The Recap – September 2023
It’s officially October, the spookiest of seasons, when my goth little heart is happiest. Yet today the sun is out, the temps just north of chilly, so it seems summer and autumn are still doing their waltz, trading leads as they see fit. I’ll cling to these last few sunny days, before winter settles in to smother me once more. September Goals Finish Novel Complete at least the first revision Keep up w/submissions and queries How’d I Do? Finish Novel YES! YES YES YES YES! The rough draft is finally, wonderfully DONE! Complete at least the first revision HA! No. Keep up w/submissions and queries Yeah. Things are slow in September as publishing shakes off the last of its summertime slump. But, I made sure things went out as rejections trickled in. Total Word Count: 11,442 That word count should be a pretty clear indication of how I feel about…
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.…
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…
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…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #15/16
It’s been a wild, whirlwind couple of weeks, so let’s just skip the niceties and get right to it. Last (?) Week Write 3x Edit and Schedule Podcast Read Something Survive the week How’d I Do? Write 3x Lol. No. Edit and Schedule Podcast Yes! The new episode is out now! Have you listened yet? Read Something No. Or at least, I didn’t finish reading anything. But I am reading again so that’s good news! Survive the week Yes. I am here, writing to you, so I did in fact survive. Weekly(?) Word Count: 0 Look. It was a busy week by any standards. Add the whole displaced from our home stress, and really… how did I think I’d accomplish anything? There is some good news though! We decided last Sunday to move back home and just cope with some discomfort for a few weeks until our hot water heater…
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…
Top Shelf Librarians – New Episode OUT NOW!
That’s right follks, it’s the first Friday of the month, so the new episode of Top Shelf Librarians is live! Find it wherever you listen to podcasts (spotify, apple, etc.,) or here on this very site. What are you in for in this episode? Well… We think we can all agree that February is just a weird month, right? Right. So it only stands to reason that this episode of Top Shelf Librarians is a little extra weird, right? Good, we’re glad you agree! This month Brittany gets cringier than usual, Heather admits heartburn will be a factor, and we absolutely slay this episode. We explore reading related injuries, the natural lesbian habitat, and Heather teaches Brittany that doodlebugs are, in fact, real and gay af. Prepare yourself for the return of Brené Brown and Jeff Bezos, and of course, our Beautiful Bear Bast*rd, Craig. Told you things were gonna…
Top Shelf Librarians January Episode – OUT NOW!
Welcome to Season 3, Dear Listener, where things are as unhinged and unplanned as ever! Heather has her bi-monthly existential crisis, this time over some required reading. Brittany acknowledges that she has a superpower, Heather struggles with the British accent, and we give thanks to Scientists. We explore the Four Corners of Fiction, Heather takes medical advice from TikTok, and Brittany desperately wants to be BFFs with Erin Morgenstern. Just a typical evening with the Library Pros™. LISTEN HERE