Well, a little late is better than never. Let’s get right to it, folks!
Last Month
- Write 2x/week
- Social Media Routine
- Return of Outings! post series
- Get submissions/queries back on track
How'd I Do?
- Write 2x/week
- Yes! Sometimes even more!
- Social Media Routine
- Yes? I’ll admit that this goal wasn’t super clear to me when I set it. Did I mean a posting schedule? Automated sharing? I’m not certain what I meant, but I know that I’ve built a little routine that seems to be working? So, a win!
- Return of Outings! post series
- Oh, yeah, babeyyyy! You can find them all here.
- Get submissions/queries back on track
- Yes! It took a pretty healthy chunk of time at the start of the month, but things are rocking steady now.
Monthly Word Count: 12,043
Y’all… I’m good with this. Just like so many of the weeks, January felt good. Consistent. Like I was just chugging along at a steady pace, with nothing too strenuous to trip me up.
I mean, I am sick this week (again!), but it’s mild so far, so I’m not letting it get me down.
Other lessons learned in January include: Scheduling writing time works, setting goals around actions – not outcomes – works, and that slowing down doesn’t automatically equal failure.
I also read a BUNCH this month (7 books!) which is probably a part of why I’m feeling so good right now. I always feel good when I’ve been reading consistently. That and I’m back on my correct ADHD meds, so I can actually function again!
Honorable Mentions
The latest Newsletter included all of this, so if you’ve read it already, feel free to skip ahead.
Life Beyond Us now available for Pre-order!
This anthology features almost 30 original Science Fiction stories that imagine what life beyond Earth might look like. Then, as a treat, each story is paired with a scientific essay that examines and expounds about the ideas presented in the story!
The Table of Contents features a vast array of stellar names in SFF – Premee Mohamed, Bogi Takács, Tobias S. Buckell, Eugen Bacon, and Mary Robinette Kowal are just a few that come to mind.
And somehow my story, “The Lament of Kivu Lacus,” made the cut!
The book releases on eBook and in Paperback on Earth Day, April 22, 2023. Don’t miss out – Pre-order yours today!
LOLcraft: A Compendium of Eldritch Humor is OUT NOW!
My contributor’s copy came in this last week, and when I tell you I am obsessed with it… I am OBSESSED. This is a gorgeous anthology full of strange, delightful stories that blend Horror and Humor in ingenious ways.
Sharing my first appearance in an anthology with Nathan Carson, Dawn Vogel, Brandon Ketchum, and so many more is just incredibly cool. Make sure to get your copy here!
AND
At the very beginning of the month, I was a guest on the Writers Not Writing Show, a podcast hosted by Benjamin Gorman of Not a Pipe Publishing. We had an absolutely lovely time chatting about all things not writing, so be sure to give it a listen if you missed it, or watch the video version here!
Whew… that was a lot. Not that we’re all on the same page, let’s look at the time spent in January.
Hours Check
- Novel Writing: 11.5 Hours
- Reading: 23 Hours
- Website Management: 17.5 Hours
- Willamette Writers Meetings: 14 Hours
- Workouts: 8 Hours
- Short Story Submissions: 2 Hours
- Queries: 8 Hours
- Podcast: 6.5 Hours
Total Hours: 90.5 Hours
Ok… when I said I did a lot of reading last month… I didn’t realize it was that much reading! Holy moly! That’s the most hours spent in a month since the summer! Hot Damn!
I will say, I’m leaning heavily on my lovely spouse right now. He’s working from home running his own business, and that business just so happens to have time for him to take on more of the household chores at the moment. He’s been so supportive, and I am so appreciative of his willingness to let me hide away in my office most nights. But come spring and summer things will pick up and it will be my turn to support him during his busy season.
All the more reason to get this rough draft done as soon as possible! Which brings us to…
February Goals
- Write at least 3x/week
- Read 4 books
- Keep on schedule
Look. This is painfully simple. Last month was stellar, and it’s almost 100% because I scheduled the fuck out of my every waking moment. I’m good at scheduling and planning and color-coding. I like it. And I’ve finally developed a system over these past five-ish years that WORKS.
Now I just have to work it.
As for reading, I know that four books in the shortest month of the year is a lot. But I also plan to read a lot of novellas and graphic novels this month, so I ought to just be able to manage it.
And as for the writing, you’ll notice that I bumped up the writing sessions from last month’s goal. There’s a couple of reasons for that:
- Writing twice a week isn’t enough to get me across the finish line by the second week of May. I consider that a HARD deadline, so something has to change.
- About halfway through January, I started writing three times a week anyway. Right now I’m looking at a Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday writing routine, with optional Wednesday and Saturday sessions if I’m feeling inspired.
If I write about 3,500 words a week (which is doable if I’m writing ~3 days a week), then I should finish the book right on time. And that’s not counting all the extra free time at Spring Break. Which I have plans for that I’ll share about a little closer to the break.
And that’s the state of things going into February. Not too shabby, in my opinion.
The new episode of Top Shelf Librarians comes out tomorrow, so if you haven’t listened to last month’s episode, now’s the time! Otherwise I’ll be back on Monday with the usual Goals Summary post.
Until then, Blogland!
BZ
