2017 Year-End Review and 2018 Goals

Time has been flying! Holy cow! It’s almost 2018 already, and and and —

Okay, I’m a bit early. I don’t expect much to change drastically in 3 days, so here we are.

So how did I do?

~Release 1 book (besides Ever Touched) ~NOT DONE, although I got a new cover for In Flames and put Reaper Girl into KDP Select. 
~Publish Ever Touched (set for May release)~DONE! 
~Start revision of Pirouette/Death Dancer ~NOT DONE, but had an interesting idea the other day about Alisia’s lineage. 
~Finish Covenant ~NOT DONE, but it’s at 24k now. Wanted to hit 30k before the new year, but I’m not sure that’s possible now. 😦 
~Start Elysium ~NOT DONE. At all.
~Finish and release Fireborn ~DONE. Rewrote it and submitted it to TDP for publication next year.
~Outline book #1 in Fey Touched spin-off series ~NOT DONE. May toy with this next year.
~Get on a consistent, simple exercise plan and STICK WITH IT ~NOPE. 
~Eat healthier/Gluten-free ~NOT DONE.  😦 Well, made the attempt, anyway…
~Get back into darkroom when hands are better ~NOT DONE.
~Add in a second writing session twice a week (8 minutes)~NOT DONE. Have been fighting pain and exhaustion.
~Try to write more short fiction ~DONE! Fireborn (55k) and When She Sleeps (projected 60k) 
~Continue with FYFB class (so behind right now!)~NOPE. Downloaded everything that’s available that I haven’t gotten to.
~Start working on Survivor Rewrite outline again ~DONE! Not finished due to wrist issues.

This year has been roughly for me physically. I have been exhausted more, and the trigeminal neuralgia flared up again so we’ve been trying to find the right combination of meds to control the pain. So far, we haven’t been very successful.

I was also laid off from my job in August, so there’s been some upheaval there. I have been working on my freelancing/virtual assistant business to try to bring in more money. Things are kind of up in the air, and it has been wreaking havoc on my productivity.

I have decided to buckle down and make things happen in 2018!

Goals:

~2nd round of edits/release secret project (early 2018)
~Revise and release Fireborn
~Get serious about exercise and DO SOMETHING
~Take pictures regularly (once a month, 1 a day for x amount of days, etc)
~Get moving with dictation again
~Progress on Covenant
~Progress on When She Sleeps
~Start Survivor Rewrite for reals this time
~Do something with Death Dancer/Pirouette
~Get better with planning
~Start writing every day again, even if it’s 100 words
~Figure out Reaper Girl #3, Faeborn

I’ve written roughly 80k this year, which is down from last year. Would like to hit 100k and more in 2018.

2016 Year-in-Review and 2017 Goals

Here we are with my 2016 Year-in-Review and 2017 Goals. This year FLEW by, and I had a lot of health stuff crop up, so things did not go as smoothly, and some things had to be put on the back burner. All in all, I think I did pretty damn well considering. I wrote around 130,000 words for the year, which is excellent. I did a lot of editing and revising, and that’s not counted in the total.

The two major accomplishments for this year were submitting Pirouette/Death Dancer to a publisher and one agent. I got frustrated by the process, and realized that my ability to meet deadlines due to my health is compromised, and besides that, I like having control over things, so I decided to stop trying with traditional publishing and try to publish Pirouette independently. That’s not to say I’m done with traditional publishing; it just means that Pirouette will probably at some point be a Turtleduck Press release.

The second one is Ever Touched. I finished it and submitted it to my editor by my deadline of December 1st. Due to life craziness and a computer in the shop for 11 days, it was a struggle, but I’m glad to say that I made it. I’ve already received my edits back, and have started the 2nd round.

Also, Turtleduck Press published To Rule the Stars, an anthology of space princess stories. My story, Bound, is part of it (and a sneak peek of Ever Touched!). Check it out here.

What about everything else?

~Release one novel – <–DONE, technically. I released Reaper Girl as a perk of signing up for my newsletter. I am working on releasing it everywhere.
~Finish and release Fireborn <–NOT DONE. I am close, though. I was never able to get it done to my satisfaction. It’s my #1 goal in 2017 after Ever Touched edits are done.
~Finish Pirouette revision and submit to publisher. If rejected, make a ruling as to what to do with it (trad or indie)<–DONE. Was rejected by both publisher and agent. Have decided to publish it with TDP.
~Begin Flamebound rewrite <–NOT DONE. Would love to do something with it in 2017.
~Begin Survivor rewrite <–NOT DONE. Definitely going to be a project for 2017. I am DYING to get this one out there.
~Make progress on Awaken Me <–NOT DONE, unless thinking about it counts!
~Finish Ever Touched <–DONE and turned in on time. Slated for May 2017 release.
~Get back into darkroom <–DONE. Processed a test roll of film, but have not been able to do any printing. And b/c of my skin issues, it’s not looking likely for awhile. 😦 
~Try not to stress so much <–NOT DONE. LOL. It feels like all I did was stress out about things.
~Experiment with plotting techniques <–DONE! “Plotting from the Middle” and Monica Leonelle’s techniques.
~Finish up Changeling serial <–DONE! And as of Feb. 1st, I am starting a new one in the Fey Touched world.
~Get back on diet/eat healthy/exercise<–KINDA SORTA. I’ve been trying to get better with exercise, but a sprained knee screwed me up. Likewise with the diet. Been trying, but have been losing and gaining the SAME FIVE POUNDS. Ugh.
~My word for this year is NURTURE: nurture myself, nurture my creativity, nurture my dreams.

So, all in all, not too shabby. Here are my goals for 2017:

~Release 1 book (besides Ever Touched)
~Publish Ever Touched (set for May release)
~Start revision of Pirouette/Death Dancer
~Finish Covenant
~Start Elysium
~Finish and release Fireborn
~Outline book #1 in Fey Touched spin-off series
~Get on a consistent, simple exercise plan and STICK WITH IT
~Eat healthier/Gluten-free
~Get back into darkroom when hands are better
~Add in a second writing session twice a week (8 minutes)
~Try to write more short fiction
~Continue with FYFB class (so behind right now!)
~Start working on Survivor Rewrite outline again

I think that’s enough for now. What are your goals for 2017?

#ROW80 Round 2 Final Check-in

Well, here we are at the end of the round, and I have to say, I think I did pretty well. I was fighting some things, exhaustion and other commitments, and at times it was tough. But I am happy with what I accomplished.

Here were my goals:

~Finish rough draft of Ever Touched. <–NOT DONE. Close, but I got sidetracked by an editing job, a query letter, and a longish short story with a tight deadline. My #1 plan is to finish this next round. I’m at 88k (of 120k) so far!

~If there’s time, start planning Fireborn revision.<–NOT DONE, because Ever Touched isn’t done, but I am planning on doing a read through of the completed draft ASAP.

~Continue logging outline for Survivor into Scrivener.<–NOT DONE. Just not enough time. This will be carried over to next round, b/c my next primary project will be Survivor.

~Reinstate 8 minutes a day of a first draft again/make progress on Covenant <–DONE once. I was fighting exhaustion mostly, and wrist tendonitis, so this was just not working for me. 😦

~Make prints of the film I developed yesterday (my test roll). <–NOT DONE. Same song, second verse. I had to order in chemicals and a new safelight. Not enough energy. It’s happening SOON though!

~Experiment with digital infrared <–DONE! Check it out here!

~Plot Elysium <–DONE!

~Clean office <–Started, but not completed

~Continue #AprilLove2016 when possible <–DONE! 14 out of 30 days. Did not complete due to wrist tendonitis.  Dear Courage, Dear Inspiration, Dear Younger Me, Dear Future Me (the rest were written in a journal offline).

~Exercise 2x a week <–MOSTLY DONE, 2x and sometimes more!

~Drink 1 glass of water every day.<–MOSTLY DONE, every day except 2 every week. 

Looking forward to next round! Who’s participating?

#ROW80 Check-in June 19th

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!

This round is almost done, and it feels like it went by SO FAST.

I’ve mostly been working on my short story for Turtleduck Press. I got stuck, started over (!), realized that wasn’t working, and continued on in the original document. Kind of roundabout, but it made me realize that what I had was working. It will most definitely be longer than 10k (which was the wordcount limit. Last time we did this, Reaper Girl was supposed to be 10k, too, but it came in at 22k. I write long) which is okay, but I am going to try to keep it close if possible.

Here’s how I’ve done on the rest:

Ever Touched – Nada, but I have definite plans to restart this soon.

Covenant – Also a nada, also plans to restart.

Water – Almost every day.

Query letter – Haven’t done much with it this week, although I am pondering.

Elysium – On hold for now.

Exercise – 1 time this week. Kinda fell off the program here this week. Plans to get more in this week for sure!

Darkroom – Yesterday was my tentative day to print, but I had too much other stuff going on and not enough energy. Next weekend is another camping trip, so maybe the following weekend might work, provided I’m not bogged down with other things and exhausted. 😉

Chocolate consumption: A lot. WW chocolate sandwiches, WW sundaes, WW chocolate-caramel thingies, chocolate pudding. Also red velvet-flavored chocolate chip cookies (except cream cheese-flavored chips), which don’t really count, but were cool and were yummy.

 

#ROW80 Check-in June 15th

I have been so busy, I haven’t had time to do a proper ROW80 post in awhile. So I finished an editing job and have started my short story for Turtleduck Press. It’s about 5k now.

Here is the rundown of the rest:

Query letter – Still working on this. Getting closer.

Covenant – Nada, but seriously thinking of starting this back up soon.

Water – Almost every day!

Ever Touched – Nada, but am thinking on it, which is good.

Elysium  – Still waiting to do something with this.

Exercise – Did my 2 times last week, and did 1 time this week so far.

Darkroom – Tentatively planning on doing some printing this Saturday.

Chocolate consumption: A lot! WW Chocolate ice cream sandwiches, WW Sundaes, WW Twix bars, WW Chocolate Caramel thingies….

And that’s it for now, I think. 🙂

#ROW80 Check-in June 5th – I returneth

It’s been a CRAZY couple of weeks. Hubby and I went camping last weekend, then we had the holiday, then a bunch of other things happened, and here I am. 🙂

I’m finished with my query letter. Now, I just need to find the courage to actually, you know, send the dang thing. I still need to work on my synopsis for one agent. I have a 3-page one, but she wants a one-pager, so that’s still got to happen soonish.

I finished Changeling 5 and sent it off for approvals.

I have a longish short story to write for Turtleduck Press. That’s all I’m saying about that. 😉 So that’s been the priority. Deadline is July 15th.

Here’s the rundown:

Covenant – Nada.

Water – Mostly every day. Missed a few days here and there.

Exercise – Got lots of it last weekend and last week (2x). This week’s been slow. I did get on the bike yesterday though.

Elysium – Finished the outline! Yay!

Darkroom – Tentatively planning on getting in there next weekend.

Ever Touched – Outlined the ending. Now trying to find the time to work on it. Wrist is still slightly wonky, so I’ve been watching my wordcounts. Hopefully I can do something with it soon. It’s so close to being done!

Chocolate consumption: Ye Gods. Lots of those chocolate sandwich thingies, chocolate caramel thingies, Twix bars…yeah, lots of chocolate. No s’mores at camping because rain. Boo. But we can still make them at home, which we have done on occasion. 🙂

#ROW80 Check-in May 22nd

This week I’ve been mostly working on my query letter. It’s coming along. I hope to have it finished very soon.

I started Changeling 5 and have been working on that as well. I don’t think I even touched Ever Touched, which sucks because I need to keep moving on it. But Changeling 5 is due for approvals on June 1st, and I need time to revise, so that was the priority.

Here’s the rundown:

Covenant – Nada

Water – Every day but 2.

Exercise – 3 times, all walks.

Elysium – Another nada. 😦

Darkroom – Nada. Trying to figure out what a good day would be for printing. Still fighting exhaustion, so I honestly don’t know when it will be. Hopefully soon. I may shoot more b&w on our camping trip this coming weekend if I can fit all my equipment into one bag. We shall see. 😉

I’ve also been thinking a lot about Survivor, and I am considering starting that as my new main project after Ever Touched and the Fireborn revision. It’s going to be a huge challenge, but I absolutely love the story and NEED to get it out there. The first step is rewriting it.

Chocolate consumption: WW sundaes, WW chocolate caramel things, ice cream Twix bars, and a new thing, Skinny Cow brand chocolate ice cream sandwiches. But it’s not the normal sandwich. There’s chocolate ice cream sandwiched between two thin layers of chocolate cake and then covered in chocolate. OMG I thought I was in heaven last night when I tried one! (I am craving another RIGHT NOW.)

So that’s it for me. How are you doing?

#ROW80 Check-in May 15th

I’m still making glacier-slow progress on Ever Touched dictating. I guess it’s just going to be slow while my wrist heals. Very frustrating, but it is what it is.

Also I’ve been fighting exhaustion again, so there’s so much I wanted to do that didn’t get done. Apparently I’m not anemic, so it must be the fibromyalgia. I’ve been meaning to get back into my darkroom to print, but I’ve had to put it off for the past few weeks. Hopefully, I can soon.

I also participated in #PitDark on Thursday (a twitter pitch thing where you pitch a book in a tweet to agents and publishers). I got two really good agents who are interested in my book (Pirouette/Death Dancer – the same one I sent off to a different publisher in January) so for the past few days I’ve been working on a query letter. Distilling a 121k novel down into what feels like haiku is not only really hard, but exhausting. I’ve been getting good feedback on a forum I’m on, so I think I’m on the right track. One of today’s tasks is to do another revision. Cross your fingers and toes that this works! I would love to get an agent out of this. If anything else, it’s great practice for the future.

Okay, on to the rundown:

Ever Touched – up to 87k (approximately 4,000 words written since the last check-in. More than I thought, actually! Maybe it just feels like it’s going slow?)

Covenant – Nada. I really feel awful about this. 😦

Water – Every day except two.

Exercise – 3 times – 2 walks, 1 bike (up to 6 minutes now!)

Elysium – Nada. Wanted to do something on it yesterday but the wrist wasn’t cooperating. Does planning on doing it, even if it doesn’t get done, count? (Just kidding!)

Darkroom – As mentioned above, this has been put off due to exhaustion.

Chocolate consumption – Oreos. Lots of Oreos. WW Sundaes. WW chocolate caramels.. Ice cream Twix bars. Did I mention Oreos? 😉

Annnnd that’s it for me. How about you?

 

 

 

#ROW80 Check-in May 8th

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! I am a mother to a cat, so I guess that counts, right? 😉

Been dictating all week with not a lot to show for it. 😦 It takes so long still, and I’m frustrated, but I’m sticking with it. I may need to change the way I do things. Still pondering.

I also discovered that I can dictate on my phone using the Dragon Dictate app, and apparently my dictation app on my LG tablet *does* create audio files that are compatible with Dragon. So that’s good. I can dictate elsewhere, which was something I wanted to be able to do.

Here is the rundown:

Ever Touched – up to 83k. Dictated just under 3k which is progress. 🙂

Covenant – Nada. 😦 I hope to change this soon.

Exercise – 4 times this week – 3 walks, 1 bike.

Water – I think every day. 🙂

Elysium – I worked on the outline some more.

Chocolate consumption – Oreos, lots of Oreos. WW Sundaes. WW caramel-chocolate thingies.

Survivor – I’m considering starting this as soon as I get better at dictating.

Darkroom – I was going to do some printing last night, but between exhaustion and a persistent migraine, I just didn’t feel up to it. Hopefully soon!

#ROW80 Check-in May 1st

This week has been tough because my wrist tendonitis came back and I had to take a break from writing. Yesterday, I started using voice recognition again, and it has been a bit frustrating. But I’m glad to have the option of doing it.

(Handwriting actually hurts more due to an old hand injury, so that was out.)

Actually, it went pretty smooth, all things considered. I ended up dictating a total of 800 words. It felt like it took forever, but it was only a few hours. I’ve been spoiled — I can bang out 1,000 words in 20-30 minutes. But it did the job which was the most important thing.

(I also had to stop periodically and transfer the words from the clipboard thingy and reformat. Also, Dragon didn’t recognize the names, so I ended up using placeholder names, which was okay…as long as I remembered to change them!)

So how did I do?

Ever Touched – 1000 words. Better than I could have hoped. 🙂 Now at 81k.

Covenant – 200 words. Finally!

Exercise -2 times this week

AprilLove2016 – I managed 14 days out of 30. I was running behind, and then my wrist tendonitis popped up, and handwriting just made it worse. But I’m happy with what I got, and the experience was enlightening. Will definitely do that again. 🙂

Water – only three days this week.

Elysium – I worked on the outline some more. Making slow progress.

Chocolate consumption: WW sundaes, Twix bars, and hot chocolate.

So, all in all, I did pretty well considering. I’m hoping to give my wrist time to heal and soon hopefully I’ll be typing again.

How did you do?