Hello, hello! I’m writing this from a coffee shop instead of working on my newest project — which is pretty funny, considering this entire post is about setting goals and deadlines for that very project. ☺️

If you follow me on Instagram, Threads, or here on my blog, you’ll have seen that I’ve been drafting a new secret project. We’ll call it…Project Spiral 🌀. Anyway, I’ve put together an official plan of action for the remainder of my year, which included creating my first-ever word count tracker, which I’ll share below.

Writing Timeline: Now Through 2025 (subject to change, of course!)

In order to hold myself accountable, and to just show some transparency, here is my writing timeline for the rest of year:

Through July 31: Finish draft 1 of Project Spiral 🌀.
August: Take the month off to focus on content, reading, short stories, etc.
September – November: Hit the ground running with edits on the YA dark fantasy I wrote last year. Possibly send to betas during this timeframe if I stay on top of things.
December: Take the month off because, well, holiday chaos!

In January, I’ll start edits on Project Spiral 🌀, and send my YA to betas if I haven’t already.

And of course, there’s MM, my gothic horror novel. I’m still undecided on whether I’ll pursue traditional or self-publishing. A lot of it will come down to timing and luck — I’d love to find an agent, but either way, I’m committed to publishing this story. The feedback I’ve received so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and I want to make sure it finds its readers.

Project Word Count Tracker

I decided to put together a simple but effective tracker to stay on track with my goals — and it’s already helping me visualize my progress in a new way. I wanted to share it in case it helps you, too!

Feel free to copy/paste or recreate in your platform of choice!

Got any writing goals of your own this year? I’d love to hear about them.

As always, thanks for reading. xx
Liz