Tag: October

September Results and October Goals

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.

 

October Results and November Goals

October started off a bit rocky, with a lot of things that needed to get done, and then simply didn’t get done. The month thankfully picked up a bit more toward the end, which means I was able to hit some goals.

Here’s how I did in October:

October Results

Inktober and Writetober

None of these goals ended up happening. I was so excited to go forth and create and post, but then it just didn’t happen. Whether it was exhaustion from work or lack of motivtation, I only posted one day and then decided I had more important things to work on this month with the little time I have to create and Inktober, Writetober and Instawrimo weren’t those things. Maybe next year, or throughout the year there will be more doodles. We shall see..

Finsh Ghost House Heart

At first, I wasn’t sure if I would finish Ghost House Heart this month. I’ve been working on the project since January of 2020 and it’s been dragging for a long time, but I am pleasantly surprised to reveal that I did finish Ghost House Heart at the end of the month. I am so relieved and happy and so excited to start something new in November.

Continue Edits

I’m still working through edits, even past my self-imposed deadline. I did hit 25K in the edits so far, and I’m counting that as a big accomplishment. I also started something new with my edits, where I have started to edit the book backwards to make the foreshadowing easier. I’m hoping it will help the edits go by a little quicker, especially since we’re quickly approaching November. There are still more edits to be done, but a decent amount of progress has been made.

Prepare for NaNoWriMo

This goal was relatively easy. As it just so happens, last year when I plotted the second novel there was way too much plot for a single novel, so I ended up separating it into two. This gives the characters more bonding time and more time for anguish as they continue their journey toward the crown. This year’s novel is called “Magic and Obligation” and I’m excited to get started on it in November. A few days before NaNoWriMo started, I did finally sit down and plot my big plot points, so I feel like I am adequately prepared.

(Possible) NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Challenge Part Three

This goal didn’t happen, which I’m fine with. Over the last few years, I have consistently placed higher and that is good enough for me for the moment. It’s actually better this goal didn’t happen, because that gave me more time to focus on other things I needed to work on, like edits and finishing a novel.

In October, I didn’t submit anything for the Rhyming Story challenge. The deadline snuck up on me and ultimately, school had to come first. Speaking of school: I finished another class. This class was by far my favorite, a short fiction workshop where I got the opportunity to write a short story and have it critiqued by my peers and my instructor. I loved it, but now it’s time to move onto the next class: World Literature II. I was supposed to have dental surgery in October, but it got moved to November, so that’s coming up. A few other opportunities have come up, but I’m not quite ready to reveal those just yet so stay tuned!

Word Count: 20,520

Here’s what I plan to do in November:

November Goals

NaNoWriMo

Every November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. This year is no exception, even with an upcoming dental surgery and everything else life has been throwing my way lately. I’m hoping after my surgery and a few other important things I have to attend the first week of November that things will settle and I can get some good writing in.

Continue Edits

Am I that crazy person that is going to work on two projects in November during NaNoWriMo. Yes. Edits have been going well and I would like to make more progress than I have been. I would like to get to the halfway point of edits by the end of November, if not sooner. We’ll have to see how the month goes.

One Short Story/Finish a Short Story

This year started off so strong with a short story every month. It’s been more difficult as the year winds down, but I’m hoping I can finish and/or start another short story in November and keep pushing toward 12 short stories by the end of the year. I’ve been encountering the problem where there’s more plot to my ideas than a short story will hold, which isn’t always a bad idea.

NYC Midnight’s 250 Microfiction Competition

Another NYC Midnight Competition popped up and since I didn’t finish or even submit the Rhyming Story Challenge, I figured a 250 word challenge shouldn’t be that difficult. We’ll see if I can fit it into my crazy November schedule.

September Results and October Goals

As we approach the changing of the seasons and turn inward, I wanted to start wrapping up projects and get ready to start new projects down the road.

Here’s how I did in September:

September Results

NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Contest Round Two

First of all, let me say that I really enjoyed this round of the flash fiction contest. The feedback I got wasn’t absolutely terrible from round one and I feel like I was able to take the feedback and apply it to round two. For round two, my genre was horror, one I have been itching to write and submit something in for quite a while. The story was one of my best so far. I am so excited for the judges to read it and give feedback. Writing for the Flash Fiction contest again this year has renewed my enjoyment in writing. I’m so glad I was able to write something I can be proud of.

Finish More Projects

Surprisingly, I finished something in September. For the longest time I didn’t expect it because the month only got crazier as it went on. I finished another fanfiction piece on the 29th (Nothing like a close deadline to inspire a procrastinator!). Thankfully, I finally finished a lingering project and I feel so much better for it.

Finish Reading a Book

As far as reading one book this month goes, I didn’t finish a novel like I wanted, but I did read a total of five Shakespeare plays for my Shakespeare class. I’m counting that as an accomplishment, even if it didn’t appear as I would have liked it to appear. Shakespeare is still reading, and it is still fiction, even if it isn’t always enjoyable for me.

Word Count: 16,215

In other news, in the month of September, I was able to read three Shakespeare plays, edit six sections of my novel, and post several chapters up of my now finished Fanfiction projects. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

October Goals

Instawrimo/Inktober

As it just so happens, this year both Instawrimo and Inktober are in the same month. While I am not sure I’ll be able to do both, I am certainly going to try. I really enjoyed Instawrimo when I did it a few years ago, and Inktober is always fun, even though I am not the best artist. Still, everything is practice. It might be fun to do something new this year.

NaNoWriMo Preparation

Finally at the end of last month, I got an idea for my NaNoWriMo 2021 Novel. I played around with a few ideas, and then in the car on the way to work, my mind went: Write a sequel. Needless to say, I have a decent amount of planning to do on a sequel I had no idea would exist last week.

Finish an Original Novel

I have goals to achieve and one of them includes finished novels. During the month of October, I really want to finish an original novel that’s been in my to do list for over a year now. I’m about two thirds of the way through and I’m hoping I can get through the last third in October.

September Results and October Goals

September has come and gone in a flurry of work, writing and goals completed and not completed. I can’t believe we’re already in October and getting closer and closer to the holidays already. Here’s how I did in September.

September Results:

Reach the 50% mark in Ghost House Heart

I wrote quite a lot in Ghost House Heart this month, but in my mind I haven’t quite reached the halfway point. It’s hard to say, since I’m doing a lot of discovery writing, but just by feel, I would say I’m pretty close. I didn’t quite hit the 50% mark though.

Instawrimo

True to 2020 fashion, Instawrimo did not take place in September. Now I’ve already got too much going on in October, so Instawrimo will have to wait until next year.

Read at least one book

Unfortunately, I did not read one book in the month of September. I really wanted to, I really wanted to finish a few of the books I have in my TBR pile, waiting to be read, but it didn’t happen. However, I did get halfway through a novel, so I’m definitely counting that as progress.

Possibly “Go” to a Writing Conference

I caved and actually did “go” to the Writer’s Conference. It was spectacular, as it was last year, even if this year it was all over zoom. I learned a lot, too much to put in one post here, so keep your eyes out for more posts about the conference.

Word count total: 14,781

October Goals:

Inktober

This year, I’m practicing doing all of my art digitally, which should be simultaneously fun and cringeworthy, but I’m going to do it anyway, because everyone starts somewhere.

One Short Story

I’ve been planning on writing more short stories for a while, but things just seem to be getting in the way left and right. For the rest of 2020 and hopefully all of 2021, I’m planning on writing at least one short story a month.

Finish Ghost House Heart

This novel has been taking forever, but I’m hoping to finish it by the end of this month so I can move on to something new in November (for NaNo!)

Finish part 3 of a Fanfiction piece

Speaking of taking forever, this fanfiction piece has been in the works since 2017 and I finally got more inspiration for it. It’s time to get it finished and posted for the world.

Read One Book

Like I said in the results for September, I made it halfway through a book, this month I’m going to finish it and possibly start another one.

Round 3 of the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Contest

This goal is a possible goal, I need to score high enough in round 2 to move forward and I won’t know those results until about mid month. I’m hoping I’ll get to participate in round 3, but if not, I’ll have at least a short story written for October.

Write Every Day

This is a typical goal for me, but I never can quite reach it and keep it for long periods of time. The longest stretch I had was from July 1st to November 30th last year. I tend to have days of high counts and low counts, but I’m hoping to work my way back up to 2,000 words a day and stay there. This month I’m playing around with it and increasing my count weekly.

500 for the first week

1000 for the second week

1500 for the third week

2000 for the last week.

I’m hoping I can stay at 2000 words a day for all of 2021, since I have some lofty goals coming up.

Stay tuned for more content coming soon!