Tag: February

January Result and February Goals

Finally! January is over and gone. This January was simultaneously the longest month ever and gone in a flash. Between unexpected family health issues, a crazy busy month at the day job and being creatively spent, I’m so glad we’re heading into February. I’m ready for a new month and new goals.

Here’s how I did in January.

January Results

Writing Goals

FOREWARNING: I did not complete any of the goals I wanted to complete this month. Family obligations and creative burnout hit me like a train.

Outline Open Projects

I did not outline any open projects like I wanted this month. It wasn’t the month for it and I was creatively spent.

Update Blog and other Platforms

I did not update the blog or any other platforms. This month was BUSY and any extra time I had was put toward relaxing. Eventually I will update the blog and other platforms but this was not the month for that.

Publish consistently on the Blog, Medium and Substack

I did not publish consistently throughout the month like I had planned to do. Creative burnout and January simultaneously being very very short and so impossibly long feeling did not help with deadlines or due dates.

Submit a Short Story to a magazine

I did not submit a short story to a magazine like I wanted to do. I got in my own head and let imposter syndrome swallow me and chew me up.

Personal Goals

Exercise 4x/week

Exercise did not happen at all this month and I’m really not happy about it. Between cold weather, poor time management and a whole host of other things, it didn’t happen.

Drink Enough Water daily (with the help of Waterminder)

I don’t think I drank enough water at all, all month. This month was crazy busy and hectic and I was not the best at taking care of myself.

Other

I started my Invisalign treatment after having brace for 5 1/2 months. The transition was not the easiest, but nearly 3 weeks in I’m starting to get the hang of what I can and cannot eat.

I was supposed to submit a work for NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge this month, but I was just so creatively drained, I didn’t even make the effort.

January was definitely a “Refill the Creative Well” month. I hopped back on the fan fiction train and focused on writing some fan fiction while I wait for a few works to be ready for edits. I also read two books this month and watched a lot of Star Trek with my husband. Now that January is winding down, I’m starting to feel the threads of creativity again.

Word Count: 32,953

I hope February is a better creative month for me.

February Goals

Writing Goals

Choose and make progress on an editing project for the month

I have several editing projects I would like to get through this year, some in the middle of edits and others abandoned for years. I would like to start chipping away at my massive pile of works to be edited and start/finish one this month. I have one project needing only a few more chapters to get through the first round of edits, but I also have a whole mostly finished series begging to be drudged up again. We’ll see how it goes!

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

When I was posting consistently in November and December, I really enjoyed it. I would like to pick up the momentum again and keep it up throughout the rest of the year as I’m able.

Personal Goals

Exercise 4x/week

I would like to exercise more this month (wouldn’t we all?). I hope between writing projects I can remind myself to get outside and go for a walk or at least get some yoga in. 

Drink Enough Water daily (with the help of Waterminder)

I’ve been trying to be better with drinking water, but it’s not always the easiest. Hopefully this month I can make some positive steps in the right direction. 

What about you? What are your goals for the upcoming month?

 

January Results and February Goals

January Results

Write One Short Story

I succeeded in writing a short story, and actually reaching the end at the end of the month. If I had focused more on writing this month, I could have finished it a lot earlier and had a lot less stress, but it’s all a learning experience. I guess that’s the first lesson I’m taking in to February when I write the next short story.

Finish an Open Project

Technically, because I finished the short story this month, I finished an open project. That was not my intention, to count the short story as finishing something, but technically I did finish something this month. I still have a massive pile of things to finish, but I at least accomplished something over the last 31 days.

Compete in NYC Midnight’s Short Story Challenge

Unfortunately, between being in school and working full time, procrastination hit me hard when it came to the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge. I wasn’t super inspired by the genre, I had a larger amount of homework due than I expected, so I reluctantly had to pull out of the challenge to focus on what needed to be done. I’m looking forward to the next challenge that comes my way though!

Word Count: 14,035

February Goals

Write One Short Story

Writing a short story in January could have gone better, but I persevered and got it done. I’m hoping to continue the trend in February and add another short story to my growing collection. One short story a month for the year 2022 is going pretty well and I would like to continue the trend.

Finish An Open Project

Yet again, I have the goal to finish one of my open projects. I’m hoping to finish my project from last year’s NaNoWrimo, or even the novel I started back in 2020, but we shall see how the month goes. I’m hoping I can finish something so I can move back into editing in the next couple months.

Read One Book

My list of half read books is ever growing again and it’s time to finish reading something and refill the creative well. There are several contenders of what I can finish this month, and what I might possibly start reading once I finish another book.

What are your plans for February?

January Results and February Goals

January is now gone (and has been for a few days), and February is in full swing! I made a few writing goals last month, and there are always more goals to come! Here’s how I did in January:

January Results

Write at least 500 words a day:

As hard as I tried to write 500 words a day, it just simply didn’t happen. There were several days where 500 words was just too difficult with work and training. I got the second dose of the COVID vaccine and it knocked me out for at least a week. There were also other days where I got over 1000 without any issue. I did write quite a lot this month, but there were several days where I had zero days on more projects than days I did write. In the upcoming months, I would like to work on finding a balance that works best for me.

Start Edits on another book:

Official edits weren’t started, but notes and outlines and organization happened, so I am officially counting that as a win. I’m ready to get down to editing now that I know what I need to fix and where I need to go.

Round one of the NYC Midnight Short Story Contest:

Despite getting a genre for round one that I was apprehensive about and honestly quite scared to write during these volatile times (political satire), I wrote my short story and submitted it, even though I knew it wasn’t perfect. I’m definitely counting that as a win and growth on my part.

Word Count: 19,076

February Goals

Finish the NaNoWrimo Novel from 2020

I had planned to finish the NaNo novel by the end of January, but it is unfortunately going to be extended into February. There’s still a little novel left to write, but I’m getting quite a bit closer to the end.

Start Official Edits on BOOK A

BOOK A is now outlined and notated and ready to go through another round of edits. I’m hoping to get the final edits done by April of this year so I can start querying.

Continue to Work on open Projects

I still have several open projects open either from last year or a few years ago. I’m hoping to finish at least one of them, if not multiple by the time February is over. February is the shortest month of the year, but I’m hoping I can still be productive and make big changes over the next few weeks.

Wish me luck!

What are some of your goals in the upcoming months?

January Results and February Goals

I started this year with a lot of hefty goals for January and unfortunately not many of them were reached. January has been a whirlwind of changes and so many exciting things that writing in January just kind of took a backseat.

I’m not saying it’s a bad thing at all. We all need breaks and time to process changes and work through them so we can come back to our goals and get back in the swing of things again.

This month, January 2020:

  • Wrote 5,160 Words
  • Started three new projects that have been in my head for a while
    • “Humble Pie”
    • “A Thousand Kisses Deep”
    • “Ghost House Heart”
  • Made decent progress in Under Grey Skies and finished some chapters

Goals for February 2020:

  • Finish Under Grey Skies
    • It’s time to sit down and finish it so I can move on to the rest of the series that needs my attention. I now have a direction and plan to smash my goals this month
  • Get halfway in one of the new pieces I started (preferably more than one)
    • Humble Pie
    • A Thousand Kisses Deep
    • Ghost House Heart
  • Keep blogging here about writing topics
    • I’ve been a bit distracted and busy with other things, but I plan on changing that. Keep an eye out for more Writer Life Lessons and other exciting things!

Overall, January was exactly what it needed to be and things worked out exactly how they should, even if it wasn’t a great writing month or productive project month. Here’s to February and getting back to smashing goals like a champion!