Bestselling Author Delilah Devlin
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A Mind Map for 2015
Saturday, November 29th, 2014

Yes, I’m already looking past December to the New Year. I have the whole month of December to review my 2014 plan and figure out what the heck happened. There were projects I was forced to drop for personal reasons—illness being the main reason, lack of scheduled downtime the other. I don’t want a repeat of 2014. I want 2015 to be completely positive, maybe even a change of direction.

December 7-13, I’ll be running a planning workshop entitled “How to Write 50 Books a Year” through Roses Colored Glasses (ignore the dates listed on the page. Sis hasn’t updated and she’s on vacation at the moment. Use the link anyway to join the yahoo group!), and I want to be ready to work on my own plan while I lead other writers through the process. (BTW, the workshop is completely free, so if you’d like to plan your year along with a group of like-minded writers, please join us!)

Anyway, I am doing some pre-planning brainstorming. Not so much targeted toward specific projects (although that will be the next step), but a more generalized view of the year. I’ve been collecting Mind-Mapping and Vision Board tools on Pinterest and think I’d like to create a visual to list my goals/priorities for 2015. Something that might look like this (I found this on Pinterest, which led me to a website called Jenny’s Sketchbook where she talks about building this mind-map)…

mindmap

Maybe on mine, I’ll add things like:

Revamp my writing process

  • Plot
  • Write
  • Edit
  • RECOVER

See that last step? I think that’s what’s missing from my process. Oh, and the plotting part, because I’m such a pantser, but I think the lack of plotting really took a bite out of the time I scheduled to actually write the books. So it needs to be there, and I need to get serious about doing it!

I’ll add some personal goals like “family time” activities or trips and adding exercise to my plan. I won’t plan on adding the “D” word (diet) to the map because I’ve had diet on my New Years Resolution list for years and it’s the first thing I always fail. So the D word does not make it to the map!

What else should I add? Some financial goal? Some organizational goal? Something targeted to my Etsy store, The Emerald Casket? I would like an offshoot circle for possible writing projects, maybe a brainstormed series list. Any suggestions for what I should jot down as possibilities? Any old favorites or new ideas?

Also, if you’d like to do something like this for yourself, whether you’re a writer prepping for “Write 50 Books a Year” planning or just a goal-minded person who loves the bright shiny possibilities of starting over in the New Year, be sure to share your map. Send me a pic, or a link to your map on Pinterest. If enough folks share, I’ll devote blog space or a Pinterest board to your efforts. 🙂

5 comments to “A Mind Map for 2015”

  1. Elizabeth Andrews
    Comment
    1
    · November 29th, 2014 at 3:53 pm · Link

    Oooooohh! I just signed up, because this is something I need very much. Thank you!



  2. Beth Caudill
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    2
    · November 29th, 2014 at 4:51 pm · Link

    I love Mind Mapping. I use it for cataloging my story elements. I have a bubble for Characters, Places, Plot Points and Research. I can’t do worksheets or spreadsheets but using a mind map works for me.

    I’ve not tried to mindmap my ToDo lists but I might. You may consider adding an entry for Marketing/Promotion. You could set cover reveals, countdown to release, blog tours etc.



  3. Delilah
    Comment
    3
    · November 29th, 2014 at 6:39 pm · Link

    Elizabeth! I’ll see you in December!

    Beth! I am using it now for big picture, broad planning for 2015, but I would love to drill down to specific projects or series using this technique!



  4. Delilah
    Comment
    4
    · November 29th, 2014 at 7:48 pm · Link

    I posted a picture of my Mind Map on Pinterest if you’d like to take a look. 🙂
    http://www.pinterest.com/pin/87116574017946872/



  5. Lissa Matthews
    Comment
    5
    · November 30th, 2014 at 12:56 am · Link

    I am completely on board with this… I’ve been doing the same thing on Pinterest lately, too. I’ll be interested to see how it works out!



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