Exclusivity Does Not Mean Sustainability

On yet another blog post concerning social media marketing, this week we’re discussing Orkut, the social networking site named after Google’s creator: Orkut Buyukkokten. 

Background

The social networking site launched in 2004, which is considered early in the days of social media. It shut down in 2014, another temporary social media platform that did not meet the needs of its users (We’ll come back to that later) and got overtaken by the popularity of Facebook.

Orkut’s Logo

The purpose of Orkut was to build a social media platform where users could “find communities through keyword search, including titles, description, and browsing through other users’ memberships. So basically it was like a mix between LinkedIn and Facebook before either was available to the public. Orkut had it’s exclusivity too, with an “invite-only membership list”. This meant that being a member was something exclusive, which made the users feel more important and feel they have high status, especially in the “technology realm”. Users trusted it because of “Google’s strong reputation” (Keep in mind this was the early 2000’s, so much has changed since then). 

Photo by Sushil Nash on Unsplash

Another reason Orkut was so popular was that it put the privacy of the users “first and foremost”.  In the first few years of social media where the internet wasn’t a fully trusted entity and users had concerns about privacy, this was a big deal. (It’s ironic that it was Google based, but we’ll talk about that issue some other time). 

Orkut allowed users to connect with other users and rate them based on “how sexy, cool and trustworthy” they thought they were. This feature, along with many others, helped build the social network to 30 million users by 2012. But pride always comes before the fall. 

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

 

Purpose of the Case Study

The case study in the textbook, Strategic Social Media: From Marketing to Social Change by L. Meghan Mahoney and Tang Tang, focuses on Orkut in the context of the popularity in Brazil. 90% of page views came from Brazil. 

To understand why Orkut was so popular in Brazil, we need to understand why. Outdoor advertising is banned in Brazil which means most advertising has to come from media, or more specifically social media like Orkut, Facebook or any of the other social media platforms available today. Brazil has made that work well, with “77% of Brazilian social media users have[ing] a positive attitude towards online shopping” and “four-fifths” of users on social media sites researching products. Brazilians even trust recommendations from online contacts more than other sources. 

Because of the ban on outdoor advertising, brands need to allow users to engage and build a relationship with them online through blogging, social gaming, and online video. 

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Where Orkut Fell Short

While Orkut was one of the foremost and leading social networking sites with an “interface [that] was clean, simple and sophisticated” (Which was a big deal in 2004, remember how a lot of websites looked clunky and blocky?), it failed to keep up with the demands of social media. 

Sure, it was easy for users to find their friends and join groups, feel the exclusivity of belonging to a social media site that was invite only, and where their privacy needs were met. However, when it came to marketing and sharing product reviews with pictures and videos, the social media site fell short. As social media grew, the website fell short further with “functionality problems” including limiting the number of friends, difficulties in loading and sharing photos and videos and further failures to keep up with the changing landscape of social media. 

Photo by Art Institute of Chicago on Unsplash

What Does This Teach Us as Students of Social Media Marketing?

Social media is a revolving machine. Multiple sites are competing for users and clout and keeping users interested. Orkut failed because it failed to meet the needs of the Brazilian people by growing and evolving to include more features and aspects of social media that users needed. Orkut couldn’t keep up with other social media platforms that were on the rise, like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Orkut is a big reminder of usefulness. As soon as a social media platform is no longer useful, lacks ease of use, or is replaced by another social media platform that is easier to use, then users no longer use or frequent the site. Social media users will show loyalty to social media sites as long as they are useful. However, once the site no longer meet their needs, users will move on to other platforms. We’ve seen it with Myspace, Friendster, and now Orkut. 

The big lesson here: Social media platforms must cater to their users first and always keep the user in mind over their need for profit or features. If users aren’t satisfied, they will go to another site that can meet their needs.

Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash

The moral of the story: If you like a social media platform, keep using it. What’s your favorite platform currently?

A Hole in One or Too Much In One?

Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

This is yet another blog post as a homework assignment. This one is a study on the Chinese social media app Weixin (Way-Shin). 

Weixin is an all-in-one platform where users can do anything and everything it seems. It’s compared to What’sApp in the United States. I don’t use either, so I can’t compare personally, besides a few days using What’sApp (because it’s more secure…sure) and hating it. 

Based on the case study in the textbook, Weixin allows users to “send messages, share news and pictures via their mobile phone”. Very similar to any other social media site. However, where the difference comes is how much users can actually do on Weixin. 

There are a wide range of functions on Weixin, from messaging friends, to getting news, to even finding a cab on the streets. Weixin is a combination of multiple social media sites, where users don’t have to leave the app to go from messaging to reading the news to finding a cab or even paying for goods and services. 

This can be very good, and can help users to avoid “search costs” by flipping through different apps. Weixin continues to add more functions to their app, including campaigns around upcoming holidays like Chinese New Year. 

But then the question becomes: How much can one app do before it becomes too much? 

We’ve all been there. Using an app that tries to be like a website, but is slow and full of bugs? That would be a main worry for me, as tech saavy as I can be. 

Another concern I have besides speed is dependence. The case study talks about the app “train[ing users] to pay via Weixin” in the case of calling a taxi, or buying items or services through the app. 

Coming out of the app to pay for something on another platform can be jarring, almost like when I get used to paying with ApplePay almost everywhere and find somewhere that only takes cash. 

However, there are some good things about Weixin, such as the amount of users. Between its launch in 2011 and three years later in 2014, the app had more than 300 million active users. The app gained so many users because it used a thorough approach to understand its audience and their needs. The platform is appealing to young and urban smartphone users, especially as smartphone use only seems to increase and the users seem to be getting younger and younger. The ease of use for the app is another win for the platform such as the ease of sending a message with the touch of a button instead of typing Chinese characters and the ease of reading news within the app instead of being sent out of the app and to the news platform instead. 

Weixin does whatever it can to keep the user in the app, even going so far as to let users begin shopping in the app and even able to build their own shops. Gradually, because of all of these bonuses, Weixin has become the norm for media use in China. 

But no matter how good it appears to be in China, I’m not sure it would be as big of a hit in the United States. Where China is a big county with bustling cities and people, the United States has a massively diverse group of cities and towns that some apps won’t even add to their locations. 

I thought I lived in a relatively large town, but a lot of the apps in the United States don’t populate any results in my town. So perhaps in larger cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando or New York the app would be helpful for things like Taxis, Ubers or Lyfts and other things related to the offline world. However, it could be a successful app for the the overall messages and news and media and other features.

Social media highly depends on the right time and place. The social app BlueSky managed to boom after X started to become Right Wing and AI central. Facebook has remained popular since the beginning, even with some of their more interesting changes. Myspace only lasted a few years. Since we already have What’sApp in the United States (and other countries), Weixin would have to have some features catered to the every day American to really take off here. 

However, I prefer to keep my apps separate for now, despite the “search costs”. Anything to get me off my phone for a little bit here and there is helpful. 

How about you? What do you think about an All-in-One app?

Hooray For Boobies!

Photo by Estúdio Bloom on Unsplash

Contrary to the title, this is not a music review for the 1999 album by the Bloodhound Gang. Sorry fellow music enthusiasts. 

Now that I have your attention, this week, we’re talking about the breast cancer awareness meme popular on facebook every October. The confusing one where women used to post a random fruit, or cryptic phrases like “I like to do it on the garage floor”. Yeah, those ones. The attempt at cyberactivism, like several other attempts (see: ALS ice bucket challenge), doesn’t quite reach the level of activism and donations it should. 

According to the textbook, “Humans want to do the right thing, and if the call is to simply ask you to push a button to “like” a status, we don’t mind obliging”. The accuracy of this statement really hits home in the cyber age where most things online we can get done with the push of a button.

So let’s dissect it and see what makes it so successful and where it tends to fall short. 

Why so Viral? 

There are several reasons why memes like the breast cancer meme (and so many others over the years) go viral. The secret is in the subtlety and vagueness of its nature. It’s the same idea as if someone posts something like “Nothing lasts forever”. We, as humans, are curious about what the message could possibly be about and depending on how interested we are, could fall down the rabbit hole of “deep research” into that person’s profile. 

The viral breast cancer meme brings up the same idea. A vague post where it brings users deeper into “What could it mean?” and more importantly: “What important social media trend am I missing?” 

So the viral urge is there, and the call for cyberactivism has spread quickly every October when the mysterious posts begin showing up. Everyone engages with or posts their own version. No matter the format, whether it’s which fruit corresponds with your breast size, where you put your purse, or the color of your bra. Every year, the meme seems to go viral. 

But that doesn’t mean that the cyberactivism is working. 

Where does it fall short?

There are several places where the meme falls short. 

The first and most glaring is the vagueness of the post. If you aren’t fortunate enough to be included by one of your facebook friends in the message detailing the trend, you as a user have no idea what’s going on.

If you’re not the gender that gets breast cancer, then you are even more out of the loop. That’s the first place where the meme falls short. It leaves out more users than it includes, and because it’s so vague, it doesn’t include a call to action. Therefore, people think they’re engaging in cyberactivism by simply clicking the like button, but are really not. 

Another place where the meme falls short is not including men. By only including women, and turning the meme into something sexual, especially with the “where you put your purse” addition a few years ago and the phrasing of “I like it behind the couch”etc, the meme misses the other half of the people who can be affected by breast cancer. 

Yes, men can get breast cancer too! By not including men, and opening the conversation to men, it’s like erasing the fact that men can also get breast cancer (and are not routinely screened, which is another issue entirely). 

While the meme is doing it’s best to build activism and help bring awareness to breast cancer, it tragically falls short. 

So where does that leave us?

How to Truly Increase Awareness

The breast cancer meme is a good start. Posting a fruit, or where you put your purse, or the length of your hair, or the color of your bra is a helpful start. It’s a conversation starter and builds interest. However, to build more engagement and actually engage in cyberactivism, there needs to be more. Including more ways to include men. 

Sure, the inital post can be vague. Post a fruit name or a color. But then, do more. Add a post after with a call to action. “Hey, if you liked this post, it was for breast cancer! You can donate to the cause, and learn more at (Insert link here).” That would truly build awareness and hopefully increase donations. 

So Now What?

As we reach the end of September and the beginning of October, by all means, post the memes, but also consider donating in other ways. Build awareness on social media, donate to breast cancer awareness, ThinkPink or whatever, donate to Susan G. Komen (Which has its own issues which we can explore another day). 

As for today? Go to Breastcancer.org and make sure your donation for breast cancer is going somewhere worthy. 

Glasses For the Masses

How Warby Parker Changed the Options for Eye Wear

This is part one of many explorations on companies and their effective uses of Social Media.

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

Warby Parker, the glasses company. We’ve all seen the commercials on TV or while waiting for our latest YouTube video to load. They sell glasses, they send frames in the mail for you to try before you buy. 

We’ve all heard the “try before you buy” from a lot of companies lately, but what makes Warby Parker’s campaign so different and successful? 

Their connection with their customers. 

From the beginning, the creators of Warby Parker (Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, David Gilboa and Jeffrey Raider) found a problem with the traditional process of getting glasses and frames. They addressed some of the biggest issues associated with glasses and frames: cost, availability, and time. They changed the game with the customer in mind and were able to change the process into something much easier for the consumer. 

Warby Parker has challenged many assumptions since their founding in 2010, including the dissonance of buying glasses online and not from a brick and mortar store, the assumption that due to the price, the quality would be lower, and even the assumption of the authenticity of the idea of selling glasses online. How did they overcome most of these obstacles? 

By connecting with their customers on social media and letting their customers on social media spread the word to their followers and friends. Warby Parker “encourages transactional communication by consistently communicating with and responding to customer comments on their social media platforms.” (Mahoney & Tang, 18). They also prompt their customers to participate in creating their own content with the users wearing the glasses frames on social media platforms. They used their customers and their genuine reviews to build communication and trust with their future customers. In addition to social media, they helped educate others with educational YouTube videos. 

They have done all of these things by focusing on the consumer and the problems the consumer faces concerning glasses and frames. By encouraging users to post their own content on social media, they’re building relationships with potential customers before they’ve even considered Warby Parker to buy glasses. 

Not only that, but Warby Parker has built up credibility and further problem solving by teaming up with another company (VisionSpring) to offer a pair of glasses for someone in need for every pair of Warby Parker glasses a consumer buys. Talk about helping others and building a sustainable brand, all while helping customers and those in need. I always love hearing that my purchase of something I need (like glasses) can also help someone else. 

Warby Parker has focused on helping their customers with problems they’ve faced rather than forcing customers to buy their product in every social media post or YouTube video. By focusing on their customers and their problems and allowing them to join the conversation about their products and problems, Warby Parker has made big strides with how customers engage with companies on social media. 

After all, social media should be a conversation and should be social. It’s right there in the name.

The idea of glasses that don’t break the bank, help someone else in need, and that I can try on before I buy is really tempting. 

My eye exam is coming up. I think I’ll check out Warby Parker. 

Anyone else want to join me? 

On Accountability

I have wanted to be a successful writer since I was about fourteen. Throughout my teens and 20’s, I was doing pretty well, or at least putting words down on the page and practicing my craft. Then came the disastrous year of 2024.

2024 and 2025 have been challenges for writing time and other things not related to writing time. In 2023, I wrote something every single day and finished multiple projects. It was the best writing year I’ve ever had as far as routine and ritual.

I had a routine and a plan, then 2024 happened.

2024

I had a lot of loss in 2024, with 10 people of varying closeness passing away at different times throughout the year, health issues and a car accident (everyone was fine, thankfully!). Starting medication for my mental health, which really made my ADHD tendencies go full blown off the deep end, and which meant starting medication for ADHD as well.

Perfect time to start the MFA, right?

2025

2025 was supposed to be my “year of writing” and getting back into routines I’d previously had. I had a schedule and everything. But that wasn’t quite the case either. 2025 has brought all new challenges to the playing field, like choosing to start a family and multiple health issues with my husband. Financial issues and pretty much every stressful thing that could happen has happened.

Now

So, how have I been protecting my writing lately, not very well at all. Some days are better than others. Sometimes, I get caught in the wrong ADHD tornado of obstacles and spend hours doing anything but writing. Other times, my motivation is lower than low because yay, being a female of childbearing age and  fun hormones. Other days, the writing bug bites (of course on the days where I’m busy and don’t have a lot of time to sit down and flesh out ideas), and I’ll at least get a few ideas down.

Thankfully, after some med adjustments and finally some recovery on my husband’s part (two surgeries in a month? Yes! Now, finally recovering in August). It’s taken some time, but I have taken inventory of when I have time (and when I waste time-AKA a lot) and I’m attempting to build a better schedule and have more incentive to stick to it.

Moving Forward

To overcome wasting a lot of time on my phone, I now have app limits. No more doomscrolling for 3 hours lost in time while I work in what should be an “on call” position, but where I have to be on-site. Now, I have to actively click “15 more minutes” and feel the shame of already using up my time in a non-productive way. Now, I plan to set a timer and “pay” for those extra 15 minutes with 15 minutes (or more) of writing.

In the future, I plan on working on my creative works and writing more in the morning as a first thing kind of mentality. It doesn’t always work, especially on weekends when I get to spend time with my husband, but it’s at least a step in the right direction. Timers have also been a big help in the past, so I will most likely use them again, either for writing time or as a countdown warning to writing.

A big part of it is making writing a priority again. During 2024, when I was basically drowning in an ocean of grief, writing wasn’t a priority. I continued to avoid responsibility once things began to get better in 2025. My goal is to make writing and creating and art more of my routine again instead of constantly being distracted by the next shiny thing.

After all, I can’t avoid being a writer forever. Especially with the plans I have for the rest of this year.

34 Writing Tips (In no Particular order)

  1. Writing never has to be perfect.
  2. It does have to be understandable.
  3. A writing session can be anything from 1 word and beyond.
  4. If you wrote on your phone, you’re still a writer.
  5. Reading is inhaling, writing is exhaling.
  6. Not all days have to be writing days. Some days you can just live.
  7. Art inspires art.
  8. Pain inspires art.
  9. Too much pain and grief does not feed art.
  10. Music holds a lot of secrets.
  11. The best ideas come amen you can’t write them down (the shower, driving, a staff meeting).
  12. Anyone who uses that tone when taking about your writing doesn’t deserve to hear about it.
  13. First drafts should always be fast.
  14. If an idea is not cooperating and let it sit for a while
  15. Sometimes characters need weird names. Other times characters with normal names will do.
  16. No words are ever wasted.
  17. Fertilizer (AKA shit) makes the best foundation for a great work.
  18. Play around with what works. Favorite novel? Examine why.
  19. Try something new whenever you can. New genre, new technique? Try it at least once.
  20. Finish something. Whether it’s long or short.
  21. Write something as often as you can.
  22. Play
  23. Experiment
  24. Sometimes drafts take a long time.
  25. Sometimes you stop and you start over and over again.
  26. Sometimes a draft is a draft after draft after draft.
  27. Rewrites are writing.
  28. Editing is writing.
  29. Thinking about your works is writing.
  30. Staring at the wall is writing too.
  31. Outlining is writing.
  32. Sometimes, ideas don’t play nice.
  33. Sometimes, they’re too kind and keep coming faster than you can write them down.
  34. No matter what you do, never stop creating.

 

On Writing By Hand

Some affiliate links listed here, gotta pay the bills somehow, right?

When I first began to write seriously (Ok fine, semi-seriously) at around 14, I had no smart devices or even a computer. I started writing my first novel in a spiral bound notebook with a pencil.

Image created by chatGPT— imagine this is the notebook before the project started.

I highly caution against that as I have in the past: Pencil can and will rub away leaving a graphite mess.

Image created by ChatGPT. This was pretty close to what the pages looked like with a few words legible here and there.

My next project, in high school, was written yet again in a spiral notebook, but this time in pen. Better, but spiral notebooks tend to get trashed in backpacks and lose their spiral, their cover, their pages or all of the above. That project took up a notebook and a half, and then I still tried to write the sequel in a spiral bound notebook. You think I would have learned by then, but no.

Is it a universal thing that this is the first pen everyone uses in high school?

The next few projects after that, I wised up a little and put them all in a binder, but still in spiral notebooks. Somehow that made sense to me. Teenage logic, I guess.

Then, I moved to binder paper in a binder, each project separated by a divider (Go me for being organized!) But at that time I was working on like 8-10 different projects and never getting anything done (Boo!). Most of those projects are still not done— I had new project-itis for most of my Sophomore year, too busy crushing on boys (Darn you teenage hormones!).

The fun of going through the dozens of binders in my closet and going through”What’s This?”

Junior year, I finished a project— yet again in a spiral notebook. Yay more teenage logic.

Senior year, I went back to binders and paper, which was more effective because I finished that project just after I turned 18 (Yay being an adult). However, I wrote it in erasable pen, so just like pencil, it’s smudged and nearly unreadable now.

The first NaNoWriMo I did I was freshly 18 with loose pages in a loose folder that was overstuffed after like a week. I don’t really know, that year was weird AF, adjusting to college, getting my heart broken, hating the hard left from art to sciences.

After that, I wised up a little bit and finally switched to composition notebooks and RSVP pens (My favorite!). I would write in the notebook and color in the cover, it was like double the stress relief. I even had two point of views with 4 different colors. I had it all organized and figured out, but the novel/series was never finished.

The best combination for writing by hand.

The first series I finished in a composition notebook (yes, with different colored RSVP pens) was in 2011. I can’t remember exactly how long it was, but I know I used two composition notebooks (with funny patterns, thanks Walmart!) and ran out a few of the pens in the process.

I wrote the rest of that series (or at least parts of it) in different composition notebooks until 2015 when I finally got my first iPhone.

After that, the world was my oyster. I could write anywhere, I could work through projects at the speed of light and not have to worry about typing them up from a notebook later (This was before I learned how to touch type— that was rough!). The first novel I typed was on a Samsung phone back in 2012, which I do not recommend, that was awful.

That experience in 2012 turned me off of technology for a while, hence why I didn’t upgrade until 2015.

Technology is great. I really enjoy typing at the speed of light and getting my ideas out as fast as I can think them and my fingers can type them. I love how connected the internet has made us, and how quick we can share ideas with each other.

However, there are times when I miss writing by hand.

I miss writing notes in the margins and writing initials from where I used to read my work out loud to my best friend (I cringe now, re-reading those works and sometimes even laugh).

I miss writing song titles at the top of the page whenever I heard a song I liked from the music channels on cable.

Just writing down whatever came to mind
This was how I decided to keep track on paper. AWFUL IDEA!

I miss writing down ideas as soon as they would come to me. Notes about later in the story, ideas for another spin-off.

I miss writing notes about life in the margins like “essay due 3/11” and “get milk”.

Handwriting has always felt just a touch more personal than typing on a screen. There was something so magical about starting a notebook on the first page and reaching the last page, or running a pen out of ink at the worst possible time, but loving the feel of the full pen once it was back on the page.

I recently picked up handwriting again last year when I was in the throws of the year from hell. I had wanted to get back into writing, away from a screen that I’d been stuck to for years between writing and school. The screen that I only wanted to use for distractions because that was all I had the bandwidth for at the time. I managed to write for 11 days in a row in August, and it went well, until it didn’t. I stopped, then let doubt come in and then by the time I picked up the notebook again, it was September. Still, I tried to get back into it, then I realized I hadn’t outlined enough.

Still, it was great to write in the margins, great to write by hand and get the ink on my fingers, great to be able to see my accomplishments and hold them in my hands.

I still want to finish that project. I still want to hand write at least parts of it. It’s a massive project and will take me a lot of time, but finally that excites me again rather than frightens me. The difference now is I’m older and I don’t mind using the “fancy” notebooks.

The notebooks for the big project. It was nice to choose themes to go along with the characters.

When it comes down to it, it doesn’t always matter how you write a story, whether online, spoken aloud or in any manner of notebooks with any kinds of pens.

All that matters is that you’re telling the story and moving forward toward the finish line.

I still remember every story I’ve written, no matter how much actually got onto the page. There are a few of them that are lost to time (or in storage), but the ones I do have I have scanned into my computer.

Who knows, I might pick one up and continue it someday.

No effort is ever wasted if you enjoyed doing it.

 

Top Three Writing Tips

I can’t believe we’re in April. April, despite being the start of Spring and warmer weather, is always a horrible month for me. Not only do I have two birthdays followed by death days (yeah, those suck hardcore!), but there are several anniversaries of deaths over the last few years, birthdays of those who have passed on. April is just an awful month.

But! I am still here posting and doing what I can to make it better.

Today, it’s my top three writing tips.

1. Write “This is the shitty draft” or something similar on a blank page to get started.

A blank page is terrifying, especially compared to the perfectly curated image in your head. I used to panic and freeze and not be able to write because “it would never be as good as in my head.” Hence, this tip. It turns off the expectation for the work to be “the best ever” and lets it just be what it is: a first draft.

2. Let the first draft be as bad as it needs to be.

Similar to the tip above, let the first draft be bad. My first drafts are full of notes that make me laugh, notes that make me cringe, way too many parentheses with stupid remarks like this:

Not only does it keep the writing from being too serious, but it makes me laugh when I read it back later and helps me remember how much fun I had writing in the first place.

  1. Have fun with it and play!
    This tip is a little difficult if you’re hard on yourself like me. I’ve always been an anxious kid, and an even more anxious adult so play has never been easy. Writing was where I could feel free and play. I could ask the “What if?” questions and really find the fun in the story.

Overall, there are so many writing tips that might or might not work for you. Do what works and discard the rest. We’re all ultimately on our own writing journeys.

I’m sharing what works best for me. But I hope everyone finds what works for them.

What’s your favorite writing tip?

 

2025 First Quarter Goals Updates and Second Quarter Goals

Here I am a day late. (Darn work schedules!) It’s April which means it’s the start of a new quarter. Out with Quarter One and in with the new!

Here’s a reminder of what I said I wanted to do in the first quarter of 2025:

Overall

Publish more consistently online and build online presence. ❌

Set up a newsletter (1/2)

Finish setting up Etsy account and shop. Start selling. ❌

Finish first MFA semester of 2025 ✅

January

Post daily on Music That Shaped Me. ❌

Post weekly on the blog and Medium ❌

Participate in NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge ✅

February

Post daily on the blog ❌

Post weekly on Music That Shaped Me and Medium. ❌

March

Post daily on Medium ❌

Post weekly on Music That Shaped Me and the blog. ❌

Extra:

I started a massive cleaning and decluttering project on my house. I cleaned and reorganized my kitchen and some of the closets.

🎉🎉🎉

Sooooo….

Overall, my goals weren’t in line with what life happened to throw at me. I made progress on a few things.

-I did write consistently online for 10 days.

-I did end up building a newsletter (with the help of a school project), but it’s not fully up and running yet.

-I did participate in the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge (and placed 5th— which means I’m in it for round 2! 🎉)

Second Quarter Goals

I guess it’s a good thing I’m posting a day late. Wouldn’t want everyone to think my goals are a joke! 🤭

 

Goodbye and Good Riddance NaNoWriMo

Well, it’s happened.

I woke up to the news this morning that NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) will be no more. They’re shutting down.

Part of me hopes this is an April Fools’ prank. Part of me feels like a weight is lifted from my shoulders.

After the controversy in 2023, and so many more issues (which you can read about here), and the mess that was early 2024, I denounced them entirely.

Ironically, 2023 was my best writing year where I finished my draft in December.

Perhaps that proved that I’m past needing external validation to write a full-length novel. Perhaps that was the first sign it was time to move on. Still, I held out hope. I hoped the admin would clean up the mess that was 2023 and give the long time users and volunteers and supporters a reason to come back and support the cause.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. After the events of 2023, I was on the fence. I’d been an ML for 8 years, NaNoWriMo was something I supported fully and at one time defended through any vitriol, but 2024 was a rough year. I wasn’t in the right headspace for any volunteering, any creative writing or creation at all. Then, before I could make the decision, all the MLs and volunteers were let go with little mention. Some of us didn’t even get an email.

I grieved NaNoWriMo just as I grieved the other handful of deaths I had in 2024. I went through all the stages of grief:

Denial (No, NaNoWriMo wouldn’t…)

Anger (How could I have not known?!)

Bargaining (Ok, NaNo is sucking right now, but they’re making positive changes. I’ll return when they’re better)

Depression (Great, another thing that’s fucked up in the world and triggering my anxiety through the roof)

and

Acceptance (Fuck ‘em).

That’s about where I am right now. Does it absolutely suck that NaNoWriMo as an organization is over? Yes.

But, at the same time, the program has done what it set out to do when it started in 1999. It had a hand in building writing communities all over the world, it helped writers find the drive to tell their stories. It proved to writers that yes you CAN write that novel.

Several writers have taken up the challenge and have amazing work to show for it. I wrote an entire series over a decade out of the 15 years I participated. I have a lot more finished novels because of NaNoWriMo.

I have a million words thanks to NaNoWriMo.

I’m thankful, but at the same time, good riddance. I hate to be blunt, but they dug their own grave with everything that happened in 2023/2024 and even way before that.

The website change in 2018/19- awful.

The increase of donation reminders over writing pep talks to help fund the website- awful.

The allegations in 2023 and the fall out into 2024- awful.

How they treated users and volunteers who only wanted answers- awful.

That being said, I hope the positives of NaNoWriMo live on. The writing community, the steadfast belief that anyone can tell a story, and the frenzied writing of a lot of crap to fertilize a beautiful future novel that the story could be.

All this toxic BS of blaming users and volunteers, ableism, and gaslighting can go.

So what do we do now?

Thankfully, from the fallout of NaNoWriMo in 2023/2024, a lot of other organizations and programs have stepped up. Plotterati, Royal Road’s Writathon, Writetrack, among several others.

Here’s a decent list. Maybe give the internet a few days to catch up. When I did my search, NaNoWriMo was still listed in most of them.

As a writer, join or make a local writing group. Keep the idea of “writing dangerously” and “by the seat of your pants” alive and well.

Donate to other writing projects, or charity.

As for me, I’m still writing. I still have a writing community.

That’s what matters most.

Keep writing. That’s all we can do.

Programs and organizations may come and go, but the writing will always be there.

 

Books I Started in 2024 and Hope to Finish in 2025

Photo by Ed Robertson on Unsplash

Here we are in 2025, a new year, a new opportunity to make things better than last year. New year, new goals. All of that positive new year stuff.

There was a lot I wanted to do in 2024 that has now moved in to 2025. I wanted 2024 to be better, but life sucks sometimes and sometimes life has to kick your ass for you to grow to where you need to be. 2024 was that year for me, full of trials and tribulations.

I started a lot of things in 2024— An MFA program, knitting projects, interior design on an entire half of my house— and there are a lot of things I didn’t finish. One of them being several books.

Here’s the list of books I started in 2024 and how I plan to finish them in 2025.

Note: This post will contain affiliate links, I’ll get a small payment if you buy through the link (Help your artists, please and thank you!) I only recommend things I enjoy and hope you will enjoy too!

Remote Control

By Nnedi Okorafor.

This book was one I chose for the reading for a semester along with The Past is Red. There was a little bit of reading required during the semester, but it was mostly a writing focused class. I’m about 34% of the way through (according to kindle), but it’s been a while, so I might restart from the beginning (or at least consult my notes). The premise is good. The book is interesting, but it’s a slow build, throwing the reader in the middle of the action and then pulling back to “the beginning”.

The Past is Red

By Catherine Valenti

This book I didn’t get very far into. I would read a few chapters, then stop and go “wait, what?”. I feel like trying to read this in a 10 week period was too much, especially with another book. I would like to pick it up again (despite the casual use of some four letter words that seems too immature to me), but I would like to get more into the story before I decide it isn’t for me.

Anne of Green Gables Series: Specifically Anne of Ingleside

By L.M. Montgomery

Fun fact, I actually started reading this series in 2023. I got the giant “whole series” in one book and got through the first 3 of the series fine and then went: Wait a minute! I’m missing one. Actually, I ended up missing two. So I had to buy this one (and another) separately. I intended to read in 2024, but I had to read other things first. So hopefully in 2025?

The Night Angel Trilogy: Specifically Book 3- Beyond the Shadows.

By Brent Weeks

I started reading the first book of this series as a part of my MFA program. I had read the first book before (in 2019 before the world completely changed), but didn’t quite make it through the second book the first time due to several circumstances (including a global pandemic- nurses had to work). Not only did I read the first book, and quickly got through the second while on a break between semesters. I hit book 3 and then promptly hit a wall. I would like to finish the series and possibly read more of Weeks’ work.

The Throne of Glass Series: Specifically Book 3- Heir of Fire

By Sarah J. Maas

I’m not new to Sarah J. Maas. I started with the ACOTAR series and absolutely loved it. My goal in 2024 was to read through the Throne of Glass Series and the Crescent City series in order to be ready for the next ACOTAR book, but obviously that didn’t happen. I made it through the first two books in lightning speed, but read the prequel in the wrong place. The prequel was slow moving (especially after reading the first few books) and really slowed down my pace. By the time I started Heir of Fire I was already in the MFA program. As good as I am, I can’t read more than 2 books at a time and keep them straight, even with the notes I take chapter by chapter.

Fairy Tale

By Stephen King

Yet another book I started for my MFA program (I’m sensing a theme here!). This is the first Stephen King book I’ve ever read, though I am familiar with his work. It’s King’s take on portal fantasy, so I think it’s ok that it’s his first book I’m reading. This book is massive and there’s no way I could have finished it in 10 weeks while reading other material for two classes and having double the work due each week now that I’m taking two classes at a time. I like the book, I like the premise, I just have to get back into it and finish it up.

I would like to get back into reading more books. Hopefully in 2025 I’ll be able to get through a few (if not all) of these books (and more).

I’ll keep you posted when I do. Keep a look out for more books reviews.

I’ll also take book recommendations if you have them! Though, not sure when I’ll be able to read them. My TBR pile is always growing!

Happy reading!

2025 First Quarter Goals

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Here we are in 2025! This year already feels like a breath of fresh air. A new book with 365 pages to make something with.

Because 2024 was so terrible, I’ve decided I’m going to move to quarterly goals for 2025. That way, I have more time to focus on goals, more time to complete them (rather than month to month) and if one quarter sucks, I can regroup and try again in the next quarter.

That being said, here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in the first 3 months of the year.

Overall

Publish more consistently online and build online presence.

Set up a newsletter

Finish setting up Etsy account and shop. Start selling.

Finish first MFA semester of 2025

January

Post daily on Music That Shaped Me.

Post weekly on the blog and Medium

Participate in NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge

February

Post daily on the blog

Post weekly on Music That Shaped Me and Medium.

March

Post daily on Medium

Post weekly on Music That Shaped Me and the blog.

For 2025, I’m keeping it really easy and light for the first quarter. There are some goals I want to reach and things I’ll have to work on, but it will be worth it.

Stay tuned to see how it all goes!

 

2024 Wrap up

Is it finally gone? Did we make it through that awful year?

Ok, good.

The me at the start of 2024 and the me now are two vastly different people. In 2024, before the chaos hit, I had a lot of goals I wanted to reach and projects I wanted to get done.

A quick reminder of what those goals were:

Writing Goals

Write 1.5K-2K (Or 1 hour of time) daily one project at a time until Completed

Finish 5-6 Writing Projects

Finish 2 Editing Projects

Read 15 Books

Publish Consistently Online

Publish a Long Work

Personal Goals

Exercise/Get in Better Shape

Hydrate

 

“Overall, I’m excited for 2024 and all the new opportunities it will bring!”

via GIPHY

Is it wrong to want to simultaneously punch your younger self in the face and give them a nice tight hug to prepare them for what’s to come?

2024 was a fucking doozy starting from 6 days in. The hits were numerous and kept coming, blow after blow. Looking back at it now, it feels like I went a dozen boxing rounds, each more difficult than the last. You can read all about it on medium.

Needless to say, I didn’t get any of my goals for 2024 nearly as close as I wanted. Writing and editing and posting online took a backseat. Nearly everything but the basics took a backseat for a long stretch.

2024 was not the year of writing I wanted, but it was definitely a year of pain and growth and self-development. Between the grief, loss and new experiences, I learned a lot more about myself than writing could ever teach me.

While it sucks my goals had to take a backseat due to circumstances I could not control, I did have some small wins this year mostly unrelated to my goals.

I wrote about 80K in the first few months, until I stopped writing in March.

I finished 10/15 books but started more than 15 (if we count textbooks!).

I started the MFA program and basically had to re-learn how to learn now that my ADHD was first fully out to play and then somewhat better controlled.

I started gardening and crafting and doing things away from a screen.

I worked a lot on myself and learned a lot that will help me in the long run.

I’m hesitantly excited to see how things go in 2025.

Still We Sing

Christmas is different this year,

With so many friends and family missing from our table.

 

So many stories left untold,

Lives left unlived.

Things lost that can never be returned.

 

Still we sing Christmas Carols,

Wish good tidings,

And quietly pray for a better year ahead.

 

To Be a Better Writer, Do More Than Only Write

I’ve always called myself a writer, ever since I started writing little short stories I never finished at 7. I’ve always used writing as an escape, from life, from homework, from friends and family.

It’s taken me years (and an SSRI, and ADHD medication) to realize that wasn’t completely healthy. But when I was a teenager and in my early 20’s, writing was my therapy. Writing helped me get through the hard things in life even though I would always insist: “I’m fine.”

The SSRI (Lexapro and then Prozac) helped pull away the curtain of pretend. I could no longer tell myself I was fine, I could no longer lie to myself. That was a blessing and a curse.

I found myself needing to “Do More”. I needed to get out of my head and do something physical to keep the feeling of “not doing enough” at bay.

I started gardening. I started knitting and crocheting. I started reading more books and watching more Netflix and building up my internal well of creativity.

I was able to finally look outside of myself and be more present in the world. That feeling is fantastic! I wasn’t stuck in my head all the time, overthinking every little detail of my life. I wasn’t overthinking if I was too much of anything. Too loud, too slow, too dirty. I was just able to be in those moments and create something great.

I’ve loved the time away from the page. The time I allowed myself to do more and eventually be more. I took a break from being cooped inside in front of a screen, typing away like a maniac, and I’ve come back better for it.

I have a lot more knowledge on other aspects of life. I’ve learned and grown and become something more than I ever thought I could be.

Now that I’m returning to the page, returning to the blog and Medium and Substack, I feel much more prepared to be successful.

I hope you’ll join me.

 

November Update

Photo by Kelly Sikkema

This year has been the most difficult year I can remember. Emotionally, I’m drained. Physically, I’m tired. Mentally, I’m frazzled.

But I am on the mend.

All of 2024 has been one shit show after the other, starting 6 days into the new year! Tragedy after tragedy, death after death, loss after loss. But through it all, I’m still kicking and screaming. Sure, there were times when I thought this year would break me. Times where I felt like I was drowning and the usual mechanisms that could save me were broken and sinking.

After a difficult few months, and the literal feeling like I was drowning, I started taking anti-depressants. They helped me feel better, but for the first time in my life since I decided I wanted to be a writer: I couldn’t write.

I feared that writing had been my depressive addiction, that I used writing to avoid the difficult things in life. While I definitely used it as a distraction before medication, I worried I would not be as creative on the medication. That was a big roadblock.

Another roadblock to writing was the loss of trust in NaNoWriMo. I used to give them the benefit of the doubt on most things over the years as an ML (Municipal Liaison) for them, but after the allegations of child grooming in 2023 and then the increased vitriol and hatred, finally culminating in a series of “unimportant” emails that were actually important (shocking!) where all the MLs were nuked. I have moved on.

That transition was difficult. I had used the monthly writing model for years, ever since I found NaNoWriMo in 2009. I had built up monthly writing goals, editing goals, word count goals, but after that experience was tarnished, I felt like everything else was tarnished too. So I stopped writing.

November used to be NaNoWriMo. I’m not doing NaNoWriMo this year, but I am planting seeds for 2025 and making plans.

This year did not go as I intended it to go in any of the ways I had planned. Wave after wave of grief and loss. The medication helped, but it brought out some focus issues. Which led me to be diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD.

Once I was diagnosed (and medicated), all the little quirks, little issues, big issues and avoidant tendencies suddenly made sense.

Looking back on basically my whole life with the new lens of “I have Depression and ADHD” was absolutely wild. I had to spend some time cataloguing my entire life and noticing both what I had missed out on thanks to the anxiety and fear from my depression and ADHD, but also the signs that I missed of both my depression and ADHD. That was definitely a mindfuck and a little pity party, but it was needed. Now I know how to move forward.

I took a break from writing this year and that’s OK. It was more like I was forced to take a break, but that’s a good thing. I needed to pause, evaluate and figure out how to move forward.

I’m currently in an MFA program for Creative Writing (timing is great, isn’t it?) and that has been rough. I’ve always been a good student, but these first few classes have been a creative struggle and a lesson in how to adapt. One of the classes is “The Business of Writing” and I’m seeing the places where I fall short.

I’ve had great intentions for putting myself out there, but I have always fallen short. But now that things are on the mend, I am going to do my best to improve.

Along with not writing this year, I picked up gardening, knitting (and some crochet- still learning), built a lot of furniture for the newly opened side of my house, and created a space that makes me truly feel happy and creative.

I’m making plans to be more present for 2025. I’m making plans to get back into writing and not make it feel like such a struggle. I’m working on putting myself more out there with my writing and my art despite my intense fear of heartbreaking rejection.

You’ll see more from me over the next few weeks of 2024 and in 2025!

 

Taking it Easy in April

Usually, April is filled with a frenzy to get words and complete another writing challenge for NaNoWriMo. Camp NaNoWriMo takes place every April and July, but after the recent events around NaNoWriMo, just the thought of it makes me feel icky.

I held strong through November as one of the Municipal Liaisons, but as soon as December and January hit, I started to feel the disgust and shame in my body. The organization I once loved, the organization I put all my faith and trust and creativity into, no longer exists.

Usually, in April, I do Camp NaNoWriMo and attempt to work on a project. This month, perhaps even this whole year, I want nothing to do with NaNoWriMo.

I’ve put in my resignation as the ML for my region. The local chapter has moved onto being its own writing and critique group. I honestly feel so free after nearly a decade of being an ML and carrying the weight and stress.

What does that have to do with writing and my goals for this month? Well, first off, I won’t be doing Camp NaNo, as I said. Second, I’m going to be kind to myself this month and not overextend my time or creativity.

That means taking my time on projects. While I will attempt to meet the self imposed deadlines of posting here on the blog every week (along with substack and medium), I am fully aware and open to the chance it might not happen. April is a harsh month with birthdays and death anniversaries and a lot of other emotional junk.

I have a goal to finish edits this month, and I do intend to stick to that. I’m going to do my best to post and build here on the blog, but if it doesn’t happen, I’m going to take it easy on myself.

 

March Results and April Goals

March was a month of ups and downs. There were a lot of successes this month, but also a lot of losses and hardships. There were several events that were more important than writing and creating and that was ok. My goals this month were hit and miss in several ways, but I did what I could and I’m pleased with that.

March Results

Writing

Finish Edits on MAC

I had a plan this month. A new chapter edited every 3 days to get through the 9 chapters (or so) I needed to get done. The first chapter was a breeze. The next few weren’t so easy, with chapters splitting and new chapters being written. I have reached the part of the book that need the most rewrites. This section is a lot more work than I had originally expected. I was able to keep up a pretty decent pace for most of the month, but the edits were more extensive than I realized.I still have about 4 chapters or so to go, but I’m going to work on them in April and pace myself to prevent burnout or worse.

Outline a Project (or Two)

Outlining has been quite fun this month. I’ve been pulling out older projects to repurpose them (possibly for publishing). I’m planning on expanding a few of my old short stories that need more plot, and so this month I’ve taken a few and worked them out to be longer pieces (or at least novellas). So far, one was easy and quick and the other requires more thought. Yet another is a novel that needs an extra 30-50K to be truly novel length. There are several short stories and projects that are pulling at my brain to be written and rewritten and created, which created a little bit of overwhelm, but I’m getting it under control. I’m excited to start planning and working on something new.

Attend a Writing Conference

Yet again, for the third year in a row, I missed attending the conference in person. Thankfully, this conference records the seminars and makes them available for quite a while after the conference is over. Now, I have an excuse to watch all the recordings and take what I need from them. I really enjoy writing in the digital era where I can access conferences from the comfort of my own home (or even on the go) anytime that works for me.

I’ve started to watch a few of the recordings and taking things from them I feel I need. Taking notes is a must, and so far, I have yet to be disappointed by a speaker.

Finish a Book

This month was not quite the reading month I had wanted. I had good intentions to finish reading a book, but edits, other projects, and my mental health took a higher priority. I did not get to read as much as I wanted. Hopefully in the next month or two I can get back on the reading train and start finishing more books.

Personal Goals

Yoga 2-3x a week

For the first few weeks of the month, there was no exercise. The construction is still going on on the sidewalk and street, I was helping my husband recover from surgery, and everything was just busy, busy, busy. Finally around mid month, I did get back into doing yoga at least once. It wasn’t as often as I would have liked, but I did put forth a solid attempt, so I’m happy with that. There have been a lot of changes this month, but hopefully next month will be better.

Drink more water

Drinking more water this month was a little bit easier. I often forgot to track my water intake, but I do know I did make a solid attempt to drink more and keep drinking water once I started. Thankfully, I’m becoming more mindful of it now and attempting to drink more water when I really feel I need it.

Other

The month of March was interesting. The first few weeks I was helping my husband recover from surgery and working and attempting all my creative goals.

I started exploring new places to publish and ways to increase traffic to the blog and other ways to hopefully start making money from my writing.

On the same day, I got accepted into an MFA Program and found out my grandfather passed away.

So far 2024 has been a brutal year of heartache and pain with several family members and family friends passing away.

On top of that, April has arrived, and April is a month of hard anniversaries for both my husband and me.

Word Count: 20,415

Still, here’s what I’m hoping to accomplish in April.

April Goals

Finish Edits on MAC

I have a goal and a plan to finish MAC this month. I’m hoping I can get it done by working on one chapter a week. Editing is quite different than writing, it’s more chaotic and wild, and yet structured in a way I don’t like. Still, I’m pushing through and improving my craft. Not all growth has to be comfortable. The edits will get done whether it’s this month or the next.

Gain Consistency with Online Posting

I’ve been really trying to find the consistency I had in November and December to work on posting in several places online. I’m attempting to make a schedule that would work best for me and work toward more consistency and then ultimately gaining readers. Writing and a full time job (and school starting soon) do not make a consistent schedule, but I am attempting to get myself organized to better create and distribute.

Outline More Projects and Make a plan for 2024

I had a lot of fun outlining the few projects I did in March. I’m excited to go through and outline more so I can eventually finish more projects and hopefully publish them.

So far, 2024 has been a horrible year for business growth and writing growth. I’m hoping the second quarter and beyond are better. I would like to make a plan of what I want to be working on, when I want to post it and how to have the most impact. To start, I’ll make a quarterly plan of things I want to have finished by the time July rolls around.

Finish reading a book

March was not good for reading. March was not good for much of anything active in the writing or reading hobbies I have. I would like to pick up reading again and start balancing the reading and writing and creating aspects of my life again. I have a book in mind I’d like to finish so I can move on to the rest of the series, so I plan to focus on that this month.

Personal Goals

Yoga or Exercise 2-3x a week

This is one of my yearly goals, to exercise and take better care of myself. March wasn’t the month to do that. Hopefully April will be with the weather getting warmer and the sun staying up longer. I hope the roadwork near my house on my normal walk also improves, but I have a plan in place if it doesn’t.

Drink more water

This month, I really have to focus on my water intake. With some recent health changes, I’ve noticed I have more dry mouth. I’ve also noticed if I keep my water bottle close by and filled with nice cold ice water it’s much easier to drink. Here’s hoping I can get more water intake in April.

Here’s to hoping April is a better month!

 

Bre’s Writing Process Part One: Pre-Writing Notes

Over the past few months, I’ve been playing around with my writing process and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. It’s a relatively slow process with a little bit of fine-tuning here and there between every day life. I’m doing a deep dive of my process and playing around with what works and throwing out what doesn’t.

So I figured why not blog the process from start to finished project.

(Is a project ever truly finished?)

Every project I’ve started, every spark of an idea that has gone anywhere, whether finished or not, started with notes. The idea would come, wherever I was at the time, or what I was doing doesn’t matter, but writing the idea down did matter. Writing the idea down ensures I will return to it later and with any luck flesh out the idea.

Sometimes, an idea starts as a simple question like: What if?

Other times, I’ll be listening to music in the car or the shower and an idea will simply spring forth and I’ll rush to find a safe and dry space to write it down.

The last novel I finished was an experiment to see what I could emulate from one of my favorite books/movies and a deep dive of taking elements I liked and putting my own spin on it. The project turned out much better than I had hoped and expanded way past the original work. It’s been one of my favorite projects yet.

No matter what the idea, big or small, novel or short story, it all starts with a notes page in my writing program. I currently use Ulysses, but have used Google Docs in the past. The idea is still the same. I take the page with the original idea and I put all of the ideas, little scenes I can see or hear, the ideas for the ending and anything else relevant to the story for as long as it takes to feel comfortable enough to start the story.

Everything ends up in one place, one spot where all the ideas live and work out on the page. Sometimes it becomes a super loose outline where I’ll have the beginning, the end and maybe some small parts of the middle. Most of the time it’s a jumbled mess of: “I like this name” and “THIS IS THE THEME!” Or some other wild notes.

One of these days, I’ll do a greatest hits of the weird things that end up in my notes (whether while writing the piece or before)

Here’s one of my favorite notes in one of my pieces.

I’ve only started doing this process in the last 6 months or so. Before, I would start novels and pieces with such high hopes and lose traction and once again find myself in the loop of the “shiny new project” syndrome.

Looking back on a few projects before notes, perhaps they lost traction and stalled because I didn’t have enough notes or direction of where I wanted to go, or it wasn’t my idea in the first place. Someday we’ll talk about my tendency to think I can write an entire novel based on an album (but not today).

Not every small idea has enough traction to become a successful or finished idea, but most of the good ones so far have started with a notes document or an entire notebook.

 

February Results and March Goals

February is over and gone (with an extra day even!). Thankfully, February was better than January as far as writing and creating and getting back into a routine, but not by much.

There were still family and friend health issues and the usual distractions and set backs, but overall, I think February went pretty well.

Here’s how I did in February:

February Results

Writing Goals

Choose and make progress on an editing project for the month

So I set this goal and in my brain that meant wanting to write a new aspect of the fantasy series I’d been working on for nearly 10 years, but finished a few years ago. I migrated everything from one writing platform to another and formatting was a pain in the butt, so I spent the first week of February doing admin stuff like reorganizing works and writing posts for the blog, Medium and Substack (I’m learning and trying new things!)

After that, I outlined edits for one of the projects where I’m about 10 or so chapters away from completing edits. I’ve started to work on that, and once I started that, the other book in the series (from 2022 that I still haven’t finished) decided it wanted to be picked back up again this year.

Even better, the novel I just finished in 2023 has a great scene I wanted to use for a writing sample into an MFA program, so I edited the living daylights out of that too.

The editing mojo has returned!

Get back to posting regularly on the blog, Medium and Subtack

As much as I wanted this goal to happen, I couldn’t get into the rhythm of posting regularly. However, I do have a lot of ideas brewing and a backlog of posts to work on, so hopefully, over the next few weeks of March and possibly into April I’ll find the mojo again. Or perhaps I’ll simply take a little break and see how far I can get into editing and getting a few projects to the next steps in the creative process.

Personal Goals

Exercise 4x/week

Once again, exercise did not happen. February has been busy with everything else but exercise. I want to get back to it, I’m itching to get back to it, but time has not been my friend this month. Soon enough I will return to exercise and my proper routine (and hopefully all the roadwork on my usual walking path will be done soon too!)

Drink Enough Water daily

I’ve definitely been attempting to drink more water, but it doesn’t always end up making it into the app. Some days, I drink a lot, and other days it’s an “Oops! Did I drink any water today?”

Other

February has been an interesting month with even more family and friend health issues, but there was writing and editing included.

I submitted a personal statement and writing sample for an MFA program and I’m working on getting things ready for that coming up in May. I also finished a piece of fan fiction in 10 days on the last day of the month.

Things are moving in the right direction and I couldn’t be more excited.

I also applied for a writing job (as a side gig to nursing) and I’m excited to see where that takes me.

Word Count: 25,408

Here’s what I hope to accomplish in March:

March Goals

Writing

Finish Edits on MAC

I’m on the last stretch of edits and so far through February, the edits are going well. I would like to finish them this month (and hopefully not get too much in my head that I freak myself out). Then, once again, it’s ready to sit and stew for a bit. If I finish the first round of edits, I plan on moving on to another project and start editing that.

It’s time to start working on the backlog.

Outline a Project (or Two)

Being a writer and having a full-time job (and life) means starting to plan projects more efficiently. I have several plans for upcoming projects, including editing, publishing, marketing and a lot of other things that will go into the publishing process. While I have several projects on the back burner for editing, I also have several half finished ideas and other plans for some finished works.

Attend a Writing Conference

Every year in March, the Women in Publishing Conference takes place online. This will be my third year attending, and hopefully I can actually attend a few live sessions rather than enjoying the recorded sessions later. I’m looking forward to spending more time doing events and conferences centered around writing and learning and enjoying all I can.

Finish a Book

I read two books in January and then promptly fell into a reading slump in February. I’m hoping to finish a book (possibly two) in March, depending on if I don’t get too distracted. I would like to finish the book I’m currently in the middle of and get back to the series and finish that over the next few months. Just like a backlog of writing projects, I also have a backlog of books to read.

Personal Goals

Yoga 2-3x a week

Part of the issue with exercise and not doing it was the construction on my usual walking path. To remedy that, I would like to do yoga (from apple fitness) 2-3 times a week. My husband will be recovering from surgery for the first part of the month, hence the 2-3x a week. Hopefully it will get me exercising more this month.

Drink more water

I’ve been starting to drink more water, which has been great and makes me feel so much better, but now it’s time to keep better track of it and make it more consistent. What worked really well back in October/November was some of the challenges from WaterMinder. So starting today, I’m going to do the 21 day hydration challenge once again.

March will be a busy month, but I’m looking forward to getting back into the routine of writing and editing and kicking butt on projects.