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! 
If I have time to work on writing, I will.
If I don’t, I won’t.
We’ll see what happens.
How did I do?
Awesome.
I let myself relax and really enjoyed my week.
I thought about writing about an event I went to,
and still probably will,
but I didn’t write about it last week.
Instead, I had a lot of fun hanging out with friends,
playing capoeira,
enjoying that community,
and taking it easy.
What did I learn from this?
That this time of year is really hard for me
normally, even WITHOUT building a baby.
Ending the school year is always stressful,
and I don’t have as much free time as I usually do.
Because of that,
I want to make sure I’m taking care of myself
and relaxing
while also moving forward a little bit,
taking tiny steps in the direction I want to be in.
So I’m making TINY goals this week.
All I want to do is
finish the outline of the presentation tips for the podcast
and do a rough draft for Indie Bookstore Day
and another book event I went to last week.
Yeah, no creative writing in there really,
but that’s because my creative brain is feeling sort of fried.
I want to give it a little more time to recover,
and in the meantime I’ll probably throw in
a bunch of art
to get out of my head
and into my hands.
Making stuff always helps my creative brain to recover.
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
