Your Learning Goal

kaitie · May 27, 2012

I was just reading a couple of threads about goals, and it seems like a lot of times we work goals around getting words written or pages edited or submissions sent out.

I'm thinking that a lot of times, there is also something I'm hoping to learn with a new project, and I thought it could be a cool thread to have everyone state what they're hoping to learn with what they're doing now. Learning and improving go hand in hand, right?

Here's mine: I have two current goals. One is to figure out how to balance describing a scene and finding a connection to the character in the opening of a book. I've never been fond of/good at openings and I often feel that mine are lacking. My current opening needs more description to ground the reader (right now I lead with dialogue lol), but I need to work out a way to do that such that it's clearly through the MC's eyes.

My second goal is to learn how to write close third-person with alternating viewpoints. This is a challenge for me as third-person in general is a challenge, but my goal is to find a way to improve the differences between character voices and to keep them interesting.

I'm hoping that by the end of this book, I'll have at least a better grasp of both points that I can then apply to later books.

lorna_w · May 27, 2012

Good question.

This is my first true multiple viewpoint novel. I'm trying to find out if I can make the narrative voices all sound different. (I'll have to plug some into that gender analyzer and hope for different scores.)

All that while juggling what I already think I can do is plenty!

L.C. Blackwell · May 27, 2012

Mine: to really master the art of weaving backstory seamlessly into the whole.

IDGS · May 27, 2012

Good thread idea.

For me, it's learning to simplify. I tend to use fifteen words and sound all 'edumacated' when I could easily say the same thing using three. More Hemmingway, less Koontz - if you follow the example.

Also, using dialogue more, dialogue tags less, and internal narration way less.

JenniferGoodnight · May 27, 2012

My first goal is ... goals for my characters! I'm working on strengthening goals, motivation and conflict.

The second one is using more sensory detail -- also layering it in rather than dumping.

Lhipenwhe · May 27, 2012

My first goal is to clear up my grammatical issues, but I suppose all writers have that desire. My second is learning how to use descriptions; I tend to either be overly descriptive or not descriptive enough.

JoNightshade · May 27, 2012

My goal with my current WIP is to write a POV character I don't strongly identify with. My books are populated with all sorts of people, but when I choose POV characters I usually stick with something that's "comfortable" for me - someone that's not necessarily me, but someone I understand, whose head I feel comfortable getting into. This time I've got two alternating POV's. One of them is comfy - the other one is a challenge. Exploring her and trying to understand and empathize with her is my goal.

Raventongue · May 28, 2012

My goal for this novel is to learn to sort story threads that matter (the plot, side-plots, etc) from those that don't (needless backstory, side-side-plots, etc).

heyjude · May 28, 2012

I need to learn to pay more attention to my character's emotions and feelings.

Once! · May 28, 2012

Two hours a day.

Or to be more precise, that's eight hours a day for the job that pays the bills (not including travelling), one hour for reading, two hours for writing and one hour for exercise.

My main problem at the moment is getting BIC time. I've got other problems too, but that's number one at the moment

JenniferGoodnight · May 28, 2012

Meant to add -- there's that bit of conventional wisdom that says if you write down your goals, you greatly increase your chances of achieving them. So great thread!

Literateparakeet · May 28, 2012

JenniferGoodnight said:
Meant to add -- there's that bit of conventional wisdom that says if you write down your goals, you greatly increase your chances of achieving them. So great thread!

On that note:

I want to write characters that are so real they could walk off the page. Sort of like Inkheart, LOL.

Sai · May 28, 2012

I really want to have a strong, unique voice when it comes to my fiction. It's a bit of a tough goal because it's not something that can be forced, so all I can do is try and hone it.

mccardey · May 28, 2012

I would very much like to learn how to finish more quickly. To this end, I've outlined New Book (ouch! Outlined!!) and I'm down for MamaJude's 500 words a day challenge. It goes against every tiny fibre of my being - but so far it seems to work.

Go figure!

kaitie · May 28, 2012

Oh, me too, McCardey. I'm so darn slow! I've been doing better about writing more words once I get started, but the past couple of days I haven't even had time to start. That's the biggest problem I have lately is just finding time before eleven thirty when I'm too mentally exhausted to write.

Silver-Midnight · May 28, 2012

mccardey said:
I would very much like to learn how to finish more quickly.

Same here. I really need to do more writing. I think if I set a word count for myself, either daily or weekly, maybe I'll get better. That worked once. It's just that the first draft is hard for me, not that the second is any easier either. It's just that first draft drives me nuts sometimes. Then I get wrapped up in other stuff too (worrying about what genre I'm writing, if I'm meeting the conditions for that genre, what should I write next, and so on). I mean I know I can finish something. I did it before. Granted, it was a short story but it's better than nothing. I just have to grin and bear it. I can do it. I believe in myself and I know that I want to write as well.

Dancre · May 28, 2012

I've learned that the more I learn about writing, the more tools I have to use in my writing. It helps a lot.

kaitie said:
I was just reading a couple of threads about goals, and it seems like a lot of times we work goals around getting words written or pages edited or submissions sent out.

I'm thinking that a lot of times, there is also something I'm hoping to learn with a new project, and I thought it could be a cool thread to have everyone state what they're hoping to learn with what they're doing now. Learning and improving go hand in hand, right?

Here's mine: I have two current goals. One is to figure out how to balance describing a scene and finding a connection to the character in the opening of a book. I've never been fond of/good at openings and I often feel that mine are lacking. My current opening needs more description to ground the reader (right now I lead with dialogue lol), but I need to work out a way to do that such that it's clearly through the MC's eyes.

My second goal is to learn how to write close third-person with alternating viewpoints. This is a challenge for me as third-person in general is a challenge, but my goal is to find a way to improve the differences between character voices and to keep them interesting.

I'm hoping that by the end of this book, I'll have at least a better grasp of both points that I can then apply to later books.

JenniferGoodnight · May 28, 2012

On finishing faster - I found this blog article helpful. Sadly I'm not writing 10,000 words per day(!) but the tips helped me focus more and not just sit down and "see what happens in the scene." (Unless I need to do that because it's the only way I'll get anything on paper for the day.)

How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day

kaitie · May 28, 2012

I've found the planning element to be huge for me as well. I'll have to look into the time thing. I actually know I write best in a structured work setting (ie, between classes when I have an office to write in), but for the past year I haven't had a job that lets me do that. Hm...I'm going to have to work out a way to simulate that in my daily life.

Thanks for the article!

NeuroFizz · May 28, 2012

My primary learning goal is constant and elusive. I always want to improve in my mastery of the writing craft and in storytelling. I want to look back on my earlier stories and see evidence that I'm getting better at what I do.

I also want to constantly challenge myself to go in directions that are not a continuation of what I've done before. I'd rather have a smaller quantity of unique (maybe innovative?) stories than a larger quantity of cookie-cutter stories. In my most recent story (under contract), I took a chance on something different for me. We'll see if it turns out for the positive, but no matter what, it was a great learning experience.

This is a business that should stimulate lifelong learning in all of us.

Silver-Midnight · May 28, 2012

JenniferGoodnight said:
On finishing faster - I found this blog article helpful. Sadly I'm not writing 10,000 words per day(!) but the tips helped me focus more and not just sit down and "see what happens in the scene." (Unless I need to do that because it's the only way I'll get anything on paper for the day.)

How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day

Thanks for the article. It was really interesting. I kind of stopped being a pantser recently and finally did an outline (that I hope will work for me). I think I probably have to work on knowing more of what I'm writing and probably getting enthusiastic about it. Luckily, I have Scrivener so, I think I can really use the Inspector/outlining tool(s) in there to help out a lot.

Linda Adams · May 28, 2012

I have three goals right now:

World-Building: I don't really enjoy doing it, and I'm not great at details, so my tendency is to do way too little. It seems to be one of the hardest things to do right now! At least one point of progress is that I'm able to identify scenes where I need to do more world-building.

Getting emotion into the story: I think it's there, but critiquers tell me it's not, so I've been working at adding body language and working on the conflict.

Connecting with readers on my blog. This one has been a real challenge, but I think I'm finally making some progress!

aikigypsy · May 28, 2012

I'm working on a lot of stuff these days, but the goal I wrote on a post-it by my desk is: "Write better second (and later) drafts." For me, that's mostly a matter of working on plot, pacing, tension, and especially resolution.

ishtar'sgate · May 28, 2012

kaitie said:
I thought it could be a cool thread to have everyone state what they're hoping to learn with what they're doing now. Learning and improving go hand in hand, right?

I'm hoping to learn from the critiques of my first novel - better character development - better organized plot structure.

jinap · May 28, 2012

I have a number of goals, but the most immediate is to edit the first draft of my first manuscript into something readable.

To that end, I'm trying to work out a clear vision of the story, characters, timelines etc.

Someone above already linked to Rachel Aaron's fantastic post about increasing word count, but the other posts she has up about plotting a novel in 5 steps and editing have also been really helpful.

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