Summer Update
Look. I don’t have a fancy excuse, or really any excuse, for the lack of posts and updates (and that super late Newsletter – it’s coming, I promise!). The brutally honest point of the matter is… I’ve been overwhelmed with a combination of home renovations, starting a new job, and gearing up for the Willamette Writers Conference (that I didn’t even get to go to – but more on that later). It’s been a bit of a shit show over here. But, there is some good news! The house is DONE! There are no more contractors, no looming work to be done, and we can finally just enjoy our new home. We did end up buying a new dishwasher that’s yet to be installed, but that’s getting done TONIGHT! The new job is going incredibly well and I am VERY optimistic that this could be a job I retire from.…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #27
Well, will you look at this! A blog post and mostly on time. What a crazy, random happenstance. Let’s get to it! Last Week Write at least 3x Read something Edit + Schedule podcast How’d I do? Write at least 3x Yep! Read something Oh, yeah. Edit + Schedule podcast Definitely! Weekly Word Count: 5,565 So… uh. Yeah. That happened. This last week really felt like I’d settled into my vacation and my brain was ready to get to work after a week of relaxation. I wrote exactly three times, and each session was more productive than the last. If you’re paying close attention, you’ll see that my short story “In Debt to the King Tide” is no longer in the drafting stage. I finished writing it last week and am knee deep in revisions. I’ve also made some really good strides on the novel and am creeping up to…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #26
So, you’re probably thinking, “B. You didn’t set any goals last week. Or, for the last four weeks, actually… where have you been?!” And firstly, yeahhhhhh. Sorry about that. You can read up on my absence in my recent Monthly Recap post. And secondly, joke’s on you, I DID set goals last week! I just forgot to post about them. So, there! Last Week Write something Read something Enjoy my “summer” How’d I Do? Write something Yep. Wrote a bit on that short story I’ve been stewing on for forever. Read something Read a lot of things, actually. Like, four things. Enjoy my “summer” It’s been pretty chill so far. Lots of gardening and reading and drinking iced coffee. I dig it. Weekly Word Count: 1,267 So, yeah. I did stuff. We also had a LOT of work done on the house last week, which can account for some of…
The Recap – June 2023
Well. This is awkward. If you hadn’t guessed from the absolute silence on the website, June’s been… a month. No point tip-toeing around it. I haven’t been very productive or writerly-minded for weeks now. Let’s talk about why. Last Month Finish the fucking Book How’d I Do? Finish Nope. the Nope. fucking Nope. Book annnnnnnnnnnd nope. Total Word Count: 2,930 Shocking, right? Who could have guessed that a month with almost no website activity was also a month with almost no writing? Wild. So, what the hell happened? Well… June is an intense month under normal circumstances, what with the end of the school year. Add to it that we’re still basically camping in our own house (no kitchen, no floors, no hot water) and it’s basically impossible to do anything other than survive. But, wait, there’s more! I couldn’t talk about this online until everything was official and all…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #22
I spent some high quality time at the Oregon Coast today. I’m sore, my skin is flush with fresh sun, and I am more than a little sleepy. So let’s just get to it, shall we? Last Week Write at least 2x Edit & schedule Podcast Send Newsletter Read something How’d I Do? Write at least 2x Nope. Edit & schedule Podcast Yes! The newest episode of Top Shelf Librarians is out now! Send Newsletter Yep! It hit your inbox last night. If you haven’t signed up yet, do it now! Read something Yep! I finished listening to an audiobook this week. Weekly Word Count: 703 Well, that’s not nothing. But those words didn’t go toward the novel… Ughhhhhhhhhhh. Okay, but seriously. It was a horrifically busy week and I knew that my odds of getting anything meaningful done were slim. That three out of four goals were completed should…
The Recap – May 2023
Not gonna lie… this month feels like it dragged on for.e..v…e….r…… May is hell month in the education world, where everyone is burnt out and over it, wishing that everything would just slow the eff down as it inevitably hurtles toward a finish line everyone wants and no one is ready for. So, yeah. A great time to try and write a book! Last Month Finish the novel Return to blogging schedule How’d I Do? Finish the novel LOL. No. Return to blogging schedule Yes? I feel like I made a pretty good effort at getting the blog back on track. Total Word Count: 5,544 This was an absolutely unhinged month. I feel like I only have glimpses of the things that happened, or the stuff that I did. I can’t grab onto any one thing as concrete. Other than my Story Hour reading, mainly because it was recent and…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #21
The long weekend (plus a migraine) has thrown my routines for a loop. Several things are behind schedule, this post being one of them. So let’s get down to it! Last Week Write 3x Record Podcast Prep Newsletter Read Something How’d I Do? Write 3x Lol, no. But I did brainstorm the next scene, so that’s something? Record Podcast Yes! Prep Newsletter No… more on that in a minute. Read Something Yes! Weekly Word Count: 0 Okay… So, I was maybe a bit busier than I really acknowledged when I set these goals. I was pretty overwhelmed last week. Overwhelmed enough that I asked to take a break from my critique group until school is out, because I just have too much going on. Overwhelmed enough that I got a migraine this weekend that basically obliterated my to-do list. Hence, no newsletter went out on Sunday, as planned. Good news?…
Treatment – One Year
A year already… I mean, it’s actually been a little more than a year, but you get me. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out these posts: Treatment – Week 2 Treatment – Six Months My Brain on Back Order Treatment – The Lost Months Caught up? Good! So, where am I at now, a year into being treated for my ADHD? Well, things have settled mostly. I don’t notice when my meds take effect, and I don’t totally notice when they wear off. It’s usually about an hour after they’ve worn off that I notice how chatty I’ve become, how I’m pacing the house, bounding between tasks, or making weird noises/humming bits and pieces of songs at the speed of my brain frantically flipping through every CD I’ve ever owned. I’ve also found that, while my ability to focus is GREATLY improved while on my…
Outings! – Calloway Intensive Loop Trail
Welcome It’s another beautiful spring week here in Oregon, which means we made outdoors again! Calloway Intensive Loop Trail This trail is one of many in the McDonald-Dunn Forest, an Oregon State University Research Forest at the outskirts of Corvallis. I think we could have walked all day and not set foot on every available trail. What makes this trail extra interesting is that, as part of the OSU Forestry program’s research, there are several different “forests” that the trail winds through. In about four miles we experienced coastal ferns and trilliums, valley oaks and cottonwoods, and then the sprawl of high desert ponderosa pines. If you’re visiting Oregon, or have a visitor with limited time, this trail is a great way to show off several different ecosystems at once. The Calloway Intensive Loop Trail is, well, a loop trail (my favorite). Finding which trailhead to start from was a…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #20
It’s Monday. We’re here today, together, to talk about goals. And accomplishments. And fun things. And things that make me want to vomit from anxiety. You know. The usual. Last Week Write at least twice Read something Edit and Post The Saga Saga: Volume One How’d I Do? Write at least twice No, but… I wrote once for two whole hours and wrote more than I did all last month. Read something Yep! Edit and Post The Saga Saga: Volume One Yes! You can listen to it now! Weekly Word Count: 2,256 Last week was a very busy one, with commitments sneaking up on me and taking all sorts of time. And yet, I feel like I accomplished a lot last week. I finally had a breakthrough on the novel, and I’m feeling like I can move forward with it once again. The end is very close now… I also read a…