The Recap – March 2023
A week and a half late isn’t the worst, right? I mean, with everything going on, I’m lowkey surprised I wrote a blog post at all. But I did! And now you get to read it. What a crazy, random happenstance! Last Month Write at least 3x/week Read 4 books Keep on schedule How’d I Do? Write at least 3x/week Nope. I averaged two writing sessions a week, which isn’t bad. Just, not the goal. Read 4 books Yep! I actually read eight titles last month. Keep on schedule Yes? As well as I reasonably could given the crazy house situation we’ve found ourselves in. Total Word Count: 16,090 Okay. I’m struggling here. That word count is nutso good. Like, I am STOKED about that number, but all month I felt like I was dragging my feet and standing in place. I felt unmotivated and stuck. How can I write…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wks #13/14
Well. We’re still Airbnb-ing it, which makes the deep dive, detailed sort of planning and goals assessment… Difficult. I’m doing my best y’all. Last (?) Week Write 10k Send Newsletter Record Podcast Survive this crazy week How’d I Do? Write 10k Lol. No. Send Newsletter Yes! It even went out on time! Record Podcast No? But also yes. You see, we had to push it back a week due to a migraine, but it’s recorded and will be released soon! Survive this crazy week Yes. That is technically true. Weekly(ish) Word Count: 1,540 Without my whiteboard, the word count thing is a bit trickier to track. I’ve done a bit of math – which is never recommended – and this is what I came up with. Its accuracy is suspect, but I’m running with it. I did a bit of reading over the last couple weeks, though not much. I…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #12
Gang. This week? Absolutely nuttters. Nothing has gone as expected, and as someone utterly reliant upon their routines, it’s been A LOT. Let’s dive in, shall we? Last Week Write 3x #StoryADay Read a book Return to Routine How’d I Do? Write 3x Yes! #StoryADay As of this writing, I am two days behind, but I’ll get caught up – I pinky promise! Read a book Yep! I finished reading The Fire Opal Mechanism this week. Return to Routine Yes! Somehow, impossibly, I’ve stuck to the routine this week. Weekly Word Count: 4,645 Look, for any other week’s metric, this is a bomb-ass week. But this was my last “normal” week of the month and I really wanted to cross the 10k mark on the book. It would have been the most advantageous jumping off point for my spring break writing retreat. But… That spring break writing retreat has quickly…
On Querying
I figured it was time to shut up about this post and actually write it. Before we hoark down this meat and potatoes, allow me a few disclaimers/caveats: This is not your usual querying advice blog post. I’m here in the trenches with you. I have no tips and tricks for success, because I have yet to succeed in signing with an agent. That’ll be a different post someday. I’m not going to tell you how to write a query letter – there is an abundance of resources available online, all of them more legitmate than anything I might suggest. A quick google search will set you on the path. What I will tell you about is my experience querying in this odd post-pandemic, over-saturated landscape. Because it’s a different game than it was even in 2019, and a lot of the authors talking about signing and debuting got their…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #11
Yes, this post is on time. No, it is not a miracle. My weekend was actually fairly normal, and it was so, so so so nice. What isn’t normal is that I have a little bit of news to share before we dive into the meat of this Goals Summary. Announcement! IT’S RELEASE DAY, babeyy! You can read my short story “In the Librarian’s Garden” TODAY at Tree and Stone Magazine! A quiet story about finding yourself and your true home, it holds a very precious space in my heart. I really hope you enjoy it. You can read it (and other stories) online here. (It officially releases later this afternoon. I’ll post on socials about it.) Or, you can support a young magazine and buy an ebook copy here. Thanks so much for your support, and for reading! And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Last Week Write…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #10
Hi. I’m sorry this is so late. These past two weeks have completely smashed my routines into little, shiny fragments. And without my routines, things like accountability posts tend to fall by the wayside. You’ll also notice that, again, there’s no Outings! post this week. Yeah. I’ll get into the reason for that in a bit. But first, let’s look at some goals. Last Week Write 3x Keep reading Tidy up office (for realsies this time) How’d I Do? Write 3x Yep! It wasn’t all on the novel, but my butt was in the chair three times last week! Keep reading Yep! Tidy up office (for realsies this time) Hahahahahahahahaha *sobs* Weekly Word Count: 5,309 Okay, so if all the writing wasn’t on the novel, what was I working on? Well, there was a big chunk of words spent on an emotional support chapter of fanfic. And then another chunk…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #8
There’s still snow on the ground, more stubborn than I expected it to be. It’s hanging in there, winter’s death rattle as spring lurks just a few short weeks away. Not that I’m counting down or anything… Last Week Write 3x this week Organize/Tidy up the office Keep reading Prep Newsletter How’d I Do? Write 3x this week Nope. Managed two times though! Organize/Tidy up the office Nope. Keep reading Yes! Prep Newsletter Nope. Weekly Word Count: 2,470 Okay. I know this looks bad. Let me tell you all the reasons it isn’t. The biggest reason I’m not more stressed about this collection of bullet points is that I’m really happy with my word count this week, and how the writing felt when I sat down to do the work. Taking a brief pause to do a little more research helped ground me in the book and gave me firmer…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #7
The morning started out bright and clear, but by now it’s clouding over in an unassuming, pale gray. No threat of snow or rain lurks in the bellies of these clouds, just a little barrier between us and the sun. I’d be mad at it if it weren’t still February. I can hardly ask for better at this time of year. And yet I find myself counting down the days ’til spring, my heart clamoring for sunshine and warmth. This is the hardest part of the year, y’all. When so much of the country starts to awaken from its winter slumber and spring unfurls, we get last minute snowfall and freezes, spring delayed until mid-May. We’re entering the homestretch, though. I can feel it. Which means I’m running out of time… Last Week Write <3x this week Organize/Tidy up the office Keep reading How’d I Do? Write <3x this week…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #6
As the Steve Miller Band said, “time keeps on slipping (slipping, slipping) into the future.” We are nearly halfway through February, another week bites the dust, and “the years start coming and they don’t stop coming (Smash Mouth, 1999).” Point is, there’s another week gone and goals to discuss. Last Week Write at least 3x Finish reading at least 1 book How’d I Do? Write at least 3x Nope. I wrote twice, though! Finish reading at least 1 book Yep! There was a LOT of reading this week! Weekly Word Count: 2,142 I’ll admit that it’s a little disappointing to only have two goals and not be able to say I accomplished them both. Did I have a good reason? Sure, I had a migraine on Tuesday, one of my scheduled writing days. I’m also grappling with the realization that I’ve taken on a bit too much at work, and…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #5
How are we already five weeks into 2023? That doesn’t feel real! I’m already seeing daffodil and tulip shoots peeking their heads out for some sunshine. It’s going to be spring before we know it, which means I need to get serious about some goal setting! Last Week Write at least 3x this week (~3,500 words) Read a book Keep up on blog posts How’d I Do? Write at least 3x this week (~3,500 words) Nope. Only two writing sessions this week. Read a book No? I have three books I’m actively reading at the time of this writing, all of them very close to being done. I’ll probably have three books done this coming week. Keep up on blog posts Yep! There was a lot happening on the blog this week, as usual for the first week of the month, but they all posted and were shared in a…