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 #34
Ok. So, fun fact. I’ve been tracking weekly goals all month, I just haven’t blogged about them… whoops. This is the firs Sunday where I’ve actually felt up to dedicating some serious hours at my desk to anything other than work on the novel. So, let’s talk goals! Last Week Finish the Book Prep Newsletter Podcast Catch Up How’d I Do? Finish the Book Haha. No. But…. Prep Newsletter Kinda? Lots of notes and outlining, but I’ll be actually writing and sending it out today (Sunday). Podcast Catch Up There’s progress here, but I haven’t quite got 100% caught up. So also kinda? Weekly Word Count: 4,024 So, as you can see, that’s no small amount of words. Progress has been made on the novel pretty consistently this past week, and I’m really hopeful that I can call this rough draft done soon. That’s really been my focus this week.…
The Recap – July 2023
Yes, I’m aware this post is late. I’m sorry about it, but there just wasn’t much I could do about it. See my most recent post to learn more about where I’ve been this past month. Otherwise, I’m just gonna dive right in. July Goals Finish the book Finish “King Tide” Start book revisions How’d I Do? Finish the book Nope. Finish “King Tide” Yes! Start book revisions lol no. Total Word Count: 5,565 So. I have some thoughts about this. First, that I’m not completely unhappy with that word count. It’s the most I’ve written since March. So obviously something was working. But, I couldn’t maintain it through the rest of the month. Things petered off fast as the start date for my new job loomed closer and closer. Between that and the house renovations, I only had so much bandwidth for creative endeavors. And by “so much” I…
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…
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?…
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…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #19
It’s Monday morning. You know what that means! We have things to talk about, so let’s get to it! Last Week Write at least 2x Writing Admin Catch up (Queries + Submissions) Read Something How’d I Do? Write at least 2x Yes! While it wasn’t for as long as I’d like, or ended in a thrilling word count, my butt was in the chair, noveling, twice this week. Writing Admin Catch up (Queries + Submissions) Yes! I’ve got a pretty good process in place for both querying and submitting short stories, so this only took a couple of hours. I’m glad to get back on track! Read Something Yes! I actually read two somethings! Dragon Age: The Missing #4 and Steering the Craft by Ursula LeGuin. Hooray! Weekly Word Count: 1,828 Now, that’s what I’m talking about! I love weeks where everything gets done, where all my red-inked goals become…