The Weekly R.A.P #6
Writing Goals Check-In for July 3, 2023
Reminder: 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 by adding a comment! 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.
Welcome to the 6th Weekly RAP of the HIBOU’s 100 Days of Summer!
As the calendar turns to July, we’re a little more than a third of the way said hundred days of summer—are you a third of the way through the goals you set for yourself? If not do you want to find time to catch up or do you need to revise your goals? And if you’re too deeply in holiday mode1 to consider your entire summer right now, then just focus on this one week.
In that spirit, how did this one week go?
THE WEEKLY R.A.P #6 — July 2, 2023
RECKONING—If you set a writing goal in the comment section of HIBOU’s June 25th post for The Weekly RAP #5,2 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 (7/3-7/9)? What’s 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.3
Copy and paste the template above into the comments, replace the questions with your answers, then hit post and check out what other HIBOU subscribers are up to and cheer them on!4
Remember to be kind to yourself if you didn’t make your goal!
Today is the start of a fresh, new week!
For my international readers, July 4th is Independence Day in the United States.
Click the link if you need to refresh your memory!
For example, while I have to get cracking because how the hairy heck is it already JULY? may capture your urgency perfectly, a smart goal makes the action more concrete. : By July 9, I will finish editing the essay I’m working on by writing every afternoon on my lunch break and three evenings for at least an hour.
Because this is about us not me, my weekly RAP response is posted in the comments. And not that I’m fishing for compliments or anything, but I’d like to point out the complete lack of Shiloh content in this weekly RAP. And, no, I don’t see how the fact I devoted an entire newsletter to Shiloh a couple days ago is at all relevant (though, in case you’re missing Shiloh content, you can read it under “Shiloh is here to stay”).
CATHY’S WEEKLY RAP FOR JULY 3, 2023
RECKONING: I wrote for roughly two hours every morning and finished the type and tweak draft of chapter 26 and--messy, though it may be--I finished a longhand Frankenstein's monster draft of chapter 27.
ANALYSIS: Chapter 26 could use another pass, but I'm saving that for a day I need a boost (that's the editing I love). Chapter 27 is a monster. I had 49 pages of notes and old drafts to sort through to create this new rough draft, and the rough draft is in a notebook with a serial killer's amount of papers shoved into it with arrows and writing all over it. I shudder to think about the process of typing al that shit in, but a done draft is a win.
PLAN: Um, type all that shit in? Seriously. If all I do this week is type this chapter in, it will be a win because we're also starting separation training. Super bonus move will be to reread my notes for the last two chapters and the epilogue I have yet to write and consider doing a typed rough draft to move a little faster, though every time I've tried to give up the longhand draft, it's been a disaster, but I keep trying because I can type draft for non fiction just fine. Something to think about.
OK, the challenge here is to come up with a RAP even when work can't be easily categorized. And one could well make the case that that's when it's most important to do a RAP!
RECKONING: completed numerous non-novel-related work goals (teaching-related) and what I call desk errands.
ANALYSIS: the typical week post project, when you need to catch up on all the stuff you set aside, combined with the new project of reading student pages.
PLAN: reread all student pages this week, and also begin novel revision by reading hard copy manuscript and writing all over it.