuscript focuses on a strong friendship that falls apart over time. If anyone has book recs that focus on friendships (female friendships in particular), send the titles my way! :)
Sounds like we have a very similar word count goal for this week! I'm aiming for roughly 500 words a day myself. Good luck with your goals, Kaitlin! Looking forward to writing with you again this summer! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping 500 will keep me motivated, not too overwhelming a goal. It'll add up fast, though! Here's to some awesome manuscripts at the end of summer! :)
Delete3000k a week sounds like a great goal...and good luck with the revising!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm going to need the revising luck for sure! :)
DeleteGood luck with your goals!
ReplyDeleteMy second-favorite writer, Hermann Hesse, frequently featured friendships in his novels. The big one I'd recommend, if you've never read him before, is Narcissus and Goldmund, about two opposite friends whose lives take separate paths before coming back together, set in Medieval Germany. Another novel which prominently features friendships is his debut novel Peter Camenzind.
Ooh, thanks for the recommendation, Carrie-Anne! I've never read Hermann Hesse before... *runs to GoodReads* :)
DeleteMy book recs for long-term friendships that fall apart are 17 FIRST KISSES and LOVE AND OTHER THEORIES. They're sort of similar in topic and theme, and I thought the friendships were so realistically drawn. Have you read either of them? Best of luck with your goals. Wishing you all the luck with those literary magazine submissions. Looking forward to writing with you this summer, Kaitlin!
ReplyDeleteI knew you'd have some recommendations, Katy! I haven't read either of those but I just looked them up on GoodReads and they sound SO GOOD! :D
DeleteThanks for the luck, and I'm excited to be writing with you this summer too!
Hi! Good luck with the magazine submissions! You can do this, just take it one day at a time. As for the book recs, one of my favorite friendships books is in Vampire Academy, Rose and Lissa their connection even in rough times is great. I also enjoyed Gwen and Lesle off the top of my head but then again I probably could think of more if I'd slept in the last 38 hours.
ReplyDeleteI've heard so many good things about Vampire Academy...I think I need to add it to my list! Thanks Eve!
DeleteWow! You have so many great things going on! I hope you have a very successful and productive week! Cheering you on!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alison! Hope your writing week goes well, too. :)
DeleteStories about friendships are hard to define, since friendship types seem as diverse as the people who hold them. I don't have any recommendations as I don't know what types of stories you like. But what might help is to read old journals and letters (I know there collections out there of these) from previous generations. Our direct experiences might change, but our ability to feel and experience has remained pretty constant.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck on your goals, Kaitlin.
Reading old journals/letters is such a good idea! Coincidentally, I found letters from my own childhood best friend over the weekend. They were so much fun to read!
DeleteI read H2H the other week on ur site, & I super enjoyed it, especially the way u ended it. As for recs, hmm... I haven't read this, so I don't kno, but how about Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor? The tagline is 'In the face of tragedy, friendsip is everything.' I think one of the girls gets cancer.
ReplyDeleteAww thanks for your sweet words about the story version of H2H, Leandra! :) That really means a lot! And I'll definitely look into MAYBE ONE DAY, thanks for the recommendation!
DeleteYou can dooooo it :) :) so happy you're joining us this summer and looking forward to reading your updates!
ReplyDeleteFor female friendships, I loved this book: SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE by Morgan Matson: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18189606-since-you-ve-been-gone?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr
And SUMMER SISTERS by Judy Blume: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22695.Summer_Sisters?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr
:)
Thanks Elodie! I love SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE and am planning on a reread of it for sure...SUCH a great friendship story. <3 And SUMMER SISTERS sounds exactly like what I'm looking for, so thank you thank you thank you!!
DeleteI'm glad you got so many good recommendations because I'm drawing a complete blank! Good luck with all your goals. =) Expanding a short story to a novel sounds like a tough job to me!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karyne! I've never expanded a short story like this before, and it's been fun watching the story take on a life of its own. :)
DeleteLove your goals. I like the idea of setting a weekly word count divisible any way that works. I'm hoping to do a few days of 1,500 words and a few days of 250, but I think maybe your way of putting it is better *runs to revise goals* lol
ReplyDeleteBook recs ... hmm off the top of my head, the ones that come to mind are Little Women, Three Lives to Live, Sisters Red, and The Truth Teller's Tale ... but not all of them are completely about the sisters' relationships, the last two are more fairy-tale ish and the first two are obviously a little old. Oldies, but goodies!
500 words a day is the goal I usually work for -- I like that it's manageable but adds up so quickly, and before you know it you have a complete draft! (Well...in theory, anyway!) Your short story goals sound interesting, too -- they are such different beasts from novels. Good luck getting them revised and sent out!
ReplyDeleteAs for friendship story recs: I love THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS for how it looks at their changing friendships, and SWEETHEARTS by Sara Zarr has a little bit of romance, but it about two people who used to know each other and how they've changed now, so it might be useful. (It's great, anyway!) Hope they help!