Writing Goals: 2013 [Part 5] ? Going Public | Go Into The Story

So after four days of looking at the Past, Present, Future, and Practical Matters, the big day has arrived: Time to etch in virtual stone our writing goals for 2013. Oh, and one more little thing: It?s important that you go public with your goals.

Today: Going Public

Why go public?

Because if we just think about your goals, they are nothing more than illusions, hazy, half-baked phantasms in our heads, here and potentially gone like all the other zillion thoughts that spurt through our consciousness each day.

Because if you don?t formalize your writing goals, you may forget them.

Because having some sort of tangible, physical list gives you a touchstone to remind you what you need be focusing on throughout the year.

Because by proclaiming your goals to the Universe, they become real.

And the biggest reason of all: That simple act of courage ? declaring your goals publicly ? engenders positive energy, recalling the line by the Rev. Basil King who said, ?Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.?

What then do I mean by going public?

Anything that gets the goals out of your head and into the physical universe. Such as:

* Write down your goals onto 3?5 index cards.

* Compose a letter to yourself with your goals, stick said letter in an envelope, and tack it to your desk where you can see and know it?s there when you write.

* Email your family and friends with the list of goals.

* Host a party at which you recite your goals and invite people?s moral and emotional support.

* Hire the Goodyear Blimp and flash your goals on it over the Rose Bowl.

Or you can simply post your writing goals for 2013 here on GITS. Just like I?m going to do now.

Scott Myers Writing Goals: 2013

As noted, I have three areas of my life and work that involve writing:

* Write stories.

* Write about Story.

* Teach writing.

Here are my writing goals next year for each area.

WRITE STORIES

I?m laser-focused on one project: a high concept comedy spec script. I have what I think is a great idea, a great way to tell it, and for the first time in several years, I pumped up to write a big mainstream commercial comedy.

WRITE ABOUT STORY

Okay, okay, I hear you. I?ll finally get some eBooks on the craft of screenwriting out there. Definitely one this year, maybe two.

TEACH WRITING

I will continue to teach screenwriting and mentor writers through Screenwriting Master Class. I have one more class I will put together in 2013: The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling, a compendium to Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling. That will make eight 1-week Craft classes to go along with eight 1-week Core classes, as well three writing workshops, Prep: From Concept To Outline, Pages I: The First Draft, and Pages II: Rewriting Your Script. And of course, The Quest, a 24-week comprehensive screenwriting program, both theory and practice which I introduced to great acclaim this year, and offer to a handful of writers on a private one-on-one basis.

I have a big decision to make: Do I offer The Quest Initiative again: Solicit logline submissions to work with four or possibly more writers in the 24-week program ? for free. I won?t decide that until I finish working with the 8 writers I took on this year and read their first drafts, but I will say this: I am quite pleased with what I?ve read so far of the Questers? scripts, so that?s encouraging. I should be able to make a decision about The Quest Initiative by some time in February.

Then there?s this: I want to explore two additional ways to teach:

* The first is a weekend seminar [Saturday-Sunday] in which I will present a condensed version of The Quest. I am targeting at least one trip to Los Angeles in the summer.

* The second is a writer?s retreat, working with a select group of people in a natural habitat conducive to reflection and writing, really digging into their stories in a week-long intensive, offering the opportunity to follow up with online writing workshops.

Finally there is GITS. I am committed to maintaining the basic approach to generating content and interacting with readers I have developed over the nearly five years I?ve been hosting the site. As always I will continue to solicit ideas and suggestions from you. And I look forward to exploring more possibilities that may emerge from the site?s partnership with the Black List. For example, expect to see a lot more interviews with top screenwriters as well as industry insiders in 2013, questions and answers I hope will speak to your creative needs and help you develop as writers.

So that?s what I aim to be writing in 2013. What if I land writing gigs like I did this year? What if I come up with another crazed idea like The Quest Initiative? Here?s how I look at writing goals: They are similar to the relationship a writer has with an outline.

An outline can be a tremendous benefit to a writer, wrangling the story and giving shape to it. But once you hit FADE IN, you have to be willing to follow the characters wherever they take you. Sometimes the characters follow the outline perfectly. Other times, they don?t. In the case of the latter, you never stifle your characters, instead you have to have the courage to set your outline aside, and go with the creative flow.

Same thing with writing goals and whatever opportunities come along. Your goals give shape to the potential narrative of your creative year. Sometimes events lay out just like you figured they would. But other times, some project pops up, a unique opportunity to write a story about which you feel passionate. In those cases, you have to be willing to veer away from the schedule for your goals ? not the goals themselves, just how and when you are go about realizing them.

Speaking of schedule, going public with your writing goals does not mean your planning work is done. It will do you little good if you generate a list of goals, but don?t figure out a time frame within which to accomplish those goals. So that is where we start the next step in the process on Monday: Working up a schedule. Following that on Tuesday through Friday, we will explore time saving and project management tips, mine and hopefully yours, to help facilitate reaching our writing goals next year.

For now, those of you who feel emboldened, I?ll see you in Comments and look forward to reading about your writing projects in 2013. And for those of you who want to keep that information to yourself, that?s completely fine. Just be sure to go public, even if it?s formalizing a list of writing goals on a 3?5 index card.

See you in Comments!

Source: http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2012/12/writing-goals-2013-part-5-going-public.html

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