Post by galactic-pirates on Oct 1, 2022 12:46:42 GMT -5
October 1st, 2022
Here is a list of questions that were asked in the WriYe Discord Chat during the first planning party of Preptober! The focus was to be thinking about goals and hopefully feeling good about achieving stuff. Feel free to answer them here, in a plotting document, or anywhere!
Q1: Technically Q4 begins today. Thinking about your goals at the start of the year. What is the #1 thing you are sad you haven’t done yet? (this answer can be anything, doesn’t have to be a writing project)
Q2: Take your answer from above. You still have Q4 to maybe do the thing, or make progress on it at least. Do you want to prioritise this goal for Q4 or leave it until next year? Will this change any other plans you might have had for Q4? Are you ok with that?
Q3: Having established whether there’s even time in Q4 for a new writing project (if there’s not, you can use these questions to think about your first new project next year). I asked in the introduction whether you had your next project picked out or not yet, as we’re going to circle back in Q10 to see if the answer has changed.
So thinking about your next writing project. What is your goal with it? By that I mean are you writing with the intent to publish one day? Writing a gift for a friend? Writing so that only you will see it? Another reason? Etc.
Q4: Now we know the goal of the project, think about your time, your mental energy, and also what suits the goal. For example if you want to publish, what genre do you want to publish in? If the answer is romance, and your idea is a sci-fi story, then there’s a disconnect there. Another example would be if you have an idea for an indepth world that could spawn a huge series, but you don’t have the time/energy to plan such a thing.
So TLDR with the goal of the project in mind, and your life circumstances, what specifications does the project need to have? E.g. like I said, a specific genre, length, standalone vs series etc.
Q5: Now you know the project brief, think about your potential project ideas. How many ideas match the specification? Or have you ruled everything out? If so where can you look for inspiration to generate a new idea that does suit the requirements? If you have ideas on the list, do any call to you more than others? If so, why?
Q6: Hopefully you now have a project picked out (perhaps even a different project than you originally thought after considering what the goal of the project is). If you are still deliberating between possibilities then roll a dice/flip a coin. If your gut goes “yay” at the one chance picks, you have your answer. If it doesn’t why?
Think about finishing this project. Does it make you feel happy? Does it give you what you need? If yes, why? If no, also why?
Q7: How much is this project planned out? If you are a pantser, you presumably still need some level of information to begin, so how much are you missing?
Q8: There are lots of aids to help with the planning process. Keri and Erin have put up the Otto Preptober workbook, and Keri will be running more planning parties this month I believe (thank you Keri). So do you have what you need in order to start planning? What materials do you use? Like a specific program, or a new notebook? Etc. If you don’t have what you need, what alternative could you use? Or is there a way you can obtain it?
Q9: Is there anything more that the WriYe community could do to help you achieve your Q4 goal / plan your next writing project etc.?
Q10: Do you know what project you are working on next? Has the answer changed from the introduction? If so, why? Do you feel confident about moving forward with the chosen project?
Q2: Take your answer from above. You still have Q4 to maybe do the thing, or make progress on it at least. Do you want to prioritise this goal for Q4 or leave it until next year? Will this change any other plans you might have had for Q4? Are you ok with that?
Q3: Having established whether there’s even time in Q4 for a new writing project (if there’s not, you can use these questions to think about your first new project next year). I asked in the introduction whether you had your next project picked out or not yet, as we’re going to circle back in Q10 to see if the answer has changed.
So thinking about your next writing project. What is your goal with it? By that I mean are you writing with the intent to publish one day? Writing a gift for a friend? Writing so that only you will see it? Another reason? Etc.
Q4: Now we know the goal of the project, think about your time, your mental energy, and also what suits the goal. For example if you want to publish, what genre do you want to publish in? If the answer is romance, and your idea is a sci-fi story, then there’s a disconnect there. Another example would be if you have an idea for an indepth world that could spawn a huge series, but you don’t have the time/energy to plan such a thing.
So TLDR with the goal of the project in mind, and your life circumstances, what specifications does the project need to have? E.g. like I said, a specific genre, length, standalone vs series etc.
Q5: Now you know the project brief, think about your potential project ideas. How many ideas match the specification? Or have you ruled everything out? If so where can you look for inspiration to generate a new idea that does suit the requirements? If you have ideas on the list, do any call to you more than others? If so, why?
Q6: Hopefully you now have a project picked out (perhaps even a different project than you originally thought after considering what the goal of the project is). If you are still deliberating between possibilities then roll a dice/flip a coin. If your gut goes “yay” at the one chance picks, you have your answer. If it doesn’t why?
Think about finishing this project. Does it make you feel happy? Does it give you what you need? If yes, why? If no, also why?
Q7: How much is this project planned out? If you are a pantser, you presumably still need some level of information to begin, so how much are you missing?
Q8: There are lots of aids to help with the planning process. Keri and Erin have put up the Otto Preptober workbook, and Keri will be running more planning parties this month I believe (thank you Keri). So do you have what you need in order to start planning? What materials do you use? Like a specific program, or a new notebook? Etc. If you don’t have what you need, what alternative could you use? Or is there a way you can obtain it?
Q9: Is there anything more that the WriYe community could do to help you achieve your Q4 goal / plan your next writing project etc.?
Q10: Do you know what project you are working on next? Has the answer changed from the introduction? If so, why? Do you feel confident about moving forward with the chosen project?