Writing Check in #2: This week in writing.

The backstory (feel free to skip if you’ve read before!)

I’m playing along with other picture book writers
on this blog,
setting some goals for the week
and reflecting on how I did.

I really wanted to do this because I’ve sort of been in a writing slump.

I AM writing, but not as consistently as I want to be.
I’m taking a step back
from doing writing prompts
and trying to grow my social media following
and instead
investing that time
in my manuscripts
and posts that will further my writing goals.

Don’t worry, I’ll still be doing prompts,
but for now,
I’m changing it up a bit.

Session goals (over the course of 8 weeks)
I mainly want to set a goal each week for my writing!
Right now it’s sort of hit or miss whether I work on it.
I’d like to revise a manuscript each week,
and maybe draft some new ones up.
My agent wants to see some new stuff, and I’d
REALLY like to knock her socks off.

I’d also like to work on building content for my blog/podcast
that I’m going to be relaunching this June,
featuring thoughts on books and actionable tips
for writers to improve their writing and presentations.

BACKSTORY OVER!

To see how I did on my first week, click here.
Second week’s goals:
I want to write three more of the actionable posts, since I only have three more to go to complete the 12. Rough drafts are all I’m looking for.

I want to take an idea I have (any idea, I’m not picky!)
and flesh it out into a rough draft.

I want to revise a wordless book I’m working on, called Balloon. Basically I need to lay out the pages and spreads to see if the scenes I’m coming up with fit!

And I added one more:

Write my first Kidlit with Kathy Ellen newsletter.

How did I do?

I did PRETTY GREAT!

The first thing I completed paging out that wordless book.

I had already done some of it;
mostly from the beginning and the end.
I knew where it had to start and where it had to end
(that final page turn is CRUCIAL!)
but the middle was murky.
I revised a bit and got a rough mark up of where I think scenes should fit.

Next I need to tighten it up a bit, description wise.

I added words to about FIVE picture books this week!

This happened once again because Scrivener,
The program I use to organize my writing,
is AWESOME.
I only added a few sentences to a few stories,
but it got me excited about them again!
I’ll add more to them in the coming weeks I’m sure.

I drafted up a new one!

I was sure that I had this idea written up somewhere,
but I didn’t.
I wrote out roughly what I want to happen in the story,
and need to go back in and fill in details.
It’s about a boy who loves mail
and decides to take on the job of the mailman on Sundays,
since regular mail doesn’t deliver.
He delivers his OWN letters to his neighbors.
I’m having fun with it and hope to get it into a nice story soon.

I didn’t write 3 posts
on actionable writing tips.
I wrote two.

I sort of forgot about this this week,
And also had a sort of busy and tiring week.
I knocked one out JUST before writing this post,
and was tempted to move on the the next one,
but I still have some other things I want to do.

It’s OK to not reach this goal just yet;
I can work on it next week.

Kidlit with Kathy Ellen Newsletter?
Finalizing it as we speak!
I’m going to be rebooting that podcast,
and I want to have a newsletter
where I share links related to writing,
a summary of posts I’ve written about writing,
and, eventually, things from the podcast.

I might even have giveaways too;
I have lots of ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies)
of books and I know how to use media mail 🙂

If you want to get on that list
(newsletter will be coming every Sunday)
sign up here 🙂

What am I planning on doing this week?
Well, I’m working even MORE this week
(including both weekend days!)
and we are working on a lot of baby related stuff,
so I may take it a bit easier.

I want to write that last actionable post, and read through them all out loud, making edits as I go. This may sound like a lot, but I LOVE the reading aloud part!

I want to write up a post on Indie bookstore Day, and write a list of posts I want to write (I have many author/illustrator presentations I want to write about!)

I want to page out a few stories (Story Bot, Friendship Bracelets, and UniCorn) to see if that jumpstarts some more revision.

And, of course,
keep the Kidlit with Kathy Ellen newsletter going!

I’ll check in with you guys next week to tell you how it went!

I hope this is bringing some more insight into
what a writer’s week looks like,
and a little bit of behind the scenes into my process.

Thanks for following along and keeping me virtually accountable!

Bye for now,
Kathy Ellen