Goals Summary 2019 – Wk 32

Bloggos,

Yesterday was my first day at my new job. Permit me a moment to gush.

I am now a high school Library Media Assistant. I’m the only library staff in the school, which means when it comes to the library, I’m in charge. It’s a big job, like, a really big job. And I couldn’t be more excited!

Over the month of July I had a lot of time to think about what the library might look like and what my priorities would be once I was in the building. Today I spent the bulk of my time working in the front office answering phones and directing families to the gym to get registered for the school year. BUT, I was able to sneak away and poke around the library a little bit.

Here’s what I’m working with:

Honestly, I was prepared for a lot worse. The bones of the space are fantastic, and there are some details that I really enjoy. There’s also a lot of really old books and a woefully unbalanced collection. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I can see it. I have a vision and the beginnings of a plan are forming. I’m ready to get to work!

Speaking of…

Last Week

• Publish two blog posts
• Revise one chapter of Exodus: Descent
• Work on Whales

How’d I do?

• Publish two blog posts
  • Yep! Three even, including a book review!
• Revise one chapter of Exodus: Descent
  • Nope. Whoops.
• Work on Whales
  • YES! I got some great quality work in and I couldn’t be happier.

Weekly Word Count: 1,234

I was much more productive this last week than I expected to be. I started the week off with a cold, so it was slow going for a while, but I rallied at the end of the week and managed to get a healthy writing session in. I also deep cleaned and organized most of the house, which feels really nice going into a whole new job this week.

Outside of writing, blogging, and cleaning, I did a whole lot of nothing. I watched the new season of Veronica Mars, a passed out watching Duck Tales, and watched more Great British Baking Show. So, yeah. Media consumed.

What’s Next?

• Publish two blog posts
• Revise one chapter of Exodus: Descent
• Work on The Lament of Kivu Lacus

I think this must be getting boring by now. It’s the same shit every week. But you know, don’t fix what ain’t broke. Or some such.

I don’t have super high hopes, mainly because it’s my first week at work and all my thoughts are absorbed with all things library. Which I think is fair. Also my best friend just moved back to town, so I’m sure there will be social expenditures this week as well.

There is a hike coming up this weekend to Mount Hebo. I don’t know much about it other than, once at the top, you’re supposed to be able to see all the way to the ocean if it’s a clear day. Sounds like the exact thing I want to do with my Saturday morning.

So, yeah. There’s the plan. We’ll see what I make of it. I don’t have much blogging planned for this week, but hopefully I come up with a good reason to come back before next Monday.

‘Til then, Bloggarts.

 

BZ

 

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Goals Summary 2019 – wk #31

Hey Bloggos! I haven’t completely forgotten you, I promise. I may not have made it to last week’s Goals Summary, but I still set some goals for myself later in the week. I also came down with a pretty wicked little cold over the weekend, and I spent all day yesterday one the couch, battling a fever with a binge session of the new season of Veronica Mars. Now I’m nursing a very light, subtle migraine and hoping I’m in tip-top shape come Monday. Because that’s when I (finally) start my new job!

Last Last Week

• Publish two blog posts
• Work on Whales
• Revise two chapters of Exodus: Descent

How’d I do?

• Publish two blog posts
  • Narp.
• Work on Whales
  • Yarp. Only a very little.
• Revise two chapters of Exodus: Descent
  • Narp.

Weekly Word Count: 333

I honestly don’t really remember what was going on week before last. There was a vacation over the weekend and lots of reading. I watched some movies and in general tried to enjoy my free time instead of guilting myself into being miserable.

Last Week

• Publish two blog posts
• Revise one chapter of Exodus: Descent
• Work on Whales

How’d I do?

• Publish two blog posts
  • Yarp! A book review made for a decent week on the blog.
• Revise one chapter of Exodus: Descent
  • Nope. Not even a little bit.
• Work on Whales
  • Nope. Not even a little little bit.

Weekly Word Count: 0

This weekend was busy with social events and visiting the in-laws. The week flew by with chores and some reading. I binged some tv shows too, I think. Trev was sick, which then got me sick, and over all there isn’t much more to be said. I wrote a book review, though, so that’s nice!

What’s Next?

• Publish two blog posts
• Revise one chapter of Exodus: Descent
• Work on Whales

I know it’s getting a bit repetitive, but until there’s progress in these areas I can’t really move on to anything else. I woke up this morning feeling quite a bit better and almost set to revising the second chapter of Exodus, when my burst of energy fizzled out and I took a nap instead. Apparently better isn’t the same as well. Hopefully I’ll continue to feel better through the week and manage to get some work done.

I’ve started bingeing The Adventure Zone: Amnesty, which is time I could spend listening to audiobooks, but hey, it’s TAZ. I kinda can’t say no.

So yeah. I’m reading and editing and writing this week. I’m all caught up on my favorite shows, I’ve watched enough movies, and read enough nonfiction. It’s time to get back to fiction, both reading and writing.

I’ll be back soon with another Veronica Mars book review, and then I’ll finally be able to post the reading round up.

Until then, Bloggarts!

 

BZ

 

The Recap – July 2019

July is a blur. Not even a blur, really. More a collection of images stamped in my brain, flashes of days spent wallowing and letting myself off the hook for my lack of productivity. I read a lot, watched a lot of TV, and played a lot of video games. I gave myself permission to immerse myself in the misery of sudden, unexpected unemployment.

Not my finest month, by any stretch.

July Goals

• Polish Exodus: Descent
• Continue short story submissions
• Read one short story a week
• Finish Whale Song rough draft
• Keep reading!

How’d I do?

• Polish Exodus: Descent
  • Narp. I did revise one chapter, but there’s like, eight of them, so… not what we’d call a success.
• Continue short story submissions
  • Yes. I at least didn’t allow my complete lack of motivation keep my stories from getting work done. All three are still out.
• Read one short story a week
  • Nope. I did read two from Transcendent 2 though.
• Finish Whale Song rough draft
  • Nope. I did make some great progress, all things considered. Maybe about halfway? I’m calling it Whales in my head, but the actual title is The Lament of Kivu Lacus.
• Keep reading!
  • Yes! I at least managed to do this! I read six titles in July, most of them Nonfiction about running libraries. But it’s still reading! I did a thing!

Monthly Word Count: 1,720

I’m working really hard not to be too critical of myself for this past month. When I look at all the inconsistency, how I ghosted on the blog a couple of times, how I couldn’t rely on myself to put my ass in the chair and get work done… it feels bad. My office door was closed most of this month, and almost all of my computing happened from the couch. Granted, some of that was fiction writing, but still. It feels gross.

But, I also know that summer is not a great time for me, historically. I’ve never been let go from a job before, let alone one that meant so much to me, and it was a serious blow to my self-esteem. Which is ridiculous since it was a city-wide layoff. But, my brain can tell me how ridiculous I’m being all damn day, my heart won’t hear it. At least not until it’s wallowed and had entirely too much ice cream.

Stomachaches provide clarity, apparently.

So, what did I do all month? I read a lot, taking notes, planning displays and programs, planting seeds for some networking, and doing the HR on-boarding sort of stuff for the school district. I binged Veronica Mars, The Great British Baking Show, watched more movies than I have in years, and played Red Dead Redemption II. I did a lot of chores. There was a weekend in Bend too, to celebrate our anniversary.

For some that looks like a nice summer vacation. For me it reeks of depression. All that downtime and I only wrote 1700 words? Yikes. I didn’t even apply for the Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship. I couldn’t muster the energy.

But, today I opened my new planner (July 2019-June 2020) and wrote in all my holidays and non-working days (school schedules are whack, y’all), and I’m feeling prepared and dare I say inspired?

Well, not quite inspired. Maybe intrigued. There’s a little simmer of interest bubbling up in me. I don’t know what it will lead to, but I’ll do my best not to smother it.

August Goals

• Polish Exodus: Descent
• Continue short story submissions
• Read one short story a week
• Finish Whales rough draft
• Keep reading!

Yep. Those are the goals from last month. They’re good goals. All things I really want to work on. I don’t know how realistic it is to try and do them all the same month I’m starting at a whole new job, but I doubt it could be a worse performance than July. It’s worth striving for.

That optimism alone is refreshing. I just may be on an upswing, Bloggos.

I’d really like to get back into hiking as well this month. July was just such an oddly social, yet so very shut in month. It was all contradictions and self-guilt and escapism. I’m ready to leave that all behind and get back to work.

I’ll be back around with either a reading recap or a book review or something tomorrow.

Until then, Blogland.

 

 

Goals Summary 2019 – Wk #29

Well. This is awkward.

I ghosted on the blog last week. Maybe you noticed, maybe you didn’t, but I didn’t post a single thing last week. And that’s because I didn’t do a single writing related thing in the last couple of weeks. It feels… bad. But also, okay. The summer is my traditional season of unpredictability. There’s almost always a slump of some kind, though I thought I might have finally broken that habit.

Then I was laid off from the library, a job I absolutely loved. Talk about getting derailed.

I’ve tried to keep my days productive with household chores, and while lots of work is getting done around the house, I’m also bingeing a lot of movies and television I wouldn’t normally have time for. Working on creative endeavors right now seems utterly exhausting. I have no motivation whatsoever, so I’m not forcing the issue for now. I know I’ll come back to it, because I always do.

I did get some good news, though. I was offered a position as the Library Media Assistant at Stayton High School! It doesn’t start until mid-August, so there’s still a bit of downtime ahead of me, but I’m using the time to read up on running a school library and gather resources and ideas for my first year on the job. It’s going to be a very big change, with lots of learning opportunities, which has me beyond excited.

That excitement has also taken over any energy I might have for writing related work. This is a nice reminder that I cannot control everything, and I have to work within my means without feeling guilty. It’s a lesson I still struggle with.

Now then, what was I supposed to do two weeks ago?

Last Last Week

• Publish two blog posts
• Revise two chapters of Exodus: Descent
• Read two short stories
• Write 1k on Whales

How’d I do?

• Publish two blog posts
  • Yes! There were three posts that week thanks to the busyness inherent in the early days of the month.
• Revise two chapters of Exodus: Descent
  • No. I did revise one chapter though, so not a total loss.
• Read two short stories
  • Nope. Lots of other reading, but no short stories.
• Write 1k on Whales
  • Nope. I had some great progress the week before, but it came to a halt pretty quickly.

Weekly Word Count: 0

Other than interviewing and finding out I had a new job, I don’t really know what I did that week. Read and watch Veronica Mars, I think. And chores.

Last Week

• Nothing. There were no goals, nothing to strive toward. I read and watched TV and cooked and cleaned. I have become utterly domestic in my joblessness. I didn’t even go on any hikes! Yikes…

Weekly Word Count: 0

So yeah… not super productive. I mean, I read like three books in the last two weeks and have three GoogleDocs for work related resources, display ideas, and passive programs. So, I was busy-ish, just not with anything tangible for the blog. OH! I did read a single submission for The Audient Void, so there! I did one tangible writing related thing! HOORAY!

So, What’s Next?

• Publish two blog posts
• Work on Whales
• Revise two chapters of Exodus: Descent

That’s it. That’s all I want. A little bit of writing, a little bit of editing. We have our Bend trip to celebrate our anniversary this weekend, which I can’t believe is finally here, so I have five days to do some work…

And to binge the entire new season of Veronica Mars!

Someone send help.

It’s going to be August before we know it, and then it’s only 12 days before I start at my new job! Have I mentioned that I’m excited?

See you soon, Bloggarts.

 

BZ

2019 Status Update – Something, Something ABBA lyrics…

As ever, the year is flying by, slipping through our fingers all the time. There’s your dose of ABBA. Although that’s a damn sad song to be the anthem of the first six months. Moving on!

Yearly Goals Completed

• Finish Tavi rough draft
  • I finished this back in May, which somehow feels like FOREVER ago, and I’m doing everything in my power to ignore it. I need that distance before I begin editing it in September.

2019 Word Count (so far): 80,744

That’s it so far. Granted, that’s a big one. I wrote a book y’all. That’s a task and a half. Blog-wise, here are some numbers:

• This is the 64th post on the blog this year, making for an average of 2.2 posts per week. That’s on track for my goal of publishing two posts/week for the year. Hurray!
• As of this writing, the blog has seen just over 45k words, which is in addition to the almost 81k of fiction I’ve written this year.
• The blog currently has 562 followers, which continues to amaze me. Thanks for reading!

Speaking of reading, how’s that going this year? My goal is 70 titles, which is the highest goal I’ve ever had. I’ve read 36 titles this year, which Goodreads says is “On Track!”, so there’s that! I really don’t know if I’ll eke out this goal, and I’m not even sure I want to. My policy is, if I surpass my goal I have to up the next year’s goal. My dudes, I don’t think I can read more than 70 books in a year.

What about publishing? How’s that going in 2019? Well, I’ve submitted stories 19 times. I’ve had 4 personal rejections, the rest were form. That’s not as much as I’d hope, but the response times were VERY slow through the spring. This is a tough category to quantify because so much of it is out of my hands. The only true metric for my productivity is my own doggedness. The turnaround time between rejections and submitting again. Those are things I’m in control of. And in those areas, I’d say I’m doing well. The rejections hurt less, even the personal ones, and my turnaround times are almost immediate. Stories don’t languish in my files, waiting for me to feel up to submitting them again. They go out right away. So that’s good.

Unrelated to reading and writing, I have gone on eight hikes so far this year! I’ve really loved getting outdoors and being more active. It’s motivated me to walk more during the week and to even hit the gym on occasion when I’m feeling restless. So I’d call that a major benefit.

2019 – Remaining Priorities

• Finish Santa Sarita
• Revise Cards
• Publish SOMETHING!
• Publish two blog posts/week
• Read 70 titles.

So… that’s a lot of stuff. The last two, as discussed, I’m on track for. Thank goodness. But the rest? Well, let’s break it down.

Santa Sarita is my giant Mass Effect Andromeda fanfic series, which I started back in April of 2017. It was supposed to be single oneshot, which then turned into several multi-chapter fics and a oneshot collection. Well over 250k words later, I’m working(?) on the last fic in the series. I wanted to finish it this year. Honestly? I have no idea if that will happen. I’ve barely looked at it and am currently utterly uninspired and lack motivation to work on it at all.

Cards is my second novel ever, inspired by the blend of a Wild West setting with magic that I’d read in Brandon Sanderson’s Alloy of Law. Still one of my favorite books, by the way. I finished it in the spring of 2014, right before I got married. I have never gone back to read it, and at this point I’m sort of afraid to do so. Because I know it will be a complete rewrite, just like The Steel Armada was. It deals with some really heavy themes of racism and oppression and while my intentions were good, I WAS NOT equipped to handle them back in 2014. I am afraid of what waits for me in those pages. And, I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’m really equipped to handle those themes today either. I don’t know. The story I set out to tell may not be mine to tell. There’s a lot of rethinking and attention required for this book and I’m not sure I’ll have the time or skills to devote to it in the last half of this year.

Publish something… I knew when I made this a goal that it was risky. It’s something I have absolutely no control over. All I can do is submit, submit, submit until something sticks. I’ve had some really close calls this year, but so far, nothing’s landed. I can’t really do anything about that, except carry on. Good thing I am one stubborn chick.

Other Things To Do

• Revise Exodus: Descent
  • There aren’t a lot of paying markets for novellas, but a few of them are open this fall and I want Exodus ready to go when the time comes.
• Decide on a NaNoWriMo project
  • I have no idea what the hell I’ll be working on come November. Maybe finishing Santa Sarita? It’s a possibility. I’ll have family in town from out of state for the holiday, so I need to take that into consideration as well.
• Keep writing
  • I have plenty of short story ideas, and who knows when a novel idea will pop up? Or you know, I could finish my giant fantasy series. That’s always an option.
• More hikes
  • I’ve loved my outdoor time this year and hope to continue as long as weather permits.

That’s the year so far and the months yet to come. I don’t have much of a vision for the last half of the year, mainly because I have no idea what my daily life will look like in the coming months. Being unemployed has really thrown a wrench in my routines and my goals. Who knew?

 

BZ

Goals Summary 2019 – Wk #27

Week one of unemployment in the books. What did I do with all this free time? Let’s find out!

Last Week

• Publish two blog posts
• Start Exodus: Descent revisions
• Write 1k on Whales (new short story)
• Read a short story

How’d I do?

• Publish two blog posts
  • Yep! Actually three last week, including a book review!
• Start Exodus: Descent revisions
  • Eh… Kinda? I started reading chapter one, and have it all printed out and ready to go. But, there’s no quantifiable progress yet.
• Write 1k on Whales (new short story)
  • Yes! It’s another risky story for me. I’m trying really hard to push my boundaries and see what I’m capable of. We’ll see how it goes.
• Read a short story
  • No… I meant to, but I got a little carried away with my rewatch of Veronica Mars.

Weekly Word Count: 1,387

This week was… long? I’ll admit I spent the majority of my time doing housework and bingeing Veronica Mars. I’ve been a huge fan of the show since I was about 16, so the revival coming later this month has me pretty hyped. I didn’t do much reading because I was either watching the show or reading fanfic. So, yeah, I’m back on my old shit. Like, my really old shit.

But, when I wasn’t taking a trip down nostalgia lane, I did get a bit done. There was a bit of activity on the blog and a healthy amount of writing. There was also a bit of unemployment stuff that took up a chunk of time.

Also, I went on a hike on Saturday to Cape Perpetua where we explored tide pools and saw Thor’s Well. Over all, aside from the joblessness, it was a good week.

What’s Next?

• Publish two blog posts
• Revise two chapters of Exodus: Descent
• Read two short stories
• Write 1k on Whales

There should be a bit of activity on the blog this week. Including the Reading Recap and the Six Month update. The revision process on Exodus shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s a clean draft, I just need to tighten some language and change one plot/character element. It’s more a matter of sitting down to do it.

I have Transcendent 2 from the library and need to get reading, so I’ll be spending some time with it this week. I’ll also be reading the Veronica Mars book over the next couple of weeks to get all caught up on the canon before the new season launches on Hulu.

The new short story is… weird. It came from a SUPER nebulous concept. I knew I had a married couple in an isolated SF setting trying to resolve their marital issues. That’s it. That’s all I knew. So when I set out writing it was truly exploratory. Who are these people? What do they want? What’s keeping them from it? I wrote over 1k words just exploring character and narration before I landed on what I think will be the final version. I’ll talk about it a bit more when I think it’s done.

There should be another hike this weekend, though I don’t have any idea where yet. Keep an eye out for photos.

Until next time, Bloggarts.

 

BZ

The Recap – June 2019

What a rollercoaster month June was. Full of writing, editing, hiking, sudden and utterly unexpected unemployment, reading, and binge-watching uplifting television to turn off my brain.

There’s nothing that Aziraphale and Crowley can’t fix! Well, besides Armageddon, that is.

June Goals

• Finish In Great Need of Ghosts
• Continue short story submissions
• Read one short story a week
• Keep reading!

How’d I do?

• Finish In Great Need of Ghosts
  • Sorta. It’s close. I thought it was done, sent it a couple places, but now think it still needs some tweaks. So, I don’t know. It came a super long way and I’m proud of my output on this project during the month, but the story isn’t quite there yet. Also, it’s now called A Lullaby for Mattie Barker.
• Continue short story submissions
  • Yep. Three stories are still out. These markets all have longer average wait times, so it’ll probably be awhile before I hear anything back from them.
• Read one short story a week
  • Yes? I read them all in like, a week. But I read four of them, so that still counts. Right?
• Keep reading!
  • Yes. Though not as much as I would have liked. I read five titles this month, counting Transcendent: the Year’s Best Transgender Speculative Fiction, which I really read over the course of the first half of the year, but finally finished in June. I’m still two book ahead on my Goodreads Challenge, which is a pleasant surprise since I feel like I haven’t been reading nearly enough lately.
    

    

    

    

Monthly Word Count: 6,298

I should feel pretty good. My monthly goals on my whiteboard are all in black. That means they’re done. I should get a cookie or something. I also finally got that last trophy in Detroit: Become Human, so I am obviously super cool and not a nerd at all.

As for hikes, there were only two this month because of various goings on in my life as well as a trip out of town for my hiking buddy. But, we still managed to hike both Marion Lake and Cape Meares this month, which were both stunning and quite challenging. I can tell that my cardio is improving (easily done seeing as my cardio is notoriously bad) and my legs are building up muscle. I’ve also found that hiking really helps settle my mind and get me focused for the week ahead. I’m still loving these Pacific Northwest adventures.

We also spent a healthy amount of time clearing out our horribly overgrown backyard. It was nice to be out in the warm weather, but man I super-di-duper hate yard work. But, the hard part is all done now, and we can spend the month of July getting it perfected. We’re even considering building in a fire pit! Fancy.

Writing-wise this was a very straightforward month. I worked on A Lullaby for Mattie Barker pretty much exclusively, except for a couple of tumblr fanfic prompts. I wish I had more enthusiastic news about the writing process, but this story is a weird one. It’s hard to classify and I took some narrative risks with it that were relatively new to me. I don’t know if it’s successful, or if it even can be successful. But I like it. I’m proud of what it is so far. I just think there’s still something not quite right about it.

Pretty sure it’s the ending. I just don’t know how to fix it. Yet.

I did start working on a new short story, though I feel a little disingenuous saying so. This story is incredibly vague for me still. I know so little about the plot and the characters that really I’m just writing to get to know them all, and eventually I’ll have enough to shape it into something like a story. Hopefully. Fingers crossed.

Oh yeah, there was a migraine in there too. And an eye appointment (I’m getting prescription sunglasses!) and a massage. Self-care and all that.

July Goals

• Polish Exodus: Descent
• Continue short story submissions
• Read one short story a week
• Finish Whale Song rough draft
• Keep reading!

A little more ambitious this month, but I’m also not working right now. I have more time, even as I’m applying for jobs and catching up on housework. I ought to get as much writing work done as possible, right?

I have a couple hikes lined up for this month, three I think. But, I also have a lot of socializing this month what with a good friend’s birthday and our wedding anniversary. That’s all stuff to look forward to, though. It’s going to be a really good, really weird month.

I’ll keep saying that until it comes true.

Talk soon, Bloggarts.

 

BZ