September has come and gone in a blur of writing and not writing as much as I should have, work, personal accomplishments and everything else in between. If it was mildly important, it happened in September it seemed!
Despite the craziness, I did manage to accomplish a few goals.
September Results
Writing
Edits on Book 1
This month, edits went quite well. I made it all the way through my edits by hand, and slowly but surely I’m making it through the book chapter by chapter. With a month to go, I will definitely have to do another round of edits, I already know that, but I’m planning to still push forward and finish this round.
Publish Something
As much as I wanted to publish something, there’s still a lot of research to do. I had planned to publish a short story to Amazon, but I realized I would most likely have a better chance if I publish a few short stories at a time over multiple platforms. Plans have changed, but I still have the goal. Hopefully soon something will come from it.
Finish Chapters and Sections of Open Works
August was much better than September. September was busy with a lot of life changes and big plans, so finishing as many works as I did in August was impossible. I did finish a lot of parts of projects, mostly chapters of edits, but I still did pretty well.
Personal
Exercise
This month, I did get a few more days of exercise than usual, but there’s still a lot of improvement I want to make. I should be walking more, especially since it helps with stress, so I can only hope to be better in October.
Journal
Journaling was difficult for some reason this month. I had a hard time sitting down and figuring out what to write most days, since there was either so much or so little going on. I hope October will be a better month for journaling, even if I have to do a few days digitally.
Hydrate
This month, I was more aware of the need to drink water, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. A lot of the days, I forgot to drink water, but drank coffee and tea and everything in between. I’m not sure what I can do to drink more water, but I am doing my best with reminders and at least bringing a water bottle with me when I go places. One of the snags I hit was somehow one of my water bottles needed to be washed and the disgusting taste associated with it turned me off of using it completely. I should really make sure my water bottle is clean and the water is cold, then I should be able to drink more.
Other
September was busy!
First, I officially graduated with my Bachelors in Creative Writing and English. I am not entirely sure what I want to do with it yet, or if I’ll even branch out at all. I have a day job I enjoy a lot, but perhaps some work on the side or something. I’m hoping to begin the master’s program next, but we shall see.
I did a small vows ceremony with my now husband and attended another wedding at the end of the month that is the start of a long (much needed) vacation. A vacation is the best way to start the busy time of the year that will be October and November. I have a lot of goals and I’m excited to take a small break before I push forward again.
Word Count: 18,841
October Goals
Writing
Finish Edits on Book 1
I have somewhere around 12-13 chapters to go based on the outline, but I know that is not correct. I actually don’t know how many chapters I have left or what I will end up with at the end of the month, but I am going to push forward. These will in no way be the final edits, but I want to get through them and have a clean slate when I start a new project in November.
Finish as many chapters/ sections as possible
In November, I plan on working on a totally new novel (that still needs a name) and having that be my only project. To do that, I am going to finish as many chapters as I can in as many works and hopefully pick them up again in December/January. I am excited to see what plot points I leave off on and I hope I’ll be more excited to pick them back up again after a little time away.
Preptober for NaNoWriMo
Starting a new project next month means prep time is needed. I’ve been playing with this idea for a few months now, writing down any and all ideas when the decide to appear. I have a loose idea of what I want to accomplish, but I want to make a solid outline and develop a few if not all the characters. I do like to leave a little room for surprises, but I am excited to prepare for something new.
Inktober
I am not an artist, but I do enjoy trying something different every once in a while. In the past, Inktober has been hit or miss and this year is no different. With everything else going on, I’m looking forward to having a little stress relief and doodling time, even if it’s not every day. Every little bit counts.
Personal
Exercise
I want to exercise more this month, even though the weather will be changing with the seasons. I want to try and walk more over these next few weeks and use it to help generate ideas, if not a good few breaks away from the craziness of my goals.
Journal
This month, I will be playing with typing up my morning pages. I will be traveling a bit this month and a little out of my routine, but that doesn’t mean I have to drop it entirely. I might not get every day, but I’m going to do my best not to miss two days in a row.
Hydrate
I need to drink more water. I am chronically dehydrated, or so I feel certain days, but I admit I can be a water snob. It needs to be cold, but not too cold, icy, but can’t have a taste to it. I’m trying to drink more water and keep my preferred water bottles clean. I’ve switched back to a bigger bottle for the meantime, so hopefully that will help me reach more hydration goals.
