tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post7930730161910634325..comments2024-03-28T18:40:05.789-04:00Comments on Writers Who Kill: A Plotting and a Planning by Kait CarsonJim Jacksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-72949016348644670412018-01-28T10:06:14.828-05:002018-01-28T10:06:14.828-05:00My apologies to all! My computer went on life supp...My apologies to all! My computer went on life support yesterday and I ended up spending the day with the repair folks. Turned out to be a problem with my malware program that was resolved by turning it off!<br /><br />@Jim, I remember that post and took some lessons from it at the time. Yes, SMART is the wellspring of goal success. It's such a simple concept, but so difficult to learn!<br /><br />@Margaret - this year I bought the Ink & Volt planner - it's set up to encourage that style of goal setting. I was thrilled to discover this morning when I reviewed the monthly goals that I had succeeded int those, but not the weekly ones, which tells me I need to re-think how I set those.<br /><br />@Sasccer - YES! That is my process exactly. Amazing what a little trickery can do! I also try to edit as I go in the first draft. I find it makes for a much more enjoyable editing process at the end of the day.<br /><br />@Sheryl - We'll all be here to help you celebrate. Definitely not selfish. Sounds like you are on the right track completely. Looking forward to hearing more from you. The book has been a tremendous help to me. Hope you find it so as well.<br /><br />@Warren - Way to go!<br /><br />@ Grace - You will finish it, and it is an excellent book. I know because I was a lucky beta reader. Can't wait to read the end result.<br /><br />@Gloria - What a great system, and visual. Do you always accomplish all the goals or do you roll over the ones that remain?<br /><br />@KM - So true, KM!Kaithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07758348842858993203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-18135408488776653922018-01-27T22:27:53.094-05:002018-01-27T22:27:53.094-05:00I find life is too uncertain to make resolutions. ...I find life is too uncertain to make resolutions. Things that seem important at the time may fade into the background entirely, and things that I didn't even know about become all-consuming.KM Rockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03973749764907859829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-77759724419741443302018-01-27T18:53:03.618-05:002018-01-27T18:53:03.618-05:00Kait, I don't make resolutions, at least not f...Kait, I don't make resolutions, at least not for years and years. Instead on my kitchen counter I write things I want to accomplish be it as simple as cleaning the bird cages or writing another chapter in my book, or writing a letter to a friend, or calling to make an appointment for something, or cleaning a room. Each day I add to my list and use a color marker to color what I finished. Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-64005645870409231802018-01-27T09:55:49.507-05:002018-01-27T09:55:49.507-05:00Excellent post, Kait. Your approach is so sensible...Excellent post, Kait. Your approach is so sensible. One year, I established the goal of having my first draft completed by the end of May because I was going to be gone for a month and wanted to leave my draft with friends to review while I was gone. I think having that goal helped me complete it. Otherwise, I might still be working on it. But come to think of it, I am still revising and revising. But I'm getting there. Grace Toppinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10291304815273486038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-46089754684917478792018-01-27T09:42:46.470-05:002018-01-27T09:42:46.470-05:00I'm finding that sustaining my efforts at the ...I'm finding that sustaining my efforts at the goals I have are more than sufficient for me.Warren Bullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07789270258599769915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-21308610425665303612018-01-27T09:34:37.747-05:002018-01-27T09:34:37.747-05:00Thanks so much for the post, I downloaded the book...Thanks so much for the post, I downloaded the book that you suggested and thank you, Jim, for directing us to your blog post which I've bookmarked. I've decided to focus more on things this year that will help me grow into becoming a better writer. The top of my list is to set up my blog and maintaining it, I've bailed on many of them. I've been active on Goodreads since 2008 and yet, I've not posted many reviews as I should have but this year I've got a "Bullet Journal" that will keep me ahead of the game in posting them in a timely order. I love being involved in the Guppy group and learning the mechanics of writing. I'm looking forward to taking classes and hopefully attending a few conferences this year. So that's my goals for this year, it's the year of Sheryl. I hope that doesn't sound selfish but since my retirement, I've been a very active volunteer and it's almost like having a full-time job, I adore helping others but I've lost myself in the process.1335sjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07221232349691862642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-40426873410608071332018-01-27T09:27:27.928-05:002018-01-27T09:27:27.928-05:00I don't make New Year resolutions. I think the...I don't make New Year resolutions. I think they are an inevitable road to failure. <br /><br />And I do very much as you do with my writing. No resolutions. What works for me is trickery! I tell myself, I'm going to sit down and write a page. This goal is neither overwhelming nor likely to fail. And what usualy happens is that once I start writing, I end up not stopping after one page, I keep going until I have the best part of a scene. Later I polish the scene, add bits that echo previous themes/emotions/occurrences in the story. Maybe a little internal monologue, a bit of the five senses. Then it is easy to go back later, read over what I've written, finish the scene with a gut punch, and voila, I have written a new chapter!<br /><br />I find starting a new chapter that is not a direct continuation of the previous chapter almost as hard to staring a new novel. Thus, I lie to myself and say just one page, you can do one page, you know you can!Sasscer Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05855348330942561488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-41477743188054218912018-01-27T08:30:49.654-05:002018-01-27T08:30:49.654-05:00I set goals: daily (a list of no more than three i...I set goals: daily (a list of no more than three items), weekly, monthly, and yearly. That seems to induce less guilt.Margaret S. Hamiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07979191318652199350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993649290245605005.post-18200103253653216752018-01-27T05:50:42.901-05:002018-01-27T05:50:42.901-05:00Welcome to the club, Kait. I moved from resolution...Welcome to the club, Kait. I moved from resolutions to goals some time ago. Last year I wrote a blog on a particular kind of goal that often works best. Here’s the <a href="http://blog.jamesmjackson.com/2017/01/making-your-goals-smart.html" rel="nofollow">link</a> should you (or anyone) be interested.<br /><br />~ JimJim Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15090252530437277145noreply@blogger.com