It's all about the journey...
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
653 POSTS & 439 LIKES
Novella
|
Post by dragonwriterhp on Feb 1, 2024 14:49:06 GMT -5
February Goals Dreams don't work unless you do...1. Write 11k words [00,000 / 11,000] 2. Handwrite 2 pages [0 / 2] 3. Read 2 books [0 / 2] 4. Paint upstairs bathroom 5. Paint downstairs bathroom 008,035 / 250,000 04.75 / 24 pagesFebruary 1-4 1. Write 1.5k words [0,000 / 1,500] 2. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint 3. Finish putting together bookcase 4. Organize books onto new bookcase setup 5. Schedule drywall guy for kitchen cabinet installs 6. Schedule plumber for kitchen cabinet installs 7. Read chapters 4-6 of The Story GeniusI have big hopes for February. My dad is visiting at the end of the month to take care of installing my new kitchen cabinets which I'm super excited for. Getting my new cabinets means I can get the rest of my kitchen set up, and I can't wait.
Hoping for some major book progress this month too. Ideally, I'd like to finish the outlining for The Merlin Games and be able to start drafting, but I'm not going to put too much pressure on myself for it. If the creativity takes me elsewhere, that will be fine.
It's going to be a big month!
|
|
It's all about the journey...
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
653 POSTS & 439 LIKES
Novella
|
Post by dragonwriterhp on Feb 5, 2024 22:00:30 GMT -5
February Goals Dreams don't work unless you do...1. Write 11k words [00,267 / 11,000] 2. Handwrite 2 pages [0 / 2] 3. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [000 / 900] 4. Read 2 books [0 / 2] 5. Paint upstairs bathroom 6. Paint downstairs bathroom 008,302 / 250,000 04.75 / 24 pagesFebruary 1-4 1. Write 1.5k words [0,267 / 1,500] 2. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint 3. Finish putting together bookcase 4. Organize books onto new bookcase setup5. Schedule drywall guy for kitchen cabinet installs 6. Schedule plumber for kitchen cabinet installs 7. Read chapters 4-6 of The Story GeniusThis month hasn't gone well so far. I'm glad I got the bookcase finally done and the piles of books on it, but that's really the only productive thing I have done so far in February. Don't know why, but there was just nothing in the brain for any sort of writing. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I'm getting to the point where I can start establishing some structure to The Merlin Games and it is messing with the creative flow. February 5-11 1. Write 2.5k words [0,000 / 2,500] 2. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [000 / 900] 3. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint 4. Paint first flight of stairs 5. Patch holes in downstairs bathroom 6. Schedule drywall guy for kitchen cabinet installs 7. Schedule plumber for kitchen cabinet installs 8. File taxes 9. Read chapters 4-6 of The Story Genius [0 / 3] 10. Finish reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas I'm going to try moving back to some more handwriting this week and see if that helps get the creative juices flowing again. For some reason when I'm writing in the notebook it just doesn't feel so permanent, and I think that may help. We shall see.
|
|
Slaying dragons
Years Old
Other / Decline to State
IS OFFLINE
960 POSTS & 1,004 LIKES
Novel
|
Post by galactic-pirates on Feb 8, 2024 4:23:50 GMT -5
Sorry your week didn't go as you would have liked. Hopefully your subconscious has been chewing on things and you see a leap forward soon. Good luck next week *waves pom-poms*
|
|
It's all about the journey...
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
653 POSTS & 439 LIKES
Novella
|
Post by dragonwriterhp on Feb 12, 2024 13:52:21 GMT -5
February Goals Dreams don't work unless you do...1. Write 11k words [02,282 / 11,000]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [4.25 / 2] 3. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [556 / 900] 4. Read 2 books [1 / 2] 5. Paint upstairs bathroom 6. Paint downstairs bathroom 010,317 / 250,000 09 / 24 pagesFebruary 5-11 1. Write 2.5k words [2,015 / 2,500] 2. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [556 / 900] 3. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint 4. Paint first flight of stairs 5. Patch holes in downstairs bathroom 6. Schedule drywall guy for kitchen cabinet installs 7. Schedule plumber for kitchen cabinet installs 8. File taxes9. Read chapters 4-6 of The Story Genius [0 / 3] 10. Finish reading A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J MaasAs is apparent by the numbers, definitely did a lot more handwriting this past week. The week didn't start out well, but once I moved into Project Scarlet Rot instead of trying to make progress on The Merlin Games the words started flowing much better. I don't know if my creativity just needed a break to work on something else or if it got spooked by reaching the outlining stage, but it just wasn't working anymore. February 12-18 1. Write 2.5k words [0,000 / 2,500] 2. Update project list with Project Scarlet Rot summary 3. Touch up edges/spots in kitchen paint 4. Paint first flight of stairs 5. Patch holes in downstairs bathroom 6. Schedule drywall guy for kitchen cabinet installs 7. Schedule plumber for kitchen cabinet installs 8. Upskilling modules for healthcare client 9. Read chapters 4-7 of The Story Genius [0 / 4] 10. Finish reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Don't know how this week is going to end up going, but I hope to be able to get at least most of this list done. I accepted a new job last Friday, and I should be hearing from them sometime soon regarding getting started so I'm not entirely sure what the week will look like. Regardless of what it looks like though, I need to at least get the kitchen portions completed because my dad is going to be coming down next week to install the cabinets and those need to be done. It's going to be a busy one!
|
|
Slaying dragons
Years Old
Other / Decline to State
IS OFFLINE
960 POSTS & 1,004 LIKES
Novel
|
Post by galactic-pirates on Feb 13, 2024 12:24:35 GMT -5
Congrats on the new job!!!! And good luck getting the kitchen ready. It does sound like a busy week!
|
|
Easily Distracted
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
1,407 POSTS & 833 LIKES
Epic
|
Post by Kandybar on Feb 16, 2024 13:37:02 GMT -5
Hooray! Congrats!
|
|
It's all about the journey...
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
653 POSTS & 439 LIKES
Novella
|
Post by dragonwriterhp on Feb 20, 2024 0:42:56 GMT -5
February Goals Dreams don't work unless you do...1. Write 11k words [03,573 / 11,000]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [5.58 / 2] 3. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [556 / 900] 4. Read 2 books [1 / 2] 5. Paint upstairs bathroom 6. Paint downstairs bathroom 011,317 / 250,000 10.33 / 24 pagesFebruary 12-18 1. Write 2.5k words [1,291 / 2,500] 2. Update project list with Project Scarlet Rot summary3. Touch up edges/ spots in kitchen paint 4. Paint first flight of stairs 5. Patch holes in downstairs bathroom 6. Schedule drywall guy for kitchen cabinet installs 7. Schedule plumber for kitchen cabinet installs 8. Upskilling modules for healthcare client9. Read chapters 4-7 of The Story Genius [0 / 4] 10. Finish reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Didn't get nearly the amount I wanted to done, but I got some important parts done for my dad to be able to do what he needs when he gets here on Friday. When it comes to writing, I had quite a bit of trouble getting anything done. I think it is because I have gotten to the point where I can start doing some outlining on Project Scarlet Rot and my brain has decided that outlining isn't as much fun as random brainstorming so it doesn't want to do it. February 19-25 1. Write 2.5k words [0,000 / 2,500] 2. Outline Act 1 of either The Merlin Games or Project Scarlet Rot3. Touch up edges in kitchen paint 4. Paint first flight of stairs 5. Patch holes in downstairs bathroom 6. Pick out a new kitchen sink 7. Read chapters 4-7 of The Story Genius [0 / 4] 8. Finish reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros To try to prevent the endless brainstorming, I'm going to try to get some outlining done, but I'm letting the brain decide which project that ends up happening on. I just want to make sure that while I'm having fun with it, I'm also moving forward with actual novel progress. Don't know how much I will end up getting done once my dad is in town because I don't know if he will need my help at all, but I'm hopeful I can accomplish this list. Not going to beat myself up if I'm unable to though.
|
|
Slaying dragons
Years Old
Other / Decline to State
IS OFFLINE
960 POSTS & 1,004 LIKES
Novel
|
Post by galactic-pirates on Feb 25, 2024 7:51:57 GMT -5
I think brainstorming to actual outlining is a bit like me going from planning to drafting. It whittles down all the enticing endless possibility to meeting actual reality and so it’s less magical. Sounds like you got done what you needed for the actual deadline (your dad doing work) and when work is going on that is so distracting. You are doing great! *cheers*
|
|
It's all about the journey...
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
653 POSTS & 439 LIKES
Novella
|
Post by dragonwriterhp on Mar 7, 2024 15:02:54 GMT -5
February Goals Dreams don't work unless you do...1. Write 11k words [04,133 / 11,000]
2. Handwrite 2 pages [5.75 / 2] 3. Write 900 words for New Moon Madness [556 / 900] 4. Read 2 books [1 / 2] 5. Paint upstairs bathroom 6. Paint downstairs bathroom 012,168 / 250,000 10.5 / 24 pagesFebruary 19-25 1. Write 2.5k words [0,560 / 2,500] 2. Outline Act 1 of either The Merlin Games or Project Scarlet Rot3. Touch up edges in kitchen paint 4. Paint first flight of stairs5. Patch holes in downstairs bathroom 6. Pick out a new kitchen sink7. Read chapters 4-7 of The Story Genius [1 / 4] 8. Finish reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros February ended up going majorly off the rails as far as writing progress goes. Most of the progress I got was in the first half of the month and even that progress wasn't great. As I expressed in various updates throughout the month, part of my struggle was definitely the fact that I'm moving into outlining which feels more like work instead of easier freewriting. This is definitely something I plan on addressing in March, and I'll discuss more in the March goals post.
The big thing impacting the second half of the month's progress though was life stress. I've basically fallen off the internet for the past few weeks because of everything going on. Without going into too much of a rant/detail, there has been a lot. The week before my dad arrived to install the kitchen cabinets, there was a lot of final detail work I was trying to get done which ate into a lot of my time. Then the week he was here was such a comedy of errors that even though I had the time to write, I didn't have the mental capacity. Basically over the course of the week we found a rotted floor joist that had to be repaired, the guys repairing the floor joist busted a pipe and had to re-run that line, the pressure of turning the water off/on for said repair ended up busting another pipe resulting in all of my downstairs pipework being replaced, when they were replacing that pipework we also found the sewage line had rusted so that had to be repaired, and over the course of all of this basically half of the subfloor in my kitchen had to be ripped up and replaced for them to get access to everything because that section of the house is inaccessible in the crawl space. Oh, and did I mention that this was all on the week of my birthday? So yeah, quite a bit of life stress that we are only just starting to recover from.
Here's hoping that March ends up a bit better, even though I'm already getting a late start to it.
|
|
It's all about the journey...
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
653 POSTS & 439 LIKES
Novella
|
Post by dragonwriterhp on Mar 7, 2024 15:35:39 GMT -5
March Goals Dreams don't work unless you do...1. Write 11k words [00,000 / 11,000] 2. Handwrite 2 pages [0 / 2] 3. Outline either The Merlin Games or Project Scarlet Rot 4. Read 2 books [0 / 2] 5. Paint living room 6. Complete training for new job [07 / 43 hours] 012,168 / 250,000 10.5 / 24 pagesMarch 4-10 1. Write 2.5k words [0,000 / 2,500] 2. Read chapters 5-7 of The Story Genius [0 / 3] 3. Finish reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 4. Orientation for new job5. Complete 22 hours of training for new job [07 / 22] 6. Organize kitchen into new cabinets 7. Pick up ladder from Lowe's8. Patch one wall in living room 9. Prime one wall in living room 10. Paint one wall in living room I have big hopes for March when it comes to my writing and life goals. As I mentioned toward the end of February, I got a second job I can work around the contract work and I've started training/orientation this week. It is already obvious I'm going to have to make adjustments to my goals to keep balance in all the different aspects of my life, but I have high hopes that I can do it.
This month I need to work through the block I've been running into regarding moving into the outlining stage for either The Merlin Games or Project Scarlet Rot. I'd love to have a complete outline for either of those projects by the month so I can start moving into the drafting stage. I think once I can get into the drafting stage, it'll start feeling more fun again as I get to start playing with the characters. It is just going to be a matter of figuring out where writing is going to work into my schedule around my new job to make sure it is still a priority, and I don't let it fall to the wayside.
Work on my house is going to slow down more than I thought it would with the new job, but I know I need to continue making progress. So to help facilitate that, I'm breaking down the goals into even smaller pieces and have smaller expectations for myself. If I can get my living room done by the end of the month, I'll be happy. My living room is a pretty big room though so I'm going to focus on one wall per week and know that even though steps may be small, they will get the whole room done in the end.
|
|
Easily Distracted
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
1,407 POSTS & 833 LIKES
Epic
|
Post by Kandybar on Mar 8, 2024 12:14:00 GMT -5
Good luck with all your changes! Adjusting your goals is definitely the way to go.
|
|
Slaying dragons
Years Old
Other / Decline to State
IS OFFLINE
960 POSTS & 1,004 LIKES
Novel
|
Post by galactic-pirates on Mar 10, 2024 11:44:31 GMT -5
Ooof that kitchen remodel sounds like a nightmare. I am so sorry for you. Good luck with your house! When I decorated mine I didn't do anything else, so the fact that you are working AND still working on your goals is just WOW. You are doing amazing!!!
|
|
It's all about the journey...
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
653 POSTS & 439 LIKES
Novella
|
Post by dragonwriterhp on Mar 31, 2024 23:44:35 GMT -5
March Goals Dreams don't work unless you do...1. Write 11k words [00,000 / 11,000] 2. Handwrite 2 pages [0 / 2] 3. Outline either The Merlin Games or Project Scarlet Rot
4. Read 2 books [2 / 2] 5. Paint living room
6. Complete training for new job [43 / 43 hours] 012,168 / 250,000 10.5 / 24 pagesWell, I sort of fell off the face of the internet for most of the month of March. Starting the new job and adjusting to a new schedule has been a lot. I still haven't managed to figure out how to implement writing and renovation work into my new routine yet so nothing on that front has gotten done this month. The biggest thing is the fact that I've always worked days and this job is working nights. I'm so used to the mindset of getting things done after work, but that just doesn't happen with this job because all my free time is before I go in.
With all that in mind and the first quarter of the year coming to a close, I'm re-evaluating what I'm going to do for the rest of the year. I don't know yet what that is going to look like, but I definitely haven't achieved my goals for the first quarter so trying to ramp up the writing that hasn't been happening isn't going to help. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a plan.
|
|
Slaying dragons
Years Old
Other / Decline to State
IS OFFLINE
960 POSTS & 1,004 LIKES
Novel
|
Post by galactic-pirates on Apr 1, 2024 3:16:15 GMT -5
A new job is a huge upheaval and there will be an adjustment period. Please don't be hard on yourself for that especially because you have a whole new sleep schedule and man everything else!!! That's a big big change. I am rooting for you *waves pom-poms*
|
|
It's all about the journey...
Years Old
IS OFFLINE
653 POSTS & 439 LIKES
Novella
|
Post by dragonwriterhp on Apr 2, 2024 15:38:55 GMT -5
April Goals Dreams don't work unless you do...1. Write 10.5k words [00,000 / 10,500] 2. Handwrite 2 pages [0 / 2] 3. Read 2 books [0 / 2] 4. Paint living room 012,168 / 250,000 10.5 / 24 pagesApril 1-7 1. Write 2.5k words [0,000 / 2,500] 2. Read chapter 5 of The Story Genius [0 / 1] 3. Patch one wall in living room 4. Prime one wall in living room I appreciate all the kind words!
The plan at the beginning of the year was to ramp up for quarter two, but when I haven't been productive for the past month and a half, there isn't anything to ramp up. With that in mind, I've decided to take the same approach to quarter two as the first quarter of the year. My daily working goal is 500 words with a minimum of 250 words. I'm going to spend the month focusing on getting writing back into my routine and working out how to balance everything with my new job and new schedule.
I'm going to try to put my words toward The Merlin Games or Project Scarlet Rot, but I'm fine with wherever they end up going, not putting too much pressure on myself.
|
|