My plan was to copy my beginning of the year post to see how it all turned out, but I didn't do a beginning of the year post last January, so I guess I'm winging it. Overall, I think '16 was better than '15. We still had bumpy spots, but overall I feel more stable than I have for the last three years. Having Alex here most of the year may have contributed to that.
It was a better writing year for sure. More productive, better quality. I wrote 75,139 words, and as of mid-July (when I started tracking the time) I put in 193 hours. It looks like April was my worst month, and December was the best. As near as I can figure, mid-July was when I got sick of my own crap, the excuses and procrastination, and decided it was now or never. Not that it would ever really be never. I get depressed and cranky when I don't write.
In non-writing life:
- I grew my first garden in three years, and the first in-the-ground one (as opposed to containers and raised beds) since we left Virginia in 2000. I have plans for the next one.
- We finally got all our worldly belongings under one roof. And some of Alex's. Yay basement!
- I still haven't quit the day job, but I am down to one day a week. That should remain status quo for another 2-3 months.
- We are helping to start a new church in an adjacent neighborhood. Our current church is sponsoring it, but the new one will be 12 miles closer and not have city traffic, so it makes sense for us to do this. It's a lot more work than I thought it would be, but I don't have to do much of it. Yet.
- Last summer was jam-packed. We learned from that. Next summer will not be the same. I will have time to putter in my garden more and get more canning done.
My thoughts for next year look much the same as I'm sure they did last year. I have more writing goals than I did, and a few non-writing goals that may get modified throughout the year. We do have a fair amount of travel planned. We leave for Florida in 10 days, and I go back for a writers' retreat the end of February. We are looking at a trip to San Diego in the spring to visit Eric's parents, and Mom will no doubt have me in Michigan a few times. Oh, and Black Hat (the hacker conference) in Vegas in August. There is a spec writer conference (Realm Makers) in Reno the weekend we're in Vegas. I'm trying to figure out if I can make that work. If I can't, I'm going to lobby for them to have it closer to me in the future. Not Chicago proper, maybe, because it will be expensive to rent the space to hold it. Maybe Milwaukee.
Here's the run-down so I can find it easily to cut and paste next year (although I do have it written in my journal):
Writing:
- Write 150,000 words (3,000 x 50 weeks)
- Publish 6 short stories, either in magazine/anthology or on Kindle
- Blog weekly
- Send out two newsletters a month
- Develop good work habits re: time and word count
- Develop better marketing and social media skills
- Track sales vs. expenses
Non-writing:
- Exercise 2-4 days/week
- Bible study 3+ days/week
- Grow/preserve more food
- Get rid of enough stuff so the house is neat all the time
- Spend time with family
I hope y'all are having a relaxing evening and I'll see you next year.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Cold
Fine. I have a winter cold. :(
Rushing toward the end of this year. I've been covered up with shopping, family newsletters (I did three in two and a half weeks), Christmas cards, bills, chores...life.
I've also been planning my next year. I have several writing goals that I'm putting in my planner to both give me a way to gauge my progress and to be accountable to a writing group I'm in. I have two solid goals in place, but want to add one more.
I will be sharing them on January 1 or 2. Catch you then.
Rushing toward the end of this year. I've been covered up with shopping, family newsletters (I did three in two and a half weeks), Christmas cards, bills, chores...life.
I've also been planning my next year. I have several writing goals that I'm putting in my planner to both give me a way to gauge my progress and to be accountable to a writing group I'm in. I have two solid goals in place, but want to add one more.
I will be sharing them on January 1 or 2. Catch you then.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Preparing to Close Out the Year
The year is rapidly closing, so I'm wrapping up loose ends and preparing for 2017. Looking back at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, my life was very unsettled and chaotic. Many things have changed and for the better.
Mr. L's health has stabilized, but he doesn't have the energy he had before August 2015. He's begun the process of moving his health care to Central Texas. Our relationship is more harmonious. It's always a work in progress, but I'm in a much better place with it than I was two years ago.
My "I eat before 8 pm" effort has become effortless. I'm looking for other ways to positively implement dietary and exercise changes in my life to achieve a healthier body composition. With both knees replaced and functioning well, I'm looking forward to being more active this year. I was walking well, then we went on vacation, and I got out of the habit. I'm looking forward to getting back into the habit soon -- even if it means I go to the shop on inclement mornings to ride the recumbent bike.
I've set my LoseIt! app goal, and my plan it to proactively plan my meals to consistently eat less than the daily goal. (Is there a more positive way to word that? The subconscious mind needs only positive input -- it can't handle negative instructions.)
Efforts with the outside cats are going well. My only concern is Zelda seems to have run Walter off. I haven't seen him in over a week (including on the game camera). I picked Nick up the other day, and I've been able to pet him regularly. I should be able to put him into a carrier the first week of January for his FIV booster. Zelda is letting me touch her longer, but I'm not at a point where I'm confident I'll be able to put her into a carrier for her FIV booster, but I have a couple of weeks yet. I've been able to pick Daisy up and hold her. I plan to take her with us the first week of January for her kitten shots and an exam. When I put her down, she runs away, but she does keep coming back for Fancy Feast. Purina Pro Plan is kitty crack. Everyone is easier to handle when I put that in the dish.
Inside cats are about the same. Sapphire still won't give us the time of day, but now that Rossie is staying in the parlor and going into the cage at night, the parlor door is closed during the day. That means Mr. L and I play doorman to cats. Sapphire is slowly learning to come in and go out when we hold the door. She still spends too much time hesitating at the door, but she has both gone into and come out of the room with us holding the door.
We'll begin the next wave of travel plans after the first of the year. I'll pay for my cruise. Mr. L will make motel and car reservations, then we'll be ready for the Grand Tour in May. At some point, he'll finish the route for Hershey and Auto Train in October. We both have to figure out what we want to do in Orlando. So far, it seems to be Epcot, Disney Studios, and Universal Studios.
I want to establish a routine for using essential oils in my life. So far, I take a couple capsules of Copaiba, Frankincense, and Idaho Balsam Fir a couple of days a month. I haven't taken Tylenol since my knee replacement, but I do have a few aches here and there. That oil combo seems to reduce that. I diffuse Orange to keep the litter box odor down. It seems to help, and Mr. L doesn't complain about it. I'll be studying my desk reference to help me decide where I want to focus my efforts.
I need to revise GEEKS and get back to working on my first draft of the Granite Hill Series, Book 1. There's no way I'm going to let those pieces of paper intimidate me.
That's where I am at the moment. Looking forward to hearing your plans.
Mr. L's health has stabilized, but he doesn't have the energy he had before August 2015. He's begun the process of moving his health care to Central Texas. Our relationship is more harmonious. It's always a work in progress, but I'm in a much better place with it than I was two years ago.
My "I eat before 8 pm" effort has become effortless. I'm looking for other ways to positively implement dietary and exercise changes in my life to achieve a healthier body composition. With both knees replaced and functioning well, I'm looking forward to being more active this year. I was walking well, then we went on vacation, and I got out of the habit. I'm looking forward to getting back into the habit soon -- even if it means I go to the shop on inclement mornings to ride the recumbent bike.
I've set my LoseIt! app goal, and my plan it to proactively plan my meals to consistently eat less than the daily goal. (Is there a more positive way to word that? The subconscious mind needs only positive input -- it can't handle negative instructions.)
Efforts with the outside cats are going well. My only concern is Zelda seems to have run Walter off. I haven't seen him in over a week (including on the game camera). I picked Nick up the other day, and I've been able to pet him regularly. I should be able to put him into a carrier the first week of January for his FIV booster. Zelda is letting me touch her longer, but I'm not at a point where I'm confident I'll be able to put her into a carrier for her FIV booster, but I have a couple of weeks yet. I've been able to pick Daisy up and hold her. I plan to take her with us the first week of January for her kitten shots and an exam. When I put her down, she runs away, but she does keep coming back for Fancy Feast. Purina Pro Plan is kitty crack. Everyone is easier to handle when I put that in the dish.
Inside cats are about the same. Sapphire still won't give us the time of day, but now that Rossie is staying in the parlor and going into the cage at night, the parlor door is closed during the day. That means Mr. L and I play doorman to cats. Sapphire is slowly learning to come in and go out when we hold the door. She still spends too much time hesitating at the door, but she has both gone into and come out of the room with us holding the door.
We'll begin the next wave of travel plans after the first of the year. I'll pay for my cruise. Mr. L will make motel and car reservations, then we'll be ready for the Grand Tour in May. At some point, he'll finish the route for Hershey and Auto Train in October. We both have to figure out what we want to do in Orlando. So far, it seems to be Epcot, Disney Studios, and Universal Studios.
I want to establish a routine for using essential oils in my life. So far, I take a couple capsules of Copaiba, Frankincense, and Idaho Balsam Fir a couple of days a month. I haven't taken Tylenol since my knee replacement, but I do have a few aches here and there. That oil combo seems to reduce that. I diffuse Orange to keep the litter box odor down. It seems to help, and Mr. L doesn't complain about it. I'll be studying my desk reference to help me decide where I want to focus my efforts.
I need to revise GEEKS and get back to working on my first draft of the Granite Hill Series, Book 1. There's no way I'm going to let those pieces of paper intimidate me.
That's where I am at the moment. Looking forward to hearing your plans.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
First of December
Dropping this here for accountability purposes. My work week officially ends in about 15 minutes. That's when I have to bundle up and go fetch Himself from the train station.
So far this month, I've worked 6 days out of 11. I've done 13.5 hours and 4,894 words. There is a small chance I could get back in here tonight or tomorrow morning and get the 106 words I need to make that an even 5,000, but I'm not planning on it. I have the 3,000 I planned for the week and other stuff to do.
We leave tomorrow morning for a weekend in Indiana with Dad and Linda. We will have our Christmas with them, and I expect Eric and Linda will do a little quilting. We might get to go shooting, too, if time permits and Linda's son doesn't mind. He's got land nearby that he hunts, so it's ideal for target practice.
Looks like the day job will be easing up. We're transitioning to winter hours, so if it stays the way it is now, I'll work about 5 hours a week between now and spring. I could claim another shift, and I might later, but right now I'm thinking about having the least impact possible on the schedule when I go on vacation this winter. I want it to be easy for all of us when I leave. There is, of course, a wildcard, but I had a Come To Jesus talk with her last week, and she seems to understand that she needs to get herself in order. Hopefully she'll hang on until March but if she doesn't I have three good candidates to call.
I'd intended to actually write down specific writing goals for 2017 but I haven't done that yet. Y'all feel free to ask me about them if I don't get it done soon.
Hope y'all are well and staying warm!
Thursday, December 1, 2016
End of November
I don't know how it's this late in the year, and I don't know why I'm surprised about it. I've said the same thing multiple times a year for at least 25 years. *sigh*
I'm 12,130 words into Derrith's epic adventure. There is a chance that could be shortened about 2500 words if I decide the first two scenes are back story and need to be recycled. That's not a decision for today, or maybe even for this year.
November stats:
Words: 7420
Hours: 26
Year to date:
Words: 58,985
Hours: 186.27
This is why I don't do Nano anymore. Thanksgiving and Grandma's final illness and funeral gutted my month. I actually did writing related stuff 14 days, which is better than I expected.
I've come to realize I'm never going to get anywhere if I let circumstances dictate my reaction. Maybe I got a little dose of wisdom for my birthday, I don't know, but I'm tired of putting off my calling because I have to go to the day job/manage the house/plan holidays/etc. All that usually ends up with me getting overwhelmed and bingeing on Netflix. So productive!
I also realized how much leverage I actually have at the day job. I'm the most reliable person on the crew. I'm the only one with the food manager certificate, which the company paid $300 for. Everyone else has a $10 food safety certificate. I do all the paperwork and transport it to the office, and I'm the tier one point of contact for everything that goes wrong. I've lost count of how many times I've been called in on my day off. I have more leverage with this job than I think I've had with any other. They don't want me to leave so they're willing to pretty much let me do as I please as long as things run smoothly and the shop is clean. I've started taking my iPad and keyboard when I work day shifts. I have several hours with no customers, usually, and the ice maker and smoothy blender make an adequate standing desk. I'm training myself to work in odd places. My goal is to drop into writing mode at will, regardless of geography and distractions.
I'm also starting to look at specific goals for 2017. In the past I've been pretty vague. Vague doesn't get big things done. I have a half century gone. It's time to go big or go home, and going home isn't an option yet. Grandma said I'm going to hit 100, too. I never once caught her in a lie.
I hope y'all had a good Thanksgiving and are having a good week.
I'm 12,130 words into Derrith's epic adventure. There is a chance that could be shortened about 2500 words if I decide the first two scenes are back story and need to be recycled. That's not a decision for today, or maybe even for this year.
November stats:
Words: 7420
Hours: 26
Year to date:
Words: 58,985
Hours: 186.27
This is why I don't do Nano anymore. Thanksgiving and Grandma's final illness and funeral gutted my month. I actually did writing related stuff 14 days, which is better than I expected.
I've come to realize I'm never going to get anywhere if I let circumstances dictate my reaction. Maybe I got a little dose of wisdom for my birthday, I don't know, but I'm tired of putting off my calling because I have to go to the day job/manage the house/plan holidays/etc. All that usually ends up with me getting overwhelmed and bingeing on Netflix. So productive!
I also realized how much leverage I actually have at the day job. I'm the most reliable person on the crew. I'm the only one with the food manager certificate, which the company paid $300 for. Everyone else has a $10 food safety certificate. I do all the paperwork and transport it to the office, and I'm the tier one point of contact for everything that goes wrong. I've lost count of how many times I've been called in on my day off. I have more leverage with this job than I think I've had with any other. They don't want me to leave so they're willing to pretty much let me do as I please as long as things run smoothly and the shop is clean. I've started taking my iPad and keyboard when I work day shifts. I have several hours with no customers, usually, and the ice maker and smoothy blender make an adequate standing desk. I'm training myself to work in odd places. My goal is to drop into writing mode at will, regardless of geography and distractions.
I'm also starting to look at specific goals for 2017. In the past I've been pretty vague. Vague doesn't get big things done. I have a half century gone. It's time to go big or go home, and going home isn't an option yet. Grandma said I'm going to hit 100, too. I never once caught her in a lie.
I hope y'all had a good Thanksgiving and are having a good week.