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Post by Worry on Jan 1, 2024 5:17:58 GMT -5
Goodness gracious, where do I even begin? To say that 2023 was a rollercoaster ride would be putting it mildly. I think it was more like one of those rollercoaster rides that you make on the Rollercoaster Tycoon simulator game, whereby the thing goes into a triple loop-de-loop and then just randomly stops halfway up the third loop-de, sending the little rollercoaster carts spiralling off into the atmosphere.
To recap, in a nutshell: I got put on redundancy notice, I got taken off redundancy notice, I got mentally and physically unwell, my grandma was admitted to hospital on no less than seven separate occasions, I took a writing holiday for two and a half months, I got diagnosed with iron, folate and B12 deficiency, I got medicated (well, supplements rather than actual prescription medication, but they did the trick and made me much better!), I got back into writing for a hot minute, I got put back on redundancy notice, I failed NaNo, I failed WriYe, I had a slight nervous breakdown, I got back into writing in December thanks to Disney villains (long story), and finally, at the eleventh hour, I got a provisional new job (it’s complicated; I don’t want to say ‘I have a new job’ yet in case something falls through last minute).
My life right now is so up in the air, unstable and uncertain that making any kind of plans or having any kind of long-term goals feels completely laughable, but if there’s one thing that I am clinging to by my fingernails in the middle of all this, it’s the fervent hope that the crazy state of being that I currently find myself in will not last forever. Hopefully, by the middle of the year, I will be in a much more stable place and everything will go back onto an even keel.
So, with that in mind, I’m not setting myself any year-long goals this year apart from my overall WriYe word count. Everything else is going to happen on a month by month basis so that I can keep a closer eye on my mental health and hopefully treat myself with far more kindness and grace than I have done in the past.
I don’t think that there’s much more to say at this stage of the game. I really wish that there was, I really wish that I had a grand plan in place and that I could just go for it, but until my life returns to some semblance of normality, having any kind of long term plan in place just won’t work.
Yearly Goal: 200,000 words
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Post by Worry on Jan 1, 2024 5:21:49 GMT -5
Writing Goals
Make some progress on the Hospital AU: 0/? Make some progress on the Regency AU: 0/? Write some luddite pages: 0/? January word count so far: 0 Non-Writing Goals
Bake a brand new recipe Finish knitting a plushie Finish attaching the patchwork blanket together Finish reading 3 books from my Goodreads own-unread shelf: 0/3 Watch 1 of my DVDs still in plastic: 0/1 Finish final touch-ups and attach shields on the Ironguard regiment models: 0/10 Purchase superglue Clean up the polar bear model
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Post by Helen on Jan 1, 2024 6:00:00 GMT -5
I got back into writing in December thanks to Disney villains Eh, a third of my 2023 goal was fanfic writing. Whatever gets the words down. Good luck with your goals this year. I hope it's calmer for you
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Slaying dragons
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Post by galactic-pirates on Jan 1, 2024 7:11:40 GMT -5
I hope that the crazy of 2023 can be left in the rearview and you have a much better 2024! Cheering for you *waves pom-poms*
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Easily Distracted
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Post by Kandybar on Jan 2, 2024 10:06:02 GMT -5
Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry that things have been so tough lately. Fingers crossed that everything settles and you can relax!
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Post by Worry on Jan 15, 2024 4:28:44 GMT -5
All right, we're halfway through the month, just about. Time to take a look at what's happening! Writing Goals
Make some progress on the Hospital AU: 0/?Make some progress on the Regency AU: 0/?I've removed these two goals as they were only ever really intended to be placeholders. I had no idea what to work on at the beginning of the year so I just shoved these two in as two of my longest running and most developed WIPs. Write some luddite pages: 1/? January word count so far: 11,027 This has been a mix of Wish fanfic and a romcom remix of one of my 2022 FMA Mangahood fanfics being written from RATS prompts. Non-Writing Goals Bake a brand new recipe: 2/1I got a fantastic new recipe book for Christmas: "Scone With The Wind" which is all recipes with literary puns as titles. So far I have made "Breakfast at Tiffins" (chocolate tiffins with dried cranberries and pistachios) and "Whoopie Pies and Prejudice" (salted caramel whoopie pies). Both have turned out excellent, even if I do say so myself. Finish knitting a plushieAgain, this was just a placeholder goal so it's been removed as I'm working on a different knitting project at the moment. Finish attaching the patchwork blanket togetherFinally! It's only been 3.5 years in the making. I began making the patches during lockdown to shave my yarn stash... Finish reading 3 books from my Goodreads own-unread shelf: 2/3 Unfortunately the third book I chose is an 850 page epic with very small print... Watch 1 of my DVDs still in plastic: 2/1This is what happens when you have no home Internet for a week. Finish final touch-ups and attach shields on the Ironguard regiment models: 0/10 Purchase superglue Clean up the polar bear model Although it was my goal to instigate 'Modelling Mondays' this year, I haven't managed yet, due to... real life shenanigans. Planning Party 01/01:
Start the New Year Write: 558/500
Wriday: 2,528/2,500
New Moon Madness: 917/900
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Slaying dragons
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Post by galactic-pirates on Jan 15, 2024 10:17:11 GMT -5
Oh wow sweep on the challenges. Awesome work! I love the sound of that recipe book yum. Well done with everything. Especially with all the shenanigans!!! Good luck for the rest of the month *waves pom-poms*
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Post by auroralynneskye on Jan 28, 2024 2:17:41 GMT -5
I too got a new cookbook, but it was one which came with my new pressure canner, which means I have been/will be putting far more things into jars and sealing the lids down than I ever have before! But first things first; writing is needful too.
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Post by Worry on Jan 31, 2024 14:31:30 GMT -5
End of the month. How did I do? Writing Goals
Write some luddite pages: 4/4 Final January word count: 19,345
This has been a mix of Wish fanfic and a romcom remix of one of my 2022 FMA Mangahood fanfics being written from RATS prompts, a bit of work on another new FMA Mangahood fic and a bit of work on Council of Thieves (Black Sails fanfic). Non-Writing Goals Bake a brand new recipe: 3/1"The Adventures of Huckleberry Flan" (blueberry flan) joins the literary recipe crew! I also made triple chocolate cookie dough, but that's not a new recipe. Finish attaching the patchwork blanket togetherFinish reading 3 books from my Goodreads own-unread shelf: 2/3 Watch 1 of my DVDs still in plastic: 3/1
Finish final touch-ups and attach shields on the Ironguard regiment models: 0/10 Purchase superglue Clean up the polar bear model Planning Party 01/01:
Start the New Year Write: 558/500
Wriday: 2,528/2,500
New Moon Madness: 917/900
5K Weekend: 2,848/2,500
Full Moon Madness: 1,772/1,000
Consistency Challenge: 11/7
OC Challenge: 10/10
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Post by Worry on Jan 31, 2024 15:07:07 GMT -5
Writing GoalsWrite 17,000 words: 00,000/17,000 Write 10 luddite pages: 00/10 Write 10 little mini-fics for the Rom Com Remix from RATs prompts: 00/10 (word count: 0/?) Non-Writing Goals
Finish reading 3 books from my Goodreads own-unread shelf: 0/3 Finish watching 2 DVDs still in plastic: 0/2 Do some work on my models. Literally any work on my models Finish knitting the front of the cable jumper
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Slaying dragons
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Post by galactic-pirates on Feb 1, 2024 2:25:37 GMT -5
Good luck in February *waves pom-poms*
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It's all about the journey...
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Post by dragonwriterhp on Feb 3, 2024 12:07:55 GMT -5
Looks like you did pretty great in January. Good luck for February!
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Post by Worry on Feb 19, 2024 4:12:29 GMT -5
Halfway through, thereabouts. How's it going? Writing GoalsWrite 17,000 words: 12,600/17,000 Write 10 luddite pages: 2/10 Write 10 little mini-fics for the Rom Com Remix from RATs prompts: 9/10 Non-Writing Goals
Finish reading 3 books from my Goodreads own-unread shelf: 2/3 Finish watching 2 DVDs still in plastic: 0/2 Do some work on my models. Literally any work on my modelsWe have broken the back of the model-building slump! Some painting work has finally been achieved, and a raven is now complete! Long may this continue... Finish knitting the front of the cable jumper Consistency Challenge: 9/7
5K Weekend: 5,082/5,000
New Moon Madness: 1,061/900
--------- I had a load of inspiration at the beginning of the month but it's kind of dried up a bit now. Still, there's ten days of the month left, so all is not lost!
In baking-related news, Lord of the Millefeuiles (strawberry and cream millefeuiles) joins the literary recipe crew. I also made chocolate brownies and my all-time favourite ginger chip cookies.
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Post by galactic-pirates on Feb 19, 2024 4:22:07 GMT -5
Wow look at all those completed challenges! I'm also very impressed with your knitting. Mum picked it back up after several years and seemed to be enjoying it, I suggested she continue but she doesn't know what to make as she can't do anything that requires 'putting together' so her jaw would be on the floor thinking of your cable jumper!! Good luck in the second half of the month!! *waves pom-poms*
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Post by Worry on Feb 26, 2024 5:46:39 GMT -5
We Interrupt Your Scheduled Programming, Because Worry Finally Knows What She's Doing, Honest!Fear not, I'll return you to your scheduled programming at the end of the month. Anyway, at the beginning of the year I said that life was all over the place and I was still on the crazy rollercoaster going 'HELP! I want to get off!'
Don't get me wrong, I am still on the crazy rollercoaster going 'HELP! I want to get off!' but after two months of what can only be described as Scary-Form-Based Insanity, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, the rollercoaster is coming to a stop, and life will, over the next few months, finally settle down.
So with that in mind, I'm able to finally look ahead to the rest of the year and make some more long-term plans. Sort of. Kind of. After a fashion. It's more of a plan of how to make plans, if that makes any sense.
Now, I am taking inspiration, as one does, from Fullmetal Alchemist, in particular this quote from the Brotherhood season 1 opening narration:
Alchemy. The science of understanding, deconstructing and reconstructing matter.
I'm going to take a similar approach to my year, splitting it up into 3 parts to reflect what's going on. Hopefully.
January to April: Deconstruct
These first four months of the year are all about just taking life as it comes and getting by. There's a lot of stuff going on, there's a lot of upheaval. In April, I will start my new job (officially and properly, everything is now confirmed), and with it will come massive changes in my life and routine. I need to be prepared for that, and come into this new phase of my life with a blank slate and no expectations.
May to August: Reconstruct
These next four months are all about settling down and rebuilding a new routine around my new job, finding my feet, learning what works, putting new mechanisms in place and gradually easing myself back into the world of WriYe and Progress and Goals.
September to December: Thrive
Hopefully, by the final four months of the year, everything will have fallen into place and I'll have found my groove again, and will be able to get back down to the business of writing, goals, and most importantly: NANO.
We'll see how it works, but splitting the year up like this and having no massive expectations for the first eight months of it but still planning to get back to normal feels to me like the best way of handling everything at the moment. I know it's going to take time to get used to the new world I'll be living in after April, and I really, really need to make sure that I don't expect everything to suddenly be different and amazing and for me to suddenly be extremely productive and able to do things. I've been living in a constant state of underlying tension for around two years now. It will take me time to recover.
All right! That's enough from me. Scheduled programming will resume now.
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