The Weekly R.A.P #1

Writing Goals Check-In for May 29, 2023

Welcome to the first Weekly RAP of the HIBOU’s 100 Days of Summer!

The Weekly RAP is a gentle tool for staying accountable to your writing goals. If you set a goal with us in the comments of last week’s newsletter, check in about how it went! If you’re just joining us this week, ignore the first two questions of the RAP sheet and just set a goal for next week.

Now, let’s see how your weeks went:

THE WEEKLY R.A.P - MAY 28, 2023

RECKONING—If you set a writing goal in the comment section of HIBOU’s May 22nd post introducing this accountability experiment,¹ did you achieve your goal? Yes? No? Partially?

ANALYSIS–What went well this week? What was a challenge? What insights did you learn about your writing this week? Looking ahead to next week, can you repeat what went well? If the coming week has similar challenges to last week, how might you adjust your writing schedule or your goal? Are there any new challenges to take into account this week? 

PLAN–What is your writing goal for the coming week (5/29 to 6/4)? What is your plan to get it done? How will you reward yourself for the work you complete?  A friendly reminder that smart goals are (s)pecific, (m)easurable, (a)chievable, (r)ealistic, and (t)ime-bound.²

Copy and paste the template below into the comments, fill out with as much or as little detail as you feel comfortable sharing, then hit post and check out what other HIBOU subscribers are up to and cheer them on!

Here’s my Weekly RAP as as an example:

CATHY’S WEEKLY RAP FOR MAY 29, 2023

RECKONING: Finish my revision plan for part three—check! Return to an early morning writing schedule—not so check!

ANALYSIS: The final page count for this revision plan was so high³ I felt increased certainty that just finishing a draft of part three is a solid summer goal, period. As for returning to morning writing, I am once again reminded I need to focus on getting to bed at a reasonable hour to make this happen.⁴

PLAN: I’m going to use my writing time to dive into my research project to prepare for my research trip this week. I also commit to rereading my plan for the first chapter of part three over the weekend so that next week I can start drafting. As for my reward, I’m switching to a daily goal—after I’m finished writing for the day I can spritz my office with the scent I love best.

So, how did your week go?

Copy and paste the template below, then add your check in to the comments. And remember to be kind to yourself if you didn’t make your goal!

Today is the start of a fresh week!

WEEKLY R.A.P. - MAY 29, 2023

RECKONING:

ANALYSIS:

PLAN:

Because some writing wins deserve more than a short cha, cha, when I pinned the beats for the new part one to my corkboard, I celebrated by decorating with a postcard that represents busting through the sticky widget and my Nevertheless She Persisted sticker (left). I'm including the post it note so I can throw it away. It's been around all week, so tossing it without memorializing it feels wrong somehow!

1. Click the link if you need to refresh your memory!

2. Dammit, I need to write this week may express your frustration clearly, but a smart goal makes the action more concrete. : By June 5, I will get up and work on my novel for an hour before work on at least two of the four workdays.

3. The final document is a whopping 159 pages long. Granted I’ve corralled every stitch of material I have related to these chapters—my synopses, my drafts, my notes for the new scenes, and scraps of scenes I wrote trying to figure out the direction—but 159 pages is still an overwhelming amount of material for one section of a novel. That number is big enough that it’s a candidate for a mantra to remind me that this section is pretty complicated.

4. I can’t help but feel a dog would be a fantastic early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise coach. :)