I thought I'd give my blog a break from reviewing things for this post, although I have a couple of books to tell you about. Instead, I though I'd give a short post about what I am looking forward to this year.
Last year, I set my reading goal through the Goodreads Reading Challenge for 24 books, because I don't believe I read nearly enough. I only managed to get 17 books finished last year and I was a little upset with myself. I've set my goal this year for 24 books again, and so far I've read two. I'm going to put a little more effort into it this year, because admittedly I was lazy in 2014. This year so far I have read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Quirky Tails by Paul Jennings, and I've started reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, which I hope to finish by tomorrow. Next on my list is A Clash of Kings the second book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I'm sure I'll have to read a few books for university, which I am also looking forward to.
Speaking of university, I am looking forward to all of my subjects. I am discontinuing Journalism as my minor study and picking up Children's Literature instead, which I think I'll be much better suited for. In Trimester 1, my subjects are Fiction Writing, Creative Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Literature for Children and Young Adults. In Trimester 2, I will be studying Editing and the Author, Power Politics and Texts for Young People, Philosophy Art Film, and Ethics in Global Society. It's scary to think that I'm already a third of the way through my undergraduate course and I'll only have one third to go after this year! I will also be working at the university's library this year, which I will happily count as industry experience. The Deakin Writers Club's magazine Wordly is continuing to grow and I am will be submitting as many pieces for consideration as possible as well as taking any other writerly opportunities the university offers, including submitting to the annual Verandah journal.
And of course, I will be continuing to write my novels and edit them. Between KATHERINE and WALLS, I hope to spend a lot of time editing during the university trimesters and then participate in NaNoWriMo again come November.
This post got longer than I wanted it to, so I'll shut up now.
What are your writerly goals for 2014?
- Bonnee.
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You know the phrase "kill your darlings" that gets tossed around every now and then? Let's just say I recently engaged in some darling genocide, and now I've been trying to furiously repopulate.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually making good progress on that. And while it's frustrating to know that I've invalidated a LOT of work, the new production (for lack of a better term) stands well above it in terms of quality, even before editing. I'm hoping I can wrap it up sooner rather than later.
In any case, good to hear that you're still writing. And by extension, good to hear that you're reading plenty of books. I should probably start doing the same (if only to clear the dust off some of them), but if nothing else, you going all in with the world of fiction makes me want to pick up the pace on my end. Guess I'll have to give the video games a rest every now and then.
Well, good luck on your end. Keep the flag flying.
...Ah, good. I managed to squeeze in an obscure video game reference. Life: complete.
That phrase will be applying to 'WALLS' mostly, but I want to transform 'KATHERINE' into a novel, as it is currently a novella without enough room for what I want to put in to it. I have my fingers crossed for you to achieve your goals and wrap things up soon.
DeleteI'm lucky (or perhaps you'd consider it unlucky) to have never gotten hooked on video games, so I don't have that particular excuse not to read (or write). Hopefully you can make plenty of time for both :)
Thanks for visiting!
Given your status as a full-time student (first year, no less, where there's a pretty big adjustment) I'd say not meeting your 24 book goal is excusable. I'm curious about someting: how many books were you required to read all of in class, as opposed to pieces/parts?
ReplyDeleteAnd just a comment to Voltech--it's amazing how much of a difference it makes, isn't it? While massive cutting can be a little depressing, realize that it never invalidates the work you've done. Even if you have to change everything as a result, you're making your work better in the long run, and the bits you cut were still an important part of the writing process. Good for you!
There were only two books we were asked to read, but even so they were optional: a part of a larger list that consisted mostly of pieces/parts from which we could choose to respond to one per assignment during Trimester 2. I only read one, The God of Small Things, and I didn't end up responding to it although I really loved it
DeleteI agree with your comment to Voltech: even the parts you cut were important to the writing process.
And often, I find, quite important to understanding the story and characters.
DeleteI'm going more for platform goals this year. By the end of the year I'd like to have 200 Twitter followers and 100 blog followers. I'd certainly like to write a lot, but I'm not going to set any actual goals.
ReplyDeleteAs long as you do some writing and don't accidentally forget about that part, those goals are perfectly acceptable. Good luck :)
DeleteYour classes all sound so interesting -- the kind where you genuinely look forward to going each day. Isn't it awesome when that happens? :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so looking forward to it all this year. I have a really good feeling about it all. Thanks, Shari.
DeleteI agree with JeffO that university comes first, so take it easy reading extra books. Journalism and Literature are different paths. So if your path is being an author and in editing/publishing then studying Children and YA Literature is a wise choice. I'm curious to know which books they will assign for you to read that course .. Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games ? Please share with us the curriculum for this course once you will get it. Trimester 2 has interesting courses, but also seems more difficult. It's great that you'll work in the library. I did for a year while in university and had a great experience. Even shelving books can be fun. My goals for 2014 is to finish at least the first draft of my third and last novel (not planning to write more) and then hoping to get one of my first two picked up by an agent (but that is a wish not a goal, because it doesn't depend on me really). Best wishes from Canada where it gets a little warmer. We are above zero degrees. Hurray ..:) Giora
ReplyDeleteI think I will be much better suited to Children's Literature than I was to Journalism. I knew I would be, but mum had to have her say and I guess that screwed me around a little bit. I heard that the Hunger Games was on the list last year, but I'll let you know for sure what I'll be reading this year for my classes. The last two subjects listed for Tri 2 are both philosophy subjects.
DeleteBest luck to you finishing your first draft and finding an agent for one of your other novels. Just keep putting yourself out there and I'm sure it will happen. It's about to get very hot in my part of Australia. Today was 33 degrees, and the rest of the week is forecast to be 40 degrees! Thanks for visiting :D
You've got a full year ahead of you, it seems. The best to you in making the best of your goals! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks David, I'm hoping everything goes smoothly. :)
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