goals

The Experiment

| Ardin Patterson

Yesterday I decided to try an experiment, where I rewrote the first chapter of a book I’ve been working on in third person P.O.V. I then read it to myself in that P.O.V and then again in the original 1st person to compare them.

I decided after much deliberation that the first person P.O.V works best for this book. It captures the character’s voices better and I feel that in this second draft, I’ve gotten a better idea of who each of these character’s are and how each of them impact the story.

I’m honestly hoping that between reading my current ARC, and my voice over work that I’ll be able to finish reworking and editing the second draft by the end of the month. That would be golden. I want to stay on top of my writing goals this year so for me to get through one of the books on my list within the first month of 2021 would be a great start.

Goals for 2021

| Ardin Patterson

Happy New Year!

Since 2020 definitely did not go as planned, I decided that this year I wanted to create some more realistic goals given our current state and circumstances.

I’m hopeful and excited for this coming year. I’m grateful that my family, friends, co-workers and cast-mates have remained safe during this pandemic. I’m truly thankful. By the end of the year it was all I wished for.

Reading Goals

Last year I completed my reading goals twice! I haven’t set my goal for this year but I think I’ll increase it somewhere to about 60 books, since I reached my goal of 30 two times. I tend to adjust an extra 5 books when I’m ahead of schedule. In just these past 3 days I’ve read 5 books. I haven’t been on a reading binge like this since…maybe high school?

On top of that my other goal is to read more diversely. This means finding new favourite authors in the genres I adore. I’ve already got a list of recommendations thanks to my lovely BookTuber/Bookstagramers along with the list I’ve compiled on my own. I’m really excited to check out all of these books!

I would also love to discover some new authors this year. As I am publishing my first novel myself, I’d love to see other’s work too and support it!

Lastly, I want to be accepted for more ARC reviews. I got my very first one of the year and I can’t wait to do more!

Writing Goals

Now onto my writing goals. Normally I don’t create a set goal of how many books to write in a year, however I think this year I’d like to try it. I think that I’ll try to officially complete 3 of the novels I’ve been working on over the years. By officially complete I mean have them heavily edited and cleaned up for publication. This seems like it’s a reasonable goal.

Other Goals

I’d like to post more on this blog and on my YouTube channel. I personally prefer blogging but I’m bad for creating music or other content for YouTube and not posting it. I’ll try to be a little more consistent with that this year, although I don’t know if I’ll create an uploading schedule or anything. It depends.

I’d also love to accomplish more on my list of voice over goals. I actually managed to meet some of them during 2020 which was a huge surprise, especially since the industry was shut down. The projects I contributed to were fantastic and I learned so much while working on them!

Another thing that I want to do this year is be a little more active. I used to be fairly athletic but stopped on and off during university. With the work that I do I find I’m either sitting or standing in one place for long periods of time. So, this year I think I’ll work on getting back into shape. Exercise helps me feel better and makes it easier for me to think. It’s great for relieving stress!

I also want to learn at least 3 new recipes. I haven’t decided what yet. Something yummy!

I’d like to get better at embroidery and draw more this year. It’s really calming.

10k Words a Day

| Ardin Patterson

This week I decided to challenge myself to write 10,000 words a day.

I didn’t reach my goal yesterday, and left off at 8365, but that’s alright. I’ll pick up the slack and do what I can today.

I’ve never given myself a specific word count before, so this is very new to me. I’ve done page counts before, when writing by hand back when I was in high school (or when writing essays in university), but most of the time I focus on the story, not how many words are written.

The reason I’ve decided to try this out is because I felt like I had slacked off on my creative endeavors back in April. I want to try and be a little more discipline with myself, just to see how I respond to the change.

I have set up a few mini rules for myself aside from writing 10,000 a day.

Rule #1: Don’t be too hard on yourself. If you don’t reach your goal for the day, it isn’t the end of the world.

Rule #2: Take breaks when you need it.

Rule #3: Don’t add in unnecessary filler words to reach your word count. This isn’t an essay, it’s a novel.

Rule #4: Have fun like always. Enjoy your characters. Get lost in the story.

Hopefully today goes well. I have every intention of meeting my goal. I’m also tracking how many hours I’ve been writing, because I want to see how long it takes me to work.

I’m feeling good about today, so I’m off to get started. My plan is to take my breaks around meal times, and to try not to get distracted by social media (unless of course I get an email from work). I also plan on changing locations at some point, and taking time to write outside in my yard or go on a little walk. We’ll see.

Book Talk Episode 8: 2020 Writing Goals

| Ardin Patterson

I managed to plot out three novels. I want to have them all completed before quarantine is up (which may as well be December 2020 at this point). I think setting myself a specific time frame to complete them will motivate me more.

On top of this, I’m also trying to be more active and eat better.

Honestly, I felt a little weird making all of these goals for myself but it gives me something to look forward to that isn’t seeing friends and family or going to the movies or trying something new.

One of the books I plotted is another piece I started, and actually entered in a writing contest back in high school. I didn’t win but I took a chance on writing in a newer genre, and I was worried constantly about what others would think of me for writing something that was well…”creepy.” Now that I’m older, I’m ready to tackle it without fear of judgement from my peers or my family.

I love watching scary movies or horror series. My cousin is the only person I can watch them with because the rest of my family hates them. I don’t blame them for it though, I try not to watch things like that right before bed. However if it has ghosts or monsters, it doesn’t scare me all that much. Psychological thrillers on the other hand…I can’t watch those on my own.

The other two books are new. One being a sequel to my debut novel and the other a stand-alone story, which I wrote a few chapters for back in March.

I’m excited to work on all of these, especially ones where I’m revisiting favourite characters of mine. I love watching them grow and develop as the story progresses.