Summer Challenge Plan

Wring every bit of juice out of this summer, that’s what I want to do. NAIWE’s 2010 Summer Challenge provides a handy framework for that, at least for my Writing Life. NAIWE challenges me to:

1. Read three books that will stretch your mind and inspire your creative spirit.
2. Finish one project that’s been nagging at you for longer than you care to admit.
3. Brainstorm a new project that will bring you an additional stream of income, then take the first step to make it happen.

I’ve figured out the details of my personal plan for meeting this challenge.

I will read:

Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. I’ve had this on my shelf for a while now, but my novel is written, and needs a thorough going over before I send it out to agents, editors, and publishers, oh my. Ah, yes, and this is connected to the “finishing” challenge further down.

One Year to a Writing Life: Twelve Lessons to Deepen Every Writer’s Art and Craft by Susan M. Tiberghien. Just picked this one up. She starts with journaling, which is nice and non-threatening, and moves slowly through essays, short stories, dialogue, fairytales, poetry, memoirs…but I’ll just think about the journaling for now.

Ultimate Proof of Creation by Dr. Jason Lisle. Apologetics is central to my writing mission. There’s no doubt at all that this book will stretch my mind!

I will finish:

My first novel is just so ALMOST ready. This summer I will edit it AND pitch it to at least one agent. I will keep pitching it until someone loves it. I’ll use my Sonar3 program to keep careful track of who I send it to and how long they’ve had it, and NOT GIVE UP until I’ve racked up a respectable number of rejection slips. Finishing the project = Submitting the book until it’s sold (or until it becomes painfully, plainly obvious it is destined for some other…destiny.)

I will brainstorm:

Time to tackle all those random ideas that float through my brain and drift off, never to be seen again. Time to pin them down, define them with ink and pixels  and hold them for further questioning. I’ll analyze the ideas, narrow down the list, select a promising candidate. I’ll make a plan and start it rolling by September 22, the last day of summer.