Wednesday 1 April 2015

Happy April Fool's Day!! IWSG post. You're dreaming, right? Or is it your goal speaking?

Hello and welcome to April, the month where it's all happening! Today is IWSG post day, so thanks to Alex J Cavanaugh and his helpers for this month, Suzanne Furness,Tonja Drecker, Toi Thomas, Rachna Chabria, Fundy Blue, and Donna Hole! Thanks for collating this huge meme good people.

Also starting today, many bloggers are participating in the ginormous A - Z Challenge. Those who are not are often on a blog break where they're using their time to get their WIP underway, edited, polished, submitted etc. or working on other myriad writing projects.

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I've participated in the A - Z for several years, but decided against it again this year. Instead, I'm doing my own AprNoWriMo (my own little NaNoWriMo) where after months of 'hunting and gathering' (research) I'm going to work on the first draft of my Paris story and comment on some A - Z posts that catch my eye.

Thinking about writing goals can make us insecure, as everyone else seems to have their first, second and third novel published and are working on their fourth, fifth or six. Hmm. Wherever we sit in the novel/short story/flash fiction/freelance magazine/blogging or newspaper article spectrum, it doesn't hurt to have a dream/goal/idealised future, does it? Life would be soooo dull without dreams.

Source
But writer's dreams can be dashed in a flash--a form rejection from a publisher/editor you just know should love your story idea, leaving you wondering where to turn next. So most of us have learned that a writer needs to :
  • balance dreams and goals. 
    • a dream is something that happens as if by magic (mega sales of your book, a review in the Paris Review, winning first prize in that prestigious writing competition). You have almost no control over these dreams, so try to keep them to a minimum (as if...)
    • A goal is something you can work towards--finishing your second book within a year of your first, sending stories out to high-profile magazines, investing in a fancy schmanchy camera so the editor can't resist buying your pictures etc. Working on your goals will help stir up the magic that makes your dreams come true. (Oooh, National Geographic just came calling!)
Source
  • What are your goals for April?
  • What are your dreams for the future?
  • If you're planning a new book during April, here is a fantastic link to Jami Gold if you don't follow her. What she doesn't know about writing isn't worth knowing.


37 comments:

Stephen Tremp said...

I forgot it was April Fool's Day. Thanks for the reminder. Not that I'm out to play a prank on someone. Rather, I need to be on the lookout myself. I have very creative family members and friends.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Denise - remembered it was April Fool - just need to watch out! Enjoy your April ... many of us are challenging on ... Goals - and not Dreams ... and working towards succeeding .. cheers Hilary

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Good luck with AprNo! If you're not doing the Challenge, then it's a smart idea to write.
My goal is to survive this month.
And my apologies - you are now in my sidebar. Sorry about that! When I redid it, I missed several people.

J.L. Campbell said...

Hi, Denise,
I hope you get as much writing as you want done this month. We do have to put in a huge amount of work to take our dreams to reality.

Anonymous said...

Dream: write forever (professionally)
Goal: finish my current WIP, my other two manuscripts, write a bunch of short stories and articles and get my butt in gear to have this writing career take off.

Good luck to you!

Nick Wilford said...

Yeah, dreams have to be broken down into goals, one step at a time.

Good luck with AprNoWriMo!

Lisa said...

I've been learning a lot about goals and dreams and their differences Denise. You do a good job of describing them and why it's important to have each one. Thanks so much. Sorry you aren't in the A to Z this year, but totally understand why. When lightning strikes! Plus, I want to read that Paris story after all the "teasing" details you've already posted about it! Good luck and let us know your word count at the end of April! Lisa, co-host AtoZ @lisabuiecollard.com

D.G. Hudson said...

Good luck with that April writing blitz. I'm sure I'll be interested if it's a Paris story. I have one too that simmering until we get moved to new digs for hubs and me. Hope to see you round DG's place during the A to Z. I still get lots of mileage out of the WEP stories you inspired, Denise. I hope things are going well in your neck of the woods. . .(or beach)

Pat Hatt said...

What? I have no control over winning the lottery? Damn, you killed my dream lol

Anonymous said...

You've got great goals for April, Denise aka Sis. A writer just needs to sit down and WRITE. So I am telling myself. Got waylaid with a new phone...Android that left me boggled; fortunately our aide has the same one, she cheered me on, and she helped me. Couldn't have done it without her. And in the process I'm saving a minimum of $45 each month by switching phone providers. Anyway, that's just one thing that took me away from my writing. I know you've got more interesting distractions than I have....but, they're still distractions :)

I do hope you have a very productive month. I'm rooting for both of us! ((( )))

dolorah said...

Sounds like you have your April goal will be fun for you, as well as productive. I am always impressed at how well you manage your time, and writing dreams. I need you to wave a magic wand over my computer and make all my "dreams" into accomplished goals :) Unnecessary, I know; but enjoy the writing time. I know you always feel better about the world when immersed in a romance.

Nas said...

Great goals for April Denise! And sounds fun too!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Love the difference between dreams and goals. So true.
Have an awesome and productive April!

Denise Covey said...

You too Lyn!

Denise Covey said...

It is Nas. You have fun too.

Denise Covey said...

You'll get back into the groove Donna!

Denise Covey said...

Learning a new phone can be tough if you don't have someone to help you. Glad it helps financially too! ((()))

Denise Covey said...

Yeah me too DG. I often use bits of pieces of stories I never would have had in my arsenal otherwise thanks to WEP.

Denise Covey said...

I've enjoyed some of your stories based on dreams Lisa. Enjoy April's challenges!

Sandra Cox said...

Good luck with your AprNoWrMo

Sandra Cox said...

Hi Denise, Thanks for the follow and interest comment:)
Hope you've had a wondrous Easter.

Stephanie Faris said...

Well...I signed up for A to Z, prewrote all my posts, then realized what a lot of work it is with commenting, replying to comments, and making sure my post is okay to go live each day. Ugh! And then we bought a house and probably will be moving at the end of the month so talk about a busy month. OH...on top of that, my second chapter book is due to my editor by the 15th, but luckily I finished that one last weekend.

Denise Covey said...

Yes Stephanie it is the visiting and commenting that takes the time. And wow buying a house and satisfying editors . Busy!

Carol Riggs said...

Good luck with the A-Z! It's a great community writerly event. (I've never done it 'cuz I'm always in the middle of some crucial writing revision or something.) Great point that dreams and goals are different. And I love the photos you used! Very cool. :)

Denise Covey said...

Thanks for visiting Carol.

Jay Noel said...

I have two HUGE goals this month:

1) Attend my first big comic con this year. Hopefully I sell a bunch of books
2) Get my next book edited and hot off the presses for the biggest comic con here in St. Louis. This one will be a toughie. It depends on my editor, how quick I can do edits, and then send to my proofreader.

Denise Covey said...

You go Jay!!!!

Chrys Fey said...

My goals for April are to finish the A to Z Challenge and celebrated my release of Ghost of Death. :)

Chrys Fey said...

My goals for April are to finish the A to Z Challenge and celebrated my release of Ghost of Death. :)

cleemckenzie said...

Haven't stopped in for a while because of the You-Know-What. Thanks for visiting and hope all is going well in your part of the world.

Nilanjana Bose said...

Hi Denise,

Both my dreams and goals are totally out of control right now :) but have a few ideas which hopefully I will get back to in May. Thanks so much for coming by and the support. Hope your writing is going well, and so is everything else.
Best always,
Nila.

Botanist said...

Nice distinction between goals and dreams. I like that! My goal (pretty much one and only) for April is to complete artwork for my next book cover so I can hand it over to my designer. Good progress, but - yikes! - April is half over already.

Tammy Theriault said...

This month my goal is to relax!!! I'm reading books and doing the A to Z. No writing!

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hello greetings and good wishes.

LIFE WOULD BE SO DULL WITHOUT DREAMS.

Very, very true. Most of us had dreams one upon a time but somehow we lost sight of the dream and wandered away from those dreams. We were sidetracked, we were not ready to organize our life, we did not like to put in the energy and enthusiasm to achieve those dreams. At last we have come to a stage when we don't even know what our dreams are.

Your above words jolted me out of my reverie and set me thinking. So much can be accomplished by a person in a life time provided the dreams are kept alive. You have given many tips in this post such as writing stories and sending them to high profile magazines, buying a good camera to take pictures with will be accepted by the editors etc. These are things which can be done and very practical.

I never participated in AtoZ challenge because I always felt it will be very taxing and only exceptionally talented people can successfully take part.

I have reviewed my new year goals but I have not achieved much. I now think I have to redouble my efforts and keep the goals in mind on a day to day basis to achieve them.

Very useful and informative post.

Best wishes

cleemckenzie said...

Hi! Now that you've had this restful, peaceful, non AtoZ month off I'm here to bug you.

Kelly Steel said...

Hi Denise!
It was great reading all the A-Z posts. I enjoyed...my April goal was new cover and expanded story for my novella. Now for the second in the series...

Yolanda Renée said...

Another missed post, gosh, where have I been? Now subscribed to Jamie's blog, great advice over there! Thanks. My April goal - long done, May's goal is finish the pre-edit for publisher which means formatting and hunting down and conquering all those nasty grammar errors - like that will ever happen for me. We'll back to it. See you later!