My Project Update

The first week of ROW80 (Round 2) has been relatively productive.  My Goal for the “Spring Round” is to write an 80,000-word heroic fantasy novel set withing my “sword & sorcery” story-world.  During the month of April, I will be planning out my novel (outlining, world-building, character development, etc.).  In May and June, I will be writing and editing my novel.  I have set a self-imposed deadline of June 30th for completion.  As I have stated in my previous post, I’m re-imagining one of my short-story ideas so that it better fits into a full-length novel (expanded scope, increased stakes, character-arc, subplot, etc.).  I like the original premise, I just want to make it more epic.

I’ve created a new Scrivener file and named it “Spring Project”.  I’ve imported my original short-story into the file, but I’ll probably only use it as reference and inspiration.  Essentially, I’ll be starting from scratch with this project.  This past week, I’ve been mostly working on the main characters.  This includes the Hero, the Confidant, the Mentor, the Love Interest, the Villain, and the Villain’s Henchman.  These six characters will comprise most of my story, so I’m developing them first.  I’ll add more cast members later as needed.  I’ll be working on my Villain’s Plan next week because his actions set the story in motion.  Obviously, the Hero’s Goal will be to stop the Villain’s Plan, but I need to work on his desires and flaws so that I can develop his character arc.  In order to add complexity to the Hero’s Goal, I’ll be adding a Love Interest subplot, increasing the stakes of whether he succeeds or fails.  Defeating the Villain will be his physical goal, securing the love of his Love Interest will be his emotional goal, and overcoming his flaw to reach his potential will be his spiritual goal.  Weaving these three goals (physical, emotional, spiritual) into a plot will be challenging, but rewarding.

Next week, I’ll be fleshing out my characters further with base archetypes and personalities.  I’ll also chart the various story-threads so that they come together in the Grand Finale.  That’s a lot of work for next week.  I work the typical 40-hour work-week, so I only have a couple of hours in the evening to work on my project.  Since my weekends are open, I’ve decided to check-in here every Sunday with a “Weekly Update” of my project’s progress.  Wednesday check-ins are optional for me because I want to focus my limited time and energy on my project during the work-week.  I’ll see ya’ll on Sunday.

That’s all for now.  Keep the Fire Burning!
Please visit the other writers in the ROW80 Community…

My "Spring Round" Goals

The second round of ROW80 is finally here!  I’ve been looking forward to getting this 80-day writing challenge started again.  ROW80 is the only writing challenge that I’ve tried that has kept me consistently writing.  Writing to this blog twice a week helps me clarify my writing goals, which forces me to prioritize my time so that I can implement all the actionable steps necessary to accomplish that goal.  It has taught me that publishing words to a deadline is a habit that all authors must acquire.  Putting my intentions here keeps me accountable to myself and the world.  It forces me to be disciplined and consistent.  Most of my most productive writing has come while participating in the ROW80 challenge.  It is my intention to return to that level of production during the next 80 days.

Goals for ROW80 (Round 2)
My goal for the “Spring Round” of ROW80 is to write a heroic fantasy novel set within my “sword & sorcery” story-world.  During this 80 day writing challenge, I plan on writing approximately 80,000 words toward my novel (averaging 1,000 words per day).  I am re-imagining one of my short stories, expanding it into a full-length novel.  In order to do that, I will have to expand the scope and up the stakes, intensify the opposition, add a character-arc, and weave-in a subplot with a possible love interest.  Essentially, I’m starting from scratch with an old idea, creating an “origins story” for one of my characters.  I am concurrently participating in Camp NaNoWriMo during the the month of April, where I will be brainstorming, world-building and plotting the basic story-structure of my novel.   Here is my Camper Profile if you want to follow my progress there.  After April, I will further develop and refine my story during the remainder of the 80-day challenge.

“When writing a first draft I remind myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”
— Shannon Hale

That’s all for now.  Keep the Fire Burning!
Please visit the other writers in the ROW80 Community…