Tag: results

December Results and 2022 Year End Round Up

I cannot believe another year of writing has come and gone! This year has definitely had its ups and downs, but I’m happy I’ve been able to do what I love in writing and creating.

December Results

One Short Story

As much as I wanted to write a short story this month, writing was a bit of a chore. Between all the preparation of reducing my hours at my current job and all the preparation of getting everything settled for the new job, writing took a bit of a backseat. There were several days where I didn’t even write at all. So unfortunately, I still have one and a half short stories that I’m taking with me into the new year.

Continue Edits

December wasn’t really the month for edits. Between finishing up final papers for school, getting everything ready for a new job, and wrapping up things at my current job, things got quite a bit hectic. Though I did make a more solid plan to make sure edits do get done.

Poetry

It took me a little while to get into the groove with the poetry contest, but I finished at least 18 poems and submitted them to the contest just before Christmas. I really enjoyed writing and putting together something I haven’t done in a while. Returning to poetry was fun, and something I might continue into next year.

Non-Writing Related

In December, a lot happened. I worked my butt off at my job, plus filling out paperwork for the new job and eventually started that job right after Christmas. I wrote poetry and technically published said poetry. I wrote some flash fiction and published to Medium.

While this month wasn’t a spectacularly big word count month, it was a big month as far as preparing for the future. Besides publishing to Medium and signing a publishing contract for poetry, I also opened an Etsy store and truly looked in to publishing some of my previous works.

In personal news, I got engaged. I couldn’t be happier.

Word Count: 10,341

Year End Results

As far as the whole year goes, I feel pretty successful. I didn’t manage to reach all of my goals, but I put in a good effort and have a lot to show for it. I feel like I’ve made large leaps and bounds compared to where I was at this time last year, and I hope I’ll have even more to show for it when we reach this time next year.

Here’s how I did on my goals for 2022:

Write Every Day

As hard as I tried to write every single day of the year, it just simply wasn’t possible. Something would come up, or lack of motivation would strike. That being said, I feel like I did the best I could given the circumstances.

January: 100%

February: 100%

March: 83%, with 26/31 days

April: 86%, with 26/30 days

May: 93% with 29/31 days

June: 100%

July: 77% with 24/31 days

August: 80% with 25/31 days

September: 80% with 24/30 days

October: 87% with 27/31 days

November: 100%

December: 55%, with 17/31

Total/Average: 87%, with 317 days of writing.

Short Story a Month

For the short stories, I didn’t always finish them in one span of 30 days, but I did finish 11/12 I set out to do. I think that’s pretty impressive.

Violet

Angie

Sinead

The Red Flower

Trifecta

Fairytales

Inventors of Tomorrow-NYC FF contest round one

Mess is Easier-NYC FF contest round two

The Goodbye Girl – First piece of fiction written for my bachelor’s program

The Way Out

Two of a Kind

Write/Edit Six Novels in 2022

Writing and editing was my big goal for 2022. I figured I could get a lot more done than I did. Due to time constraints and other goals and projects (like school and a full-time job), I did not finish or edit as many projects as I had planned to. Still, I’m happy that I finished the projects I did finish.

Magic and Romance – Finished June 2022 (First Draft)

Ghost House Heart – Finished October 2022 (First Draft)

Speaking From the Soul: Poems of Places Yet Explored – Finished December 2022 (First Draft)

Read at least Four Books

Surprisingly, reading was easier than I expected it to be. I haven’t really kept a great reading schedule over the past few years, whether it was due to school or a hectic work/life balance, but I was quite pleased to get back into reading. Maybe I shouldn’t have spent more time reading than writing, but I have no regrets. I read a lot of great books this year.

SpellMaker by Charlie N. Holmberg- Feb 2022

The Phantom of the Bathtub by Eugenia Riley – Feb 2022

A Ruin of Roses by K.F. Breene- March 2022

A Throne of Ruin by K.F. Breene- March 2022

A Kingdom of Ruin by K.F. Breene- March 2022

All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter- April 2022

I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy-September 2022

Dis-Harmony: A Jigsaw Collection of Misguided Dating by Rachel R. Kovach- September 2022

Love and Lexapro by Emma Alexis Woodard- September 2022

Creative Challenges

For 2022, I had planned on competing in every NYC Midnight competition. As hard as I tried, once again with a busy schedule and hectic life, it simply wasn’t possible to compete in all of them. I did very much enjoy the ones I did compete in though.

NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge: Did Not Compete

This challenge, I signed up for, but had to drop out at the last minute due to procrastination and homework. Unfortunately for the time being, homework and school has to come first.

NYC Midnight Microfiction Challenge (100 Word):

This year, the microfiction challenge was quite fun. I started out with a genre I don’t usually write and had fun with it, even if it was a bit crass. In the first round, I scored 13th place, which meant I got to go on to round 2 and write another 100-word story. I didn’t place in round two, but I had fun writing it and getting feedback.

NYC Midnight Microficiton Challenge (250 Word):

This is the first time I’ve competed in this challenge, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. I’m not used to 250 words, but it does give a lot more to play with than 100 words. I’m looking forward to the challenge that round two brings in the upcoming year.

NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge:

This year, I got to write in a genre I’ve never written in before for round one. I enjoyed it and got to play around with some fun futuristic elements. In round two, I got to experiment with some really dark themes and actually scare myself with the piece I wrote.

NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge: Did Not Compete

NYC Midnight Short Screenplay Challenge:Did Not Compete

NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Challenge: Did Not Compete

I signed up for this one, but due to several other obligations (mainly homework) I was not able to actually write and submit anything. Instead, I have the prompts saved up for some future plans.

Year End Word Count: 216,988

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.

June Results and July Goals

June has been the most amazing month for the first time in a long time. I’ve had several writing successes in the last month, along with successes in school and life in general. I hope I can keep it up as we roll into July.

Here’s how I did in June.

June Results

Write One Short Story/Finish the short story from May

I wrote one short story in the form of the Flash Fiction contest. I also finished the short story from May after waffling on it for a few weeks, and started another short story which I hope to finish in the next month or so.

NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Challenge

This year, I really enjoyed round one of the challenge. It has been so nice writing something short and sweet with a 48 hour deadline. I love the feedback and the opportunity to edit through and improve with every challenge. I’m excited I was able to get it done and submit a great story.

BONUS Result #1: NYC Midnight’s Microfiction Challenge

I actually forgot about the microfiction contest for NYC Midnight. I placed 13th, which meant I got to write in the second round the week after the Flash Fiction challenge. 100 words is a lot harder to write than 1000, as strange as it sounds, especially with a genre like romance, but I made it through and submitted a story.

Finish the 2021 NaNoWriMo Novel

Finally, after eight long months of working, I can finally say the first draft is finished! Writing a thousand words a day for nearly every day in June really helped push the story along . I was really able to enjoy the plot and the characters again and reach the finish line. Now it’s time to go back to book one in the series and get some edits done.

Bonus Result #2: 1000 Words of Summer

As a substack reader, I found out about Jami Attenburg’s 1000 Words of Summer, where the goal is to write 1000 words every day for 2 weeks. I was able to use it to work through the last few chapters of the 2021 NaNoWriMo novel. I was so inspired by the challenge, and felt so accomplished with 1000 words a day that I have a new goal for the rest of the year (once I’m done with editing).

Along with my other goals in June, I also finished another class for my Bachelor’s in English. I celebrated another birthday and I’ve begun to be more conscious about my health. Making the shift from writing new content to editing has been a bit difficult, but it’s getting easier the more I attempt.

Word Count: 31,934

July Goals

Write One Short Story

Even though I haven’t always finished the short stories within the month I make it a goal, I really am enjoying the process of writing a short story in a month. I’ve already done at least 8 for the calendar year if I count the submissions for NYC Midnight’s competitions, and I plan to keep it up for the rest of the year. Maybe I’ll even catch up and do more than one in a month.

Camp NaNoWrimo

For Camp NaNoWriMo this year, I want to edit the first book in the current series I’m writing. Now that I’ve finished the 2021 NaNoWriMo novel, I would like to go back to book one and get edits done. I’m over halfway through with hand edits and then it’s time to start typing it up and making it look pretty. My goal for Camp NaNoWriMo is 30,000 words edited, but as usual, I’m always pushing for more.

What goals do you have for July?

May Results and June Goals

May Results

Write One Short Story

The short story this month was nowhere near as easy as I had expected it to be. There were several starts and stops and several days where I didn’t do a lot of writing for the short story. Unfortunately, this short story will have to continue into June. I’m still interested in it, and finally found a direction, so I’m thankful for that.

Reach 100K or Finish the 2021 NaNoWriMo Novel

I barely reached 100K on the last day of the month, but I did reach it. I was very behind for most of the month, but thankfully, I was able to find some motivation and get my butt moving. At first, writing a lot in a short amount of time absolutely sucked. I’ve been out of it so long I feel like it was hard to get a routine again. The last few days of the month helped me build it up again and I am so excited to see where the end of this novel goes next month.

Edit Something

I’m happy to say that I have edited something this month. I started editing an old manuscript, one of my favorite ones I’ve ever written, and I managed to reach somewhere between the 20% mark by editing a chapter every couple of days. I plan to continue the editing through June and hopefully complete it in July.

Word Count: 9,874

June Goals

Write One Short Story/Finish the short story from May

I’m really enjoying writing about a short story a month, but sometimes the story is so long, or the month is so short that one short story doesn’t fit or vice versa. This month, I’m finishing 5e short story from May and starting a new one for June. I already have everything set up, but the only thing will be finding time to write.

NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Challenge

This is one of my favorite challenges from NYC Midnight. A mystery prompt with a setting, an object and a genre and 48 hours to write a story in 1000 words or less. I really enjoy the quickness of the whole thing and the brevity of it all. It’s a fun challenge where I can’t take myself too seriously and I get to play around.

Finish the 2021 NaNoWriMo Novel

I’m nearly done with the novel and June is going to be the month that I finish it. It’s been sitting around too long and I need to put the words “THE END” on it and move onto another project. I’m excited to see how the plot unfolds and what surprises I can give myself as I work toward completing the novel.

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?

June Results and July Goals

The year is now half over, and I can’t believe how fast it’s been going. While June has been very productive for me, I still have some work to do in July.

First, here’s how June went:

June Results

Finish at least one open project

I unfortunately did not reach my goal of finishing one open project. As hard as I tried, I just had way too much fun working on as many open projects as I could at the same time. I made decent progress in all of the projects I do have open and paved the way for them to be finished someday hopefully soon. This month, I added words to projects that haven’t been touched in months, years, and it felt so good.

Reach the Halfway Point of Edits in BOOK A

I like to set lofty goals for myself, and this goal is definitely one of them. I’m relatively new to editing and sometimes I need to be reminded that editing isn’t writing. Sometimes editing isn’t even close to writing. This month, while I did make progress, I did not get anywhere near as close as I wanted to toward the halfway point. The good news is, I made it through a few scenes and sections and I’m now more invested in my edits.

Blog More

This month, blogging did not go as I expected it to go. Wednesdays came and went and any time I had for blog posts was eaten up by other things. Over the past month, I’ve been finding it difficult to work on short pieces when my longer pieces are looming over me begging to be finished. I do hope to continue blogging and building more connections through the blog. Hopefully, once I get some works finished, I can dedicate more time to the blog.

Word Count: 13,713

In June, I officially finished my first class in my Creative Writing Bachelor’s program. It was a history class and while history isn’t directly related to my major, I did end up enjoying it a lot and doing well in the class. Next up is Literature!

Also in June, I celebrated turning another decade older (and hopefully wiser!). One of my goals by this time was to be a published author, but I’m still working on that goal, slowly but surely. I am finally taking steps toward that goal that are more action oriented than sitting and writing more. This is a big accomplishment for me.

On the plus side, for the first time in months, I have managed to write every single day of the month.

July Goals

NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Contest Round One

This is the second year I will be competing in the Flash Fiction Contest. I had so much fun last year, I figured why not do it all again and work on something that is short and sweet. Something that will hopefully be a palate cleanser and maybe even show me a genre I have yet to write in before.

NYC Midnight’s Microfiction Contest Round Two

As it just so happens, both NYC Midnight writing competitions land in the same month, just different rounds. I’m hoping I did well enough in Round One of the Microfiction Contest that I get a shot at round two. For now, this goal is tentative.

Camp NaNoWriMo

This year for Camp NaNoWriMo’s July session, I am going to be editing. Rather than working on something new, or something I have yet to finish, I am going to focus on some of the short stories I have written over the last few years and polish them up. The ultimate goal is to send a few of them out and get a few rejections before I send out a full length novel (AKA something I have poured myself into for years) as a way to soften the blow, or best case scenario, get published.

Send Something out for Publishing

This month, I would like to get at least one short story fully edited and ready to query. I am starting with something small to metaphorically get my toes wet in the publishing industry. I’m hoping the process goes smoothly, and I can gather my courage and take the next leap.

Wish me luck!

March Results and April Goals

Wow! March flew by in a flurry of days and I can’t believe we’re already in April!

March Results:

Continue Edits on BOOK A

Editing was quite a slow process through March. There were several other projects going, not to mention a bunch of work and personal life changes. Some days it was so hard to just sit and edit when I could be doing so much more. Slow progress is still progress and I’m further than I was when the month started. I’m happy with any progress at this point.

Continue to work on Open Projects

Unfortunately, none of the projects I wanted to finish this month got finished. Excellent progress was made on some days, and other days it was a complete stand still. Progress was slow, but I still had more words than I did when the month started, so I am definitely not complaining in the least. Hopefully in April I can finally get a schedule down that works better for me and my writing goals.

Attend a Writing Conference Online

So this goal was very interesting. I didn’t actually attend anything live, because that week just happened to be the busiest week in March (Go figure!). Lucky for me, everything was recorded and I have 6 months to watch it all. Slowly but surely I’m listening to the presentations as I do my daily walks and get a little exercise in too! I’m learning so many new things and I’m so excited I’m able to access it and still learn even though I wasn’t able to attend.

Prepare for Camp NaNoWriMo

For a brief moment, I wasn’t sure I would get to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo this year. Luckily, an idea came to me and I began to plot it (as much as I can without itching to write it too much) and I made a beautiful cover.

In March I completed quite a few things that were not quite writing goal related:

I went to a castle (thankfully local and hidden away) for a much needed vacation and celebrated and relaxed in a way I haven’t in quite a long time. I haven’t relaxed that much since I started working. It was so wonderful to go and have fun and let loose a little. The time away really put a lot of things into perspective for me, and now I have a bit more direction when looking forward to the future.

I finished A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas. What a much needed reading break! I’m one of those readers that once I start a good book, I can’t put it down until I finish it. This book was such a nice change from the crazy work stuff going on and a great lesson on certain aspects that I would like to add into my own writing.

As for other things, I mentioned last month that I was having a lot of changes at work and that was definitely an understatement. As of March 31st, I quit my old job. At the beginning of April, I start a brand new job. Same field, same degree, but way different hours and different responsibilities. I’m really hoping this new job will help with the work life balance that’s been lacking more and more since I started working night shift.

I have also started the process of applying for my bachelors degree. I made an attempt in 2017-2019, but with job changes and new stresses of night shift, I had to pull out of it. I’m two classes away from a BSN, but nursing doesn’t make me happy and the 2 years of that program were practically torture. If I am spending money and furthering my degree, I want to do it in something I absolutely love. I’m looking at getting my bachelor’s degree in creative writing, and I’m hoping to get started in the next few months.

Word Count: 12,695

April Goals

Camp NaNoWriMo

Camp NaNoWriMo is here once more! I’m excited to start a new project (along with my new job) and get the creative juices flowing again. This year for Camp NaNoWriMo, I’m writing a piece called The Hollow Opus and I am so excited for it. I first got the idea for it in January, but haven’t been able to plot it out until March.

The dancer in the snow globe has always watched him from the time he was a small boy. As he grew up into a man, something bloomed within her. She would give anything to be human and stay with him forever, but when the magic goes wrong, they must work together to go under the bed and find the Toy Master and make things right.

Round Two of the Short Story Competition

Round one of the Short Story Competition was in January and I had fun, even though it was a genre I have never written in before. I’m hoping my writing was good enough and I get to advance to round two, so keep your fingers crossed. I should know the first week in April and round two takes place the second weekend in April. If not, then that gives me more time to work on other projects that weren’t finished in the first few months of the year.

Continue edits on BOOK A

I had wanted to finish edits for BOOK A by this month, but that simply didn’t happen, so now I’m pushing through it and letting it go at its own pace. As much as I would like for edits to be done as fast as possible, some of them need time to breathe, so I’m making my way through slowly. If I get through at least a page of my outline, I’ll be happy with that. Even if I do less, that is still more progress and is better than nothing.

Send Out Something Small for Publishing

I have several short stories I’ve written over the last few years, and quite honestly I’ve been surprised at the quality as I go through and edit them. Hopefully this month I’ll be able to send at least one (maybe more) out for publishing and see what happens.

Wish me luck!

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?

August Results and September Goals

August is now behind us and September has only just begun. I’m very pleased to say August was a very productive month for me and I can only hope the productivity continues well into September and the rest of the year.

August Results

Finish edits on book one.

I’m very pleased to say I finished the first round of edits five full days ahead of time.

Flash Fiction Contest

Round Two is now completed and submitted. Round One results have been received. There will be more on all of this later, so stay tuned!

Read at least one book

I read one book for sure, and started a few more. I really had fun reading published fiction again and plan to make it a habit. Stay tuned, there may be a few book reviews coming up.

More Blogging

Stay tuned for more fun posts coming up!

Total Words: 27,457

September Goals

Reach the 50% mark in Ghost House Heart

I’ve been working on this novel since March or April, but it’s been on the back burner with edits and everything else going on. I’m hoping to make some progress and get to the 50% mark (or more) so I can finish in October.

Instawrimo

It is now September, which means it is officially NaNoWriMo prep season. Usually, instawrimo is a whole month long, but thanks to COVID, nothing is the same this year, but Instawrimo will be a few weeks instead of a month. I’m still participating as the ML for my region.

Read at least one book

I’m really getting into reading novels again and one a month is relatively manageable.

Possibly “Go” to a Writing Conference

I say “go” because like everything else this year, COVID has struck again. The writing conference will be over zoom and while I was excited to go when it was in person, I’m not sure I want to sit in a zoom meeting for three to four days. I’m debating if I want to go or not.

June Results and July Goals

Another month here and gone!

Results for June:

  • FInish Edits on Book One of the Series
    • Unfortunately, I did not finish edits this month. There was too much to do, and simply not enough time. I have extended this goal into July.
  • Write one short story
    • I did not write a short story this month, even though I wanted to and had several ideas. Self care came first this month.
  • Prep Ghost House Heart for Continuation in July
    • My plans for Camp NaNoWriMo have changed. I’m putting GHH on hold again and working on edits and additions for the first book of my fantasy series.
  • Continue to Blog
    • Wednesday Works are back!

I did make good progress on a lot of smaller projects, but didn’t quite finish anything. I read two books this month, which I haven’t read a novel all the way through in quite a while.

Total: 11,683

Goals for July:

  • Camp NaNoWriMo
    • 35K, but I’m sure there will have to be more words than that if I’m planning on finishing edits.
  • Flash Fiction Contest
    • I signed up for NYC Midnight’s Flash Fiction Contest. It’s new and exciting!
  • Finish Edits on Book One of the series.
    • Everything is outlined and ready to go. Just need butt in chair and hands on keys.
  • Continue to blog
    • Slowly but surely, things are coming back and there are new things on the way!

Wish me luck!

February Results and March Goals

Wow, compared to January, February seemed to take forever, and March is already flying by in a blur.

In February 2020:

  • Wrote 6,396 words in various projects
  • Wrote a Short Story, BY HAND!

Unfortunately, I didn’t do much else as far as writing goes. Sometimes, other things in the world come first before my writing and this month, my health affected me in a big way. Breaking news, it is alright for other things to come before writing sometimes. I plan to make March a better month for writing and goals.

Goals for March 2020:

  • Finish Under Grey Skies (I mean it this time!)
    • I have several chapters left, a direction and a plot, I just need to put my butt in the chair and get writing.
  • Prepare for Camp NaNoWriMo in April.
    • I have an idea, some plotting done and a cover created. Let’s see how far I get before the burn to write strikes again.
  • Write another short story by hand
    • New goal that I came up with in the middle of last month. There is just something so freeing about writing by hand (even if it skews my monthly writing totals).

Stay tuned for updates during the month!

 

 

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!