Tag: goodreads challenge

Goals Summary 2021 – Wk# 3

B. ZelkovichLeave a comment

Hiya Blogland,

The long weekend threw off my groove in a big way. It sucks to have your routine thrown out of wack when you’re just starting to stick to it. But I didn’t let that hold me back!

Last Week

  • Revise Abbie
  • Write 1k words
  • Finish Harrow the Ninth
  • Finish listening to The Changeling
  • Read (at least) two parts from The Kick-Ass Writer
  • START READING TAVI

How’d I do?

  • Revise Abbie
    • No.
  • Write 1k words
    • Yes! I’m slowly but surely creeping to the end of this haunted house story.
  • Finish Harrow the Ninth
    • Yep. If you follow me on Goodreads, you know I had a lot of feelings about it too.
  • Finish listening to The Changeling
    • Yes! I knew I liked Victor LaValle from his short fiction, but I was (mostly) presently surprised by this book.
  • Read (at least) two parts from The Kick-Ass Writer
    • Yarp. Easy-peasy.
  • START READING TAVI
    • YES! Finally! I read like six chapters, noting small changes and asking questions, but mostly just remembering how much I like this book.

Weekly Word Count: 1,696

On top of these writing and reading related goals, I also did yoga every day and did an hour of cardio every other day (Saturday’s rest day). So, I’d definitely say that this past week was a success and feeling good, if a little tired.

What’s Next?

  • Revise Abbie
  • Write 1k words
  • Read two parts from The Kick-Ass Writer
  • Read The Blade BetweeThe Blade Between: A Novel: Miller, Sam J.: 9780062969828: Amazon.com: Books
  • Finish listening to Witchmark
  • Read/Revise Tavi

This looks familiar because it is. I’m a firm believer in not fixing what isn’t broken. I’m doing well so far this month across a multitude of projects, so why change my approach? I need to focus a little more on Abbie this week and get another solid revision in. It can be tightened up a bit more, I’m sure, once I’ve really focused in on the emotional beats. I want to get it done this month, and January is going to be over before we know it.

My reading life is going VERY well right now. But, starting this week I’m doing two different book studies for my work, so personal reading might slow down a notch. AND I have a super-secret, bookish project in the works that will also start sapping some of my free time in the near future. 

And, it’s nearly Valentine’s Day, which means it’s that time of year for my favorite prompt event on Tumblr, #14DaysDALovers. Basically, there’s a different prompt for each of the days leading up to Valentine’s Day and the Dragon Age fanfic community spams fresh content. I wrote a TON for this last year and hope to do so again this year. Which means I need to get crackin’!

Basically, I am wicked busy for the next few weeks, at work and otherwise. But I’m feeling good about it all. Nothing seems daunting. Everything is within my grasp and I’m going to ride that feeling for as long as it’s here. 

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for today, methinks. Making steady progress on all sorts of endeavors. Feeling good. I hope you are too!

Talk soon, Bloggarts!

BZ

Goals Summary 2021 – Wk #1

B. ZelkovichLeave a comment

I won’t lie. A few weeks ago I thought I might never write another goals summary. But, the husbando gave me a new whiteboard for Christmas (with a slew of new expo markers!) and I find myself falling back into the old habits.

I didn’t have any goals last week. Shocker. At least, not any writerly goals. I had house goals, chore goals. And I accomplished them, so that was nice. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about. What’s on the docket for this week?

This Week

  • Revise Abbie
  • Write 1k words
  • Read Harrow the Ninth
  • Begin Tavi read through
Quitting Social Media – Jeremy C Kester
Literally these are the platforms I deleted.

I gave up social media for the month of January, so I find myself with a lot of extra time these past few days. It’s been nice. Weird, but nice. I didn’t realize just how much time I let waste scrolling aimlessly. I reach for my phone whenever there’s a calm, spare moment. Only now there’s nothing to engage my brain.

So I’m reading more. I’ve finished one audiobook already, have started another, and am making decent progress on Harrow. My butt is in the chair tonight because I had spare time and didn’t feel like watching a movie. I think it’s pretty clear that my phone addiction was eating away at my productivity. I’m very curious to see how I feel at the end of the month and if I want to reinstall my apps.

(Prediction: Twitter is the only one I’ll want to reinstall. Anyone wanna place bets?)

I’m also doing 30 days of yoga this month, so I’m back to waking up in the 5 o’clock hour to get my stretch on before work. There hasn’t been any poetry yet, but I won’t rule it out. I’m also eating better and doing cardio three times a week because March will be here before we know it and I refuse to let a single weekend pass me by. There. will. be. HIKES.

And I’ll be ready for them.

Tonight I want to write a little bit more on my Dragon Age Modern AU fic (don’t worry if that’s gibberish to you). I’ve got a scene in my head that’s clamoring, but once that’s done, I want to return to my haunted house story I started in November.

Abbie is a short story I finished in November, as part of Nanowrimo. I remember it being long and winding and unwieldy, and thus a lot of work revision-wise. I’m excited to see what I think of it when I read it in the next day or two.

And then there’s Tavi. I’ll be honest, I’m more than a little intimidated by the prospect of returning to this novel. It’s a lot of work. And it’s deeply satisfying and simultaneously gut-wrenching and exhausting work. But, I don’t have to rush this, I can take my time and do it right. Right?

Right.

Anyway, that’s where I am at. That’s the state of the author. Feeling oddly optimistic and energized and ready to do… things. Thanks for coming along with me.

I’ll be back soon to talk January goals. Until then, Blogland.



BZ

The Recap – November 2020

B. ZelkovichLeave a comment
Hahahahahahahahahaha. What even are goals in this shit-heap of a year? I definitely didn’t set any (official) goals going into November. But, I still managed to get quite a bit done. Let’s talk about it. I basically have to thank Willamette Writers for all of my success in November. I signed up for their Month of Mastery program, which was a virtual community support for Nanowrimo. Basically, throughout the month of November they offered three workshops and weekly “cohort” meetings. There were several cohorts with various themes that met at different times each week, and you could go to any of them. This meant that I was thinking/talking about writing at least three days a week, and actively writing two days a week, beyond any discipline I managed to dredge up myself. Now, I didn’t have a novel to write this Nano, and I didn’t want to do a Nano Edmo (editing/revision month), so I decided to set a custom goal for the month. I had five short stories in various states of doneness. I wanted to get at least three of them done and/or write 20,000 words. Thanks to Willamette Writers, I achieved both of those goals! I finished three stories and very nearly finished a fourth. Plus a little bit of fanfiction sprinkled in.

Salt Bae GIFs | Tenor

Total Word Count: 20,795

Thankfully, Willamette Writers is considering doing more of these Months of Mastery, so I look forward to participating even more. I made writing friends and acquaintances, and even have a new weekly writing group, where we join a zoom call for two hours just to write together on camera. It’s awesome! All because I was willing to spend a little bit of money to get my writing butt in gear again. And it seems to have worked.

So, thanks Willamette Writers!

What else can I catch you up on? I have a story being held at a pretty big name magazine and I’m slowly dying from the anxiety of waiting to hear back about it. Like, the fact that it’s made it to the Editor-in-Chief’s desk (“awaiting final assessment” was what the email said) blew my mind. This is a magazine that has published Rebecca Roanhorse and Sam J. Miller (among many many others). A magazine that has won awards, and so have the stories its published. I. Am. Freaking. Out. But in a very very calm way. It’s all internal. Outside I am the coolest of cucumbers. So, in order to stop thinking about this, let’s talk about December!

December Goals

  • Revise Nano Stories
  • Submit to The Timberline Review
  • Work on Santa Sarita
  • Keep Reading!
Yep. You read that right. I’m working on my giant Mass Effect: Andromeda fic series again. I’ve already written two new chapters, so I’m hoping to just keep busting those out until I can finally put Sara and Reyes to bed. That way I can get back to Dragon Age, haha. I have about 500 words to cut from a short story to get it in shape to submit by the end of the month. I’m making good progress and expect to have it done by the end of the week. I’m basically giving myself a week with each of my Nano stories to revise them and see if there’s anything worth submitting. Kinda fun. I also only have another scene or two in another short story and it’ll be done drafting. I’ll be able to revise it in January. So lots of writerly things happening! And I have less than two weeks left of work until winter break!!!!! Hell yeah! Things are looking up, Blogland! Until next time. BZ

Goals Summary 2020 – Wk Who the Heck Knows?

B. ZelkovichLeave a comment

Can I just say something? I really hate the new WordPress editor. I don’t want to have to select the “Classic” block every damn time I want to write. It’s WORDpress motherfuckers. Let me do the thing with the words!

Anyway I’m here to talk about some goals I set for myself, quite unofficially last week. 

Wk #???

  • Write
  • Read The Silent Patient
  • Enjoy my birthday!

How’d I do?

  • Write
    • Yeah, a little. And a little is better than none.
  • Read The Silent Patient
    • Yep! Got it done in like two days once I actually sat down with it.
  • Enjoy my birthday!
    • You know it! It was a wonderful weekend full of loved ones and relaxation.

Weekly Word Count: 324

Well, will you look at that. I did things. Writerly, readerly things. That’s… novel. 

(insert eye-roll gif here)

Yeah. I’m sorry about that one. I couldn’t help myself. Anyway, I’m being productive again for the first time in a long time. Or, at least consistently productive. I’ll have another post up soon talking about November and December goals, but first — what’s going on this week?

This Week

  • Edit A Lullaby for Mattie Barker
  • Write
  • Read something

So, yeah. Keeping things simple. I want to submit Mattie Barker to The Timberline Review by the end of the month, but I need to shave off about 500 words, so I have my work cut out for me. I cut over 200 so far tonight, so it’s going well. 

I’m working on Santa Sarita again, which was wildly unexpected. I’ve written two chapters in the last week and hope to hammer it out and finally put a big ol’ DONE stamp on this fic series. You know, so I can get back to writing Dragon Age fanfic. 

Reading-wise I’m a little adrift at the moment. I just finished a craft book, and now have a couple of weeks before I need to pick up The Ten Thousand Doors of January for my work book club. I should finish reading Harrow the Ninth, but for some reason I’m hesitating. Probably because I want to read anything and every Dragon Age at the moment, because I am OBSESSED and need serious help. Also, I’m waiting to get Sam J. Miller’s new book delivered so I might pick that up instead. Who knows. Point is, I’mma read SOMETHING this week. 

So, yeah. That’s where I’m at. Nothing too crazy, nothing too ambitious. Just around, typing things and crossing out things until it all gels into something vaguely story shaped. And reading things. 

Until next time Bloggarts,

 

BZ

 

The Recap – May/June 2020

B. ZelkovichLeave a comment

All right. I’m not gonna waste time pretending I know what the hell happened in June. There were a couple of frantic work weeks and even more emotions. I numbed out with some serious video game bingeing and reading. So, instead of breaking down the goals from May, lemme just sum up where various projects are at.

  • Tavi is on pause. I have a lot to think about with this book. My mindset in regards to the entire project has done a 180 and I don’t really know what to do about that. So, until I’m feeling a little less shreddy toward it, I’m going to work on other things.
  • The Shadowboxer is back on the front burner. It’s an extremely ambitious story and it’s demanding a lot from me. I’ve maintained for a while now that every story requires something different from me, some more than others. This one wants me to basically re-invent the wheel when it comes to my “process” and I’m struggling with that. I’m going slow, climbing this story mountain one rock at a time and doing A LOT of outlining. The joys of non-linear narratives!
  • The Bahn Hexe has reappeared in my imagination, so maybe that will come next. I dunno and it’s silly to even think of “next” when I’m still hip deep in the rough draft of something else.
  • I also have a new novel idea (I may have mentioned that) and I think that will be my Nanowrimo project this year. It’s percolating.
  • Three short stories are currently out on submission. Fingers-crossed, as usual.
  • The Cost of Rain is OUT NOW at Corvid Queen! It’s a Speculative Western(ish) that has some serious Folklore vibes. I hope you like it!
  • I’m reading #aStoryaDay in July and tweeting about them as a little challenge to myself. If you have any recommendations, please share them in the comments or @me on twitter.

The fact that I’m here, talking about projects and thinking about goals for July is a win in my book. This is the most work I’ve done since school “ended”, which I shouldn’t feel so bad about, considering it was only like two weeks of vacation. I seriously need to learn to chill.

But, since I obviously don’t know how to chill (yet), let’s talk about July!

July Goals

  • Write every day
  • Read a short story a day
  • Keep reading (novels)!

So, yeah. That’s where I’m at. The Shadowboxer is my main focus this month. I’d love to get the rough draft finished before August, but I don’t feel very hopeful about that. I’m grappling with it a little too much at the moment to feel confident about a completion date. It’ll get done when it’s done and not a moment sooner.

I’m reading The Stolen Throne right now, but think I’m going to put it down in favor of the mountain of new books I got from curbside pickup at the library. There’s some really good titles in that stack that I’m much more interested in reading. Besides, The Stolen Throne is a reread and it did not age well.

I’ll be back on Monday to talk a little more formally about goals and progress. Until then, Bloggos.

 

BZ

The Recap – April 2020

B. ZelkovichLeave a comment

March felt long, but April felt… like a single long day. Not actually that much time, and yet exhausting. I am an introvert. I enjoy my alone time and staying home. I read and play video games and entertain myself pretty well.

… I miss my, albeit small, social circle. Tomorrow would have been Cinco de Micro. We would have convened at the convention center and enjoyed sampling microbrews and listened to dubious cover bands and ate lots of tacos. We would laugh and joke and tell all kinds of stories. We would have had fun.

Instead, we’re home. Again. And I know why and I deeply believe in the need to stay home and save lives. But man. It isn’t easy. The only thing getting me through is my work.

April Goals

  • Submit The Lament of Kivu Lacus
  • Begin Tavi revisions
  • Keep Reading!
  • Write 4000 words

How’d I do?

  • Submit The Lament of Kivu Lacus
    • Yes! I got some great feedback from my first round of readers and was able to make the final tweaks I felt it needed. It went out on Monday.
  • Begin Tavi revisions
    • YES! I did the read-through and note-taking and have now started really digging in and making changes. This meatier round of revisions is going well so far.
  • Keep Reading!
    • Oh yeah. I read another 6 titles in April, and a couple short story tie-ins. On a recent FaceTime chat with my dad I gave him a tour of my TBR piles, literally. There are PILES of books all over my house, waiting for me. There is no shortage of reading material here.
  • Write 4000 words
    • … No. But, I knew going into it that writing would be slow. Revision takes up parts of my brain that draft new content. My output is pretty much halved when I’m revising.

Total Word Count: 2,162

I don’t really know what else to say about April. I’ve been reading lots, making more videos, and working on my writing projects. I finally made some headway on my fanfic which accounts for the 2k words, and I’ve outlined subsequent stories through to where I’ve played the game so far. It’s looking good, and oh so close to the heartbreaking ending.

Which means I have an excuse to play more Dragon Age, haha! Like I need one.

Revisions are going very well. I’m really pleased with the direction I’m taking this book and the clarity of vision I have to guide my decisions. There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’m not daunted and I’m confident in the choices I’m making. That feels real freaking good, I tell ya what.

May Goals

  • Tavi Revision #1
  • Keep reading!
  • Write 4,000 words

I have 31 days to revise 20 more chapters. I’ve already revised the first six in the last two days. I’m feeling really good about my progress and my grip on the project. I’ve broken it down into Revision Phases, each with its own goal. I could probably write an entire blog post about that. Hmm…

Anyway, I know where I’m headed and what I want to accomplish and I’m really excited about that. It’s going well.

Again, there’s reading aplenty in this house. I started Destroy All Monsters last night and am in awe of it already. Yet again, Sam J. Miller proves he is a top-notch storyteller. I love his work.

We’ll see if there’s an uptick in writing this month. I’m feeling good about it, mainly because I got over a weird emotional hump in the story and now there’s just some fluff before the angst train comes barreling through. But, if revision continues at this pace, I might not have much gas in the writing tank. Which is fine. I’d much rather focus on the novel than the fanfic. Obviously.

So, yeah. That’s where I’m at. That’s what I’m working on. I hope you’re all doing well, keeping safe and sane, and finding a little bit of joy in your day-to-day. If not joy, maybe just peace.

I’ll be back on Monday to discuss the week. Until then, Blogland!

 

BZ