2023: The F*ck Was That?
When I say this year was a lot… This year was A LOT. The first seven months were incredibly stressful, which I think will reflect in things like word counts once we get to them. So, what the fuck happened this year? Let’s break it down: January – 12,043 words This is my peak depression month. I do not make life decisions in January and February. But January 2023 was worse than usual, because my spouse was in a car accident that totaled his car. The good news is that he was completely unharmed. The Kia Soul did everything right and protected him when he was t-boned. But, we were suddenly a single car household after each having our own cars for over a decade. We were also a single-income household at the time. After taking most of December off from writing the book, I’d picked back up and made…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #40
It’s a gorgeous fall day, and I spent the morning weeding the garden. Trevor went to get coffee from our favorite coffee shop, and now I’m listening to the new Staind album thanks to a very excited text from my mom. Yes, my mom is listens to Staind. What I’m getting at is, it’s an absolutely lovely day so far. So let’s talk about goals! Last Week Start revisions Update website Send newsletter Edit and schedule podcast How’d I Do? Start revisions Yep! I’ve re-written the entire intro, reorganized some scenes. Nothing too major yet, but I’m just revving up. Things should get grittier in the weeks to come. Update website Yep 🙂 Send newsletter It’s in your inbox if you haven’t read it yet. Edit and schedule podcast Yes! Have you listened to the September episode yet? Weekly Word Count: 1,560 For revision, that’s a stellar word count. Those…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #39
Well, hello there, October! It should come as no surprise that I’m rather fond of the Spooky Season, and even the moderately cool temperatures that come with it. I’m looking forward to wearing my jean jacket and my doc martens, to watching The Crow and indulging in a Chai Latte every now and again. But before all of that, lets talk about the last week of September. Last Week Finish the book Prep newsletter Record podcast How’d I Do? Finish the book YES! Which you probably already know if you read yesterday’s Monthly Recap. Prep newsletter Yep! It should be in your inbox now. If you haven’t signed up, now would be a great time. You don’t want to miss out on book reviews and original fiction direct to your inbox, do you? Record podcast Yes! And I got it edited and scheduled already. It’ll be live on Friday! Are…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #38
Fall is here. I welcomed it with a date night to our favorite restaurant. We had the walleye special, which was incredibly nostalgic for me as I grew up eating fried walleye, and had a couple of my favorite adult beverages (caipirinha – kinda like a Brazilian margarita, but BETTER). Then we went home, I cut a few sprigs from my herbs and used them for my bath. Now, I am not typically a bath person. There’s a lot of reasons for this, but largely I just get bored. Bubbles only entertain me for so long, I don’t trust myself with a library book near water, and I don’t sit still well. Baths are actually the opposite of relaxing to me. But, I wanted to try an herb bath. I was relaxed from the cocktails and I’m reading an ARC right now, so if the book gets damaged, who cares?…
Goals Summary – Wk #36
Ok, so this title is a little bit misleading. I didn’t have any goals last week, so I won’t exactly be summarizing them. I had goals the week before that, which I could talk about, but other than managing to send out the Newsletter, not a whole lot happened this past couple of weeks. What happened was a lot of gaming, as the spousal unit and I splurged to get a PS5 so we can couch co-op Baldur’s Gate 3. Hence, no progress last week. We’ve been gaming for 3+ hours each night after dinner, and I have no regrets. So, I let myself take a little breaky break and enjoy our couch and tv and just generally having the house back to do these sorts of things. Comfortably. It’s been delightful. But, I still have a ticking clock on this novel, and I’m getting very close to finishing it.…
The Recap – August 2023
Well, hello there! This post is late, but not so late that it’s embarrassing, right? That’s what I’m telling myself this morning. I’ve had a lovely walk with the dog, got coffee out as a treat, and done some of my “chores” for the week ahead. Seems like a perfectly good time to get back to blogging, don’t you think? August Goals Complete 1st revision of the novel Submit “King Tide” Get the Podcast back on schedule How’d I Do? Complete 1st revision of the novel Lol. No. Submit “King Tide” Yes! It has since been retitled “Like Fractured Seashells”. More on this in a second. Get the Podcast back on schedule Yes? And not quite. There was definite progress toward this, but I didn’t quite reach the finish line. Total Word Count: 4,924 I feel good about last month. I know enough about myself that any change to a…
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?…
You Wrote a Book… Now What?
Step 1: Celebrate that ish! You just did a thing SO. MANY. people dream about. How many times have we heard some version of, “I’d love to write a book someday”? Probably more than we can count. It takes remarkable committment and effort to work on the same project for months (maybe even years!) and actually finish it. Congratulations! Celebrate in whatever way is fulfilling for you — drinks, a special meal, a night out, or maybe just a little extra ice cream, as a treat. Now for the disclaimer: This is all merely suggestion. Try these various methods/ideas. Combine them, mix-and-match them. Experiment, until you find some variation that works for you. (This post also assumes that you’ve written a book length work with the intent to publish. If not, then just congratulate yourself and bask in the afterglow of creation, my friend.) Step 2: Put it away. No,…
2022: The Year of Yes
Huh. For the first time in a long time, I don’t know what to say at the cusp of a new year. I still feel so close to all the things that happened in 2022 – many of them still feel in-progress! It’s difficult to separate them into one year versus the other in my brain. But, that’s what this blog post is for. A space to look back, assess, and then take the first quaking steps into the future. If you’re new to my blog (in the last few months or so), then please allow me to introduce you to this phenomena of the yearly reflection. I’ve been writing up annual goals and reflecting on them online since January 2012 (you can dig through the old site if you REALLY want to read 22 year-old B.’s thoughts). Over the years the format has streamlined, honed into something familiar and…
Goals Summary 2022 – Wk #41
This was a busy and very productive week, complete with a trip to Portland to do some research and see some writing friends! Let’s get to talking about it! Last Week Submit Victoria Workout and/or Read 30 minutes a day Decompress from Fiction How’d I Do? Submit Victoria Yes!!!! Yes Yes YES! Workout and/or Read 30 minutes a day Yep! Decompress from Fiction Yes? Maybe… not? Weekly Word Count: 2,517 Let’s get the screaming over with: VICTORIA IS DONE! She is DONE! The novella is revised and submitted and she is DONE! She’s gone, flew the coop and into someone else’s brain! GOODBYE! Okay. Now that’s done, I’ll admit I didn’t feel so giddy about it in the moment. I felt nervous, sending out this little, but ambitious book. It’s strange and complicated and carries a lot of my darkness in it. Actually sending it felt weighty, and I was very somber…