WriYe 2024

Dreams don't work unless you do...

You've found yourself in the dragon den where books are hoarded like gold. The past few years have not been the greatest when it comes to writing and 2023 in particular wasn't very good to me life-wise. So I have done some re-evaluation when it comes to how I want to approach my life. I'm bad about falling into habits, and I don't get out of that comfort zone. That has led to a 2023 I can't look back on with much pride. With that in mind, 2024 I am going to live more out of intent rather than habit.

Writing Goals

1. Write 250k

2. Write at least 250 words each writing day

3. Handwrite 24 pages for Luddite Challenge

4. Finish 1 novel

Reading Goals

1. Read 24 books

Life Goals

1. Remain employed all of 2024
2. Paint all rooms in the house

3. Pay off 25% of debt, not including mortgage

4. Establish a fitness routine
5. Establish a cleaning routine

Finished

Editing

Trial by Fae
[85,045 / Draft 1] [81,179 / Draft 2]

Faeries no longer leave changelings in cribs, finding it easier to turn humans as adults with a faerie drug known as crystal ball. Lissa hunts these faeries to protect the human race, but when she is turned into a faerie herself she finds that is the least of her worries. She has to fight for her life and find her place among the Courts by understanding the new society she is a part of.

Works in Progress

Dracokin
[00,000 / 85,000]

People think that dragons have been gone since the Middle Ages, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Dragons still exist in the form of Dracokin, dragons in human form to keep the illusion of normality, an illusion that can be shattered at any time at will. Dracokin live away from humans in covens and when two children of elders meet at a Council gathering it sparks a Romeo and Juliet story. As they grow to accept each other, everything gets destroyed when they are faced with a coven’s desire to perform a hostile takeover of all the others. Can they fight the takeover and come back together?

The Merlin Games
[000,000 / 100,000]

The Hunger Games, but with magic.

The Pirate and the Siren
[004,068 / 100,000]

Inspired by this: "A pirate captain lost her arm to a shark attack: a passing selkie saved her, and gave her tattoos of kraken blood. Now she has an arm made of salt-water, that grows and wanes with the tides, and swings a cutlass as well as the original. (She doesn't sail as far these days though: she doesn't want her wife to worry.)"

Works in Mind

Glass Roses

The Harvest Festival. Derek Lex has been looking forward to the day for as long as he could remember. It was the day the glass roses would show he was an alchemist and he could finally join a research team where he belonged. With a bright flare of blue though, his lifelong dreams are fragmented like the shards of his glass rose as it hit the floor.

An absent-minded kindness during the height of the festivities throws Derek into an apprenticeship he never wanted with the Rose Maker, Yalani. He was the wizened old man of the town that nobody doubted had lost more than a bit of his grip on reality. When he starts accusing Derek of misplacing glass roses it isn’t a short leap to disbelief, yet another rambling of a sick mind with an unknown grain of truth.

When it becomes clear that glass roses are indeed disappearing as the number of the missing escalates, Derek is thrown into an investigation to track them down. As the investigation progresses, just where loyalties lie become less clear and what Derek thinks he knows may not be the way they seem.

Metamorphosis Book 2

Project Scarlet Rot

Alix Blake is your average, law-abiding citizen of CITY until the day her father is diagnosed as the latest victim of the mysterious illness that has been sweeping through the population. She isn’t willing to accept his death sentence without a fight though, even if it takes her to the seedy underbelly that is the black market and the potential magical cures to be found there.

Darrow Harper is what one might call an independent contractor, or freelancer, in the black market of CITY. Specializing in the acquisition of hard-to-find magical objects, he has taken a job that’s proving to be a challenge—one he recruits Alix to help him complete.

If all works out according to plan Darrow will walk away with a job complete, and Alix will have the cure she needs for her father. Because everything always happens according to plan, right?

Firebird's Child

Inspired by the song "Firebird's Child" by S.J. Tucker.

Project Space Fantasy

“Books are hoarded like gold” - I still love that. Such a good line. I’m sorry that 2023 wasn’t happy for you *hugs* I wish you a happier 2024. Good luck with all your goals!!

Ahah as a book dragon with a hoard I've been building.. yes, yes they are gold. I love this!
I'm also super interested in your WIP; some seem like wonderful premises!

Much luck on the coming year for writing!

January Goals

Dreams don't work unless you do...

1. Write 11.5k words [00,000 / 11,500]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [0 / 2]
3. Write 500 words for Start the New Year Off Write [000 / 500]
4. Read 2 books [0 / 2]
5. Paint kitchen
6. Paint upstairs bathroom

000,000 / 250,000
00 / 24 pages

January 1-7

1. Write 2.5k words [0,000 / 2,500]
2. Write 500 words for Start the New Year Off Write [000 / 500]
3. Read The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
4. Patch holes in walls of kitchen
5. Paint base layer in kitchen

I have big plans for 2024, and I'm excited for them to get started. I'm posting this from my new laptop that I purchased specifically for writing, just waiting on Scrivener to finish installing. With how 2023 went though, I'm not going to jump in too quickly and risk getting discouraged so I'll be easing in with larger word count goals each quarter.

For the first quarter, my goal for each working day is going to be 500 words with a minimum word count of 250 words. Something I realized impacted my 2023 is the fact that I don't get anything done on days that my husband is off work so my goals are all based off writing 5 days per week to take his days off into account. To start out I'm also not going to worry about what project or where those words go, I'll be going wherever the creativity takes me.

Here's to a great start to 2024!

I also don't get anything done on days my husband is off, haha.

Best of luck this year, and I hope everything goes smoothly!

January Goals

Dreams don't work unless you do...

1. Write 11.5k words [02,416 / 11,500]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [0 / 2]
3. Write 500 words for Start the New Year Off Write [564 / 500]
4. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [000 / 900]
5. Read 2 books [0 / 2]
6. Paint kitchen
7. Paint upstairs bathroom

002,416 / 250,000
00 / 24 pages

January 1-7

1. Write 2.5k words [2,416 / 2,500]
2. Write 500 words for Start the New Year Off Write [564 / 500]
3. Read The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
4. Patch holes in walls of kitchen
5. Paint base layer in kitchen

The first week of 2024 went pretty well. I managed to hit at least my minimum of 250 words on all the days I wrote and overall only fell about 100 words short on my goal for the week. One of my scheduled working days unfortunately ended up being a zero day due to painting and some unexpected socializing. I made up for it though on what was supposed to be my day off, only missing the daily goal by that about 100 words which I'm not too upset about considering I was trying to get the words in while the husband and I were playing Baldur's Gate 3 on his day off. So overall, I'm pretty proud of the progress I made for this first week of the year, and I hope it will continue (even if it has only been plotting words so far).

January 8-14

1. Write 2.6k words [0,000 / 2,600]
2. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [000 / 900]
3. Finish reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
4. Paint primer layer on shelf
5. Paint color layer on shelf
6. Paint color layer in kitchen
7. Make a reading plan for The Story Genius
8. Get oil changed

New Moon Madness is on one of the days my husband works so I'm going to go ahead and plan to participate. My hope is to at least get some drafting words this week, even if they aren't in any particular project. I'd just really like to get something that isn't just plotting. A lot to do this week, but I'm pretty confident in my ability to get it done!

Good luck this week! You got a lot of things crossed off last week, excellent progress *cheers*

January Goals

Dreams don't work unless you do...

1. Write 11.5k words [04,211 / 11,500]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [0 / 2]
3. Write 500 words for Start the New Year Off Write [564 / 500]
4. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [1,010 / 900]
5. Read 2 books [0 / 2]
6. Paint kitchen
7. Paint upstairs bathroom

004,211 / 250,000
00 / 24 pages

January 8-14

1. Write 2.6k words [1,795 / 2,600]
2. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [1,010 / 900]
3. Finish reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
4. Paint primer layer on shelf
5. Paint color layer on shelf
6. Paint color layer in kitchen
7. Make a reading plan for The Story Genius
8. Get oil changed

I didn't get as much done this past week as I'd like, but there are still things I'm proud of. Particularly, I love the progress I made with New Moon Madness. Not only did I manage to hit/exceed my goal, but I was also really excited about the project I was working on which I have given a working title of Alice's Arcane. I didn't finish the painting jobs in the kitchen, but I did make good progress on them which I will count for something.

January 15-21

1. Write 3.3k words [0,000 / 3,300]
2. Finish reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
3. Finish painting primer layer on shelf
4. Finish painting color layer on shelf
5. Finish painting color layer in kitchen
6. Read chapters 1-7 of The Story Genius

There was more than one day last week that I probably could have met my daily goal if I had done my writing earlier in the day, so that is one thing I want to focus on this week. I'm going to try to do my writing earlier in the day rather than procrastinating, see if that helps me stay on target better. Have a lot to do this week, but I'm hopeful!

Whoo well done! That sounds very positive evaluating what didn’t work so well and making a new plan for next week. Good luck with it! *waves pom-poms*

January Goals

Dreams don't work unless you do...

1. Write 11.5k words [04,983 / 11,500]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [1.25 / 2]
3. Write 500 words for Start the New Year Off Write [564 / 500]
4. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [1,010 / 900]
5. Write 1k words for Full Moon Madness [0,000 / 1,000]
6. Read 2 books [0 / 2]
7. Paint kitchen
8. Paint upstairs bathroom

004,983 / 250,000
01.25 / 24 pages

January 15-21

1. Write 3.3k words [0,772 / 3,300]
2. Finish reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
3. Finish painting primer layer on shelf
4. Finish painting color layer on shelf
5. Finish painting color layer in kitchen
6. Read chapters 1-7 of The Story Genius

Managed to get a lot of the around-the-house stuff done this past week, but the writing took a nosedive. I think that it had to do with the fact that I was trying to catch up, and that word count number got into my head. In fact, the vast majority of the writing I did manage to do this past week was brainstorming in a notebook in bed. The notebook (and lack of word count tracker) seemed to just take the pressure off and allowed my mind to at least get some words down. I found that I can hit my daily minimum (250 words) with just over a half page of handwriting in this notebook so I at least had some idea of my productivity without the constant word count checking.

January 22-28

1. Write 2.5k words [0,000 / 2,500]
2. Write 1k for Full Moon Madness [0,000 / 1,000]
3. Finish reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
4. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint
5. Paint wrap-around wall
6. Paint first flight of back stairs
7. Read chapters 1-10 of The Story Genius

With last week in mind, I'm not going to set a goal to try to catch up. I'm setting it based off what I want my habitual productivity to be and if I don't end up hitting this month's goal, that is okay. The important thing is that I'm getting back into the fun of it and honestly the handwriting I did this past week really started to get me there. I'm probably going to add a new POV to The Merlin Games with a new level of world building, and it is really exciting to start exploring.

Sometimes I think we get caught up in the numbers. What matters is moving forward and it sounds like you are doing that brilliantly. Good luck next week! *cheers*

January Goals

Dreams don't work unless you do...

1. Write 11.5k words [07,651 / 11,500]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [4.6 / 2]
3. Write 500 words for Start the New Year Off Write [564 / 500]
4. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [1,010 / 900]
5. Write 1k words for Full Moon Madness [0,490 / 1,000]
6. Read 2 books [0 / 2]
7. Paint kitchen
8. Paint upstairs bathroom

007,651 / 250,000
04.6 / 24 pages

January 22-28

1. Write 2.5k words [2,668 / 2,500]
2. Write 1k for Full Moon Madness [0,490 / 1,000]
3. Finish reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
4. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint
5. Paint wrap-around wall
6. Paint first flight of back stairs
7. Read chapters 1-10 of The Story Genius

This last week was pretty weird when it comes to writing. The first half of the week pretty much all of my writing was handwriting which is why my Luddite number has jumped so much. There were only two days that I actually hit my daily goal though, one of which was supposed to be a day off, which isn't great. I am proud that I at least tried to get some words every planned working day though. At least I was staying connected with my writing if nothing else.

January 29-31

1. Write 1k words [0,000 / 1,000]
2. Finish reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
3. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint
4. Paint first flight of back stairs
5. Schedule drywall guy for kitchen cabinet installs
6. Schedule plumber for kitchen cabinet installs
7. Read chapters 3-5 of The Story Genius

I've been doing a lot of worldbuilding work on The Merlin Games, and I feel like I'm getting pretty close to being able to actually put together an outline. It looks like it is most likely going to be a trilogy, but I'd love to get started drafting the first book. This week is probably going to be a lot of work into the character arcs for the three main characters and once I have those figured out I think I'll be able to do some real outlining work. Maybe I'll be able to start drafting in February!

Staying connected to your writing is a huge deal! Not to be underestimated. Just "checking in" regularly is brilliant all on it's own. The world building sounds like a lot of brain work, and it will be percolating at the back of your mind even when you aren't directly working on it. So sounds like you did a lot to me!! Good luck this week and haha next month! *cheers*

January Goals

Dreams don't work unless you do...

1. Write 11.5k words [08,035 / 11,500]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [4.75 / 2]
3. Write 500 words for Start the New Year Off Write [564 / 500]
4. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [1,010 / 900]
5. Write 1k words for Full Moon Madness [0,490 / 1,000]
6. Read 2 books [1 / 2]
7. Paint kitchen
8. Paint upstairs bathroom

008,035 / 250,000
04.75 / 24 pages

January 29-31

1. Write 1k words [0,384 / 1,000]
2. Finish reading The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
3. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint
4. Paint first flight of back stairs
5. Schedule drywall guy for kitchen cabinet installs
6. Schedule plumber for kitchen cabinet installs
7. Read chapters 3-5 of The Story Genius

Well, January definitely didn't go to plan. Overall though, I'm pretty happy with what I was able to accomplish. Working on the house has taken a lot more time and energy than I planned, but I love how the colors have turned out. Slow progress is better than the nonexistent progress from the past few months.

When it comes to writing, I didn't reach my word count goal for the month, but I wrote more than I have in almost a year which I'm proud of. There were also days where I was actually really enjoying what I was working on which is the more important thing. I want to get back to having fun with my writing and the introduction of a secondary POV character into The Merlin Games has definitely done that for me. There was no drafting this month, but I'm pleased with the brainstorming progress I've made, and I hope that will allow for some drafting really soon.