I started 2016 with seven writing goals:

1. Finish the three novels I started in 2015.
2. Write and submit a short story each month. (These can be separate stories.)
3. Edit a novel and send it out.
4. Listen to all of the currently posted Youtube video’s of Brandon Sanderson classes.
5. All of the NaNoWriMo’s.
6. Join and continuously participate in a critique group.
7. Author visibility.

      (Space left intentionally due to otherwise
      unsightly formatting issues.)


Progress since last month:

1. On hold until 2017. 
2. I wrote, edited, and submitted a piece of flash fiction! It was a lot of fun getting a piece from start to finish over the course of a week. The piece itself was an experiment in present tense and portraying a rapid character arc. I think that it went well and I would be interested in doing a quick experimental piece like this again in the future. 
3. I've been fleshing out the wiki articles and working a lot on side character back story and motivations. 
4. I just finished listening to the last class.
5. I finished writing all of the pep talks for this NNWM, sent them to my beta reader, got them back, and finished edits. The first major library event was yesterday, while the attendance was small everyone got a lot out of the event. Many new events have been scheduled.
6. Totally behind. I didn't submit anything and I haven't reviewed the pieces that were submitted. I need to get on this soon!
7. Going well. Posting on Instagram at least once a week and posting a blog post at least once a week. 

Quantifying goals for the upcoming month:

1. Rescheduled.
2. Finish a major edit on Selfie and submit.
   1. Stretch goal: work on three other short stories that have been rattling around in my head.
3. Continue fleshing out the side characters. Around the 24th start working on an outline. 
4. Make writers toolbox piece by the end of the month.
5. Attend scheduled events. Check the NNWM site daily. 
6. Submit one new piece and catch up on all submitted pieces before Nov starts. 
7. Post on Instagram at least once a week. Post a blog post once a week.
   1. Stretch goal: write and schedule four blog posts for November so that I have more time to focus on my NNWM novel.

For National Novel Writing Month I've decided to rewrite an old novel instead of editing or writing something new. I had to think about this decision for months and I thought talking about it might help other writers come to a quicker decision.


The biggest reason was my growth  as a writer. I originally wrote this book two years ago as when I had just started to look at writing seriously. Since then I have written half a million new words, taken classes, read new books, and had new experiences. These have noticeably changed my writing style. It would take just as long, if not longer, to edit this novel than to rewrite it at the quality I can naturally achieve at this point in my career.


The second reason was my decision to change the book from first person to third person. This is turn would have made editing take a long time with too much focus on language and not enough focus on character development.


Third was my decision to add my villain, or at least paperwork related to my villain, into the book. Adding these files while editing or rewriting doesn't change the amount of time it'll take. They will change how much the reader understands about the story and, I'm hoping, drastically ramp up the tension. This means a change to the pacing, which is always a hard thing for a writer to pin point, and I think a rewrite is the best way to try to get this done properly.  


Lastly were a couple of specific details that related to me pantsing this novel. I wrote in in first person, out of order, while barely knowing my characters. A radical rewrite will allow me to write in third person, in order, with proper character arcs, while leaving better clues.


Have you made the decision to rewrite instead of edit? If so what were your motivations?