09 July 2014

ROW80 2014, Round 3 Goals

"A Round of Words in 80 Days is the writing challenge that knows you have a life." 
This next round of ROW80 is going to be an interesting and challenging one for me. This month (July) I'm in Paris and working on a couple of editing jobs, next month I'm going to be in Vienna and taking an intensive German language course, and then in September I'll be back home again in Portland, Oregon. Based on what happened last month, it doesn't make sense for me to try to set goals or a writing schedule that span the entire round, so instead I'm going to take it month-by-month...and take into account this time that I need 2-3 days when switching locales prepare to leave, travel, and then settle in.

 Round 3 Goals

July - Paris
  • Get out & about for at least 2 hrs/day - explore, take photos, people-watch, etc.
  • Improve my French. Beyond the simple interactions in cafes, restaurants and shops, I'm going to ask around to see if someone might be willing to do a language exchange - my English for their French - for an hour or two per week. Ooh! I can also read some George Sand in French. Yes!
  • Finish first draft of pseudonym's WIP2. I still need to figure out how many hours I have left on this, but I think it's kind of a lot. Maybe 40? Which means I need to devote at least 10 hrs/wk to this. To be safe, I'll set my sights on 1 hr/day of working on the WIP on days I have editing work and 3 hrs/day when I don't.
  • Two blog posts per week - 1 here, 1 on my travel blog.
August - Vienna
  • Send pseudonym's WIP2 to beta readers.
  • Learn some German. I'll be in language class for 12 hrs/wk, and I expect there will be homework on top of that. Since I'm starting off with virtually no German, I'll be super happy if I learn enough to be able to navigate public transport, order food and ask where the toilets are. A few swear words would be good, too.
  • Get out & about on weekends (Friday-Sunday) for at least a couple hours a day.
  • Write at for a minimum of 1 hr/day. I might work on some poetry or creative nonfiction. I might just use the time to journal and jot down impressions of the place, people and language. Point is to keep in the habit of writing.
  • Continue two blog posts per week.
 September - Home again! =*)
  • Revise pseudonym's WIP2 (Sept. 3-19) and send to copy editor. 2 hrs/day on this.
  • Walk at least an hour a day with my puppy dog, Milton. (I miss him so much!)
  • Three blog posts per week - 2 here, 1 on the travel blog (to document reverse culture shock).
This is a blog hop! Click here to see other ROW80 participants' Round 3, Week 1 check-ins.
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10 comments:

  1. Emily Witt09 July, 2014 05:26

    Wow, what an awesome couple of months you have coming up! Good luck with everything!

    Puppy is gorgeous, by the way-

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    1. S.H. Aeschliman15 July, 2014 06:41

      Thanks, Emily! Yes my little bear (i.e. Milton) is a handsome boy. Every time I think of him I get a stab of longing & want to hop the next flight home! Sigh. I can do this. I can do this...

      Hope your first couple weeks of ROW80 are going well!

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  2. Anonymous09 July, 2014 06:54

    wow! Lots of goals! Good luck!

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    1. S.H. Aeschliman15 July, 2014 06:43

      Thanks, Adrian! Hm...your comment has me looking back to see if maybe I'm (still) trying to do too much. So far it feels manageable, but I guess we'll see!

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  3. Beth Camp10 July, 2014 05:58

    Ah, to be in Paris in the summer. Croissants and espresso at a sidewalk cafe . . . too distracting. I hope you will go to the Museum of the Middle Ages (Cluny) to see those gorgeous tapestries. And the Musee de la Musique. One month is too short a time, but your goals seem just right -- balancing writing work with journalling to take in as many impressions as possible. What a wonderful month you've planned!

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    1. S.H. Aeschliman15 July, 2014 06:46

      Indeed, the croissants are amazing! But it's too expensive to eat them at a sidewalk café. I'm quickly learning the tricks for living here as cheaply as possible, which includes getting my croissants at a boulangerie & eating them on a park bench! ;*) Thanks for the museum recommendations! I have not yet seen either of those. Will look into them.

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  4. Denise D. Young10 July, 2014 12:10

    Sounds like a whirlwind schedule, but I bet you'll have so many good memories when you're all through with your travels. You've set an ambitious schedule, but your goals still sound achievable. Good luck and enjoy Europe!

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    1. S.H. Aeschliman15 July, 2014 06:49

      Thanks, Denise! I'm trying to be better at not doing too much, but I guess my idea of scaling it back is still quite a lot! And yes, it does feel like a whirlwind schedule at times. One month to explore Paris is certainly not enough, and yet it's what I can do for now & still achieve my goal of beginning to learn German (in a German-speaking country) this year.

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  5. Anonymous12 July, 2014 12:31

    What fun to be writing in Paris! Have you read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins? It's a great YA novel for when you're exploring the City of Lights! Not that you need any distractions from your writing goals. :)

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    1. S.H. Aeschliman15 July, 2014 06:50

      Thanks for the book recommendation, Amelia! I'll go check it out. I like reading YA, and if it can offer me a perspective on being in Paris, even more interesting!

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