Banned Books Week Day 1: Rules and Regulations

In previous years, I've often started Banned Books Week with a quick little anecdote about a friend being surprised that "they still do that?" Sadly, in the last year, we've see a big uptick in the news about parents pushing for schools and libraries to ban books.

But what does "banning" a book mean, exactly?

You may be picturing book burnings, people keeping books secreted away in hidey holes to prevent the government from seizing them. Those images are exaggerations... usually.

Per the American Library Association, "A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials." This will be on the test ; ) (I'm kidding. But I will referred to both banned and challenged books this week and may not revisit the definition each time.)

For example, if a parent complains at a school board meeting about This Book, and asks it to be removed from the school library, that is a challenge. If the school board agrees and removes This Book from the curriculum or the library - or even makes it harder for students to obtain that book, such as requiring a permission slip - that is a successful ban. A ban doesn't have to be large-scale to count (and I'll revisit that this week, too).

Additionally, the most common reasons for books to be banned or challenged is that an adult feels that a books is inappropriate for students of a certain age group. This can be due to language, sexual situations, or social issues such as race or "alternative" lifestyles. This can be anything from claiming high schoolers aren't ready for graphic sex and violence, to feeling that elementary aged students shouldn't be learning about families with same-sex parents.

For an example, here is the list of the top 10 most challenged books from 2021 (2022's will be released sometime next year). How many have you read? I'm sad to say I've only read one, but it may also be the most well-known at the moment, given the videos about it that went viral last year.

Come back tomorrow for another blog topic, and visit my social media for Meme Monday!

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March Drought, April Showers

So, I'm a nerd. I was trying to remember the opening line of The Caterbury Tales (in the original Middle English). I found it, and it wasn't as I remembered - "Whan that April with his showres soote

The droughte of March hath perced to the roote." But it actually works out better for what I want to say.

I didn't get a whole lot done in March. Again. More on that in a minute. But, as March draws to a close, I'm feeling a little trickle of inspiration coming back. I wrote a story last weekend. Not only that, I had initially sat down with the idea it was gonna be a 500-1000 word flash piece. It now stands at just over 3300 words. (Wanna read it? Contact me on social media, or through this website and ask to be part of my beta reader group. I'll be workshopping it soon.) I also submitted to two publications this month, which isn't a lot, but is more than I did in February.

So, how did I meet my goals?

Submissions:

My goal was to submit three pieces for publication. I almost did that. In fact, I kind of did that. I did actually submit to three different publications... but one of them I had to withdraw. They don't accept simultaneous submissions and after I submitted, I was informed by another publication that I had thought hadn’t accepted the same piece that they had extended their reading period and my story was still under consideration there. So... yay?

Social Media Following:

My goals for March were to bring the following platforms up to:

-Facebook - from 99 to 100 likes. (Oooh, aaah...)

-Actual increase: 101! Yay, I finally broke 100! (Increase of 2%.)

-LinkedIn - from 72 to 76 connections.

Actual increase: 77! (Increase of almost 7%)

-Twitter - from 36 to 50 followers.

Actual increase: 43. (Increase of 19%)

Goals for April:

Submission:

Ok, for real this time - three submissions. I mean it.

Platform:

-Facebook: My growth has slowed way down, so I will aim to continue a 1% increase each month, at least until I can figure out a better way to draw in more people there.

Goal: from 101 to 102.

-LinkedIn:

Goal: break 80, an increase of approximately 5%.

Twitter - My growth in February was huge, an increase of 57%. In March, while it wasn't that drastic, it was still hefty at almost 20%. Granted, I know I can't sustain that kind of growth, so I'm not going to set my goal so high as to be disappointed.

Goal: from 43 to 47-49, an increase of 10-15%

New goal!

As of April fourth I will be rejoining my writing critique group. I haven't been since Elianna was born - baby + pandemic = not the best time for writing groups.

Want to help me meet my goals? Here's how you can help! Make sure to like, share, and especially to follow me on social media! Comments are particularly helpful for feeding the algorithm gods.

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for several small snippets each week.

Or, if you're looking for more professional content (less frequent, but more closely related to writing, publishing, or libraries), connect with me on LinkedIn. (I do ask that if you request a connection on LinkedIn that you mention this blog so that I know how you heard of me.)

Friggin' February

December is always the month that I expect to get nothing done, and I meet that expectation.

February is always the month where I think, "well, LAST February sucked, but THIS February I'm going to get my act together"... and then I don't.

So, really just brief updates for you this month.

I feel like maybe I'm starting to round the curve of wanting to get back into things. Still don't know WHAT I feel like working on, just that I feel like I want to do something.

As to my goals for February:

-Goal: Submit three stories (or one story to three publications)

Actual result: I didn't submit any. I've been struggling with finding the right markets, and questioning myself with what's truly ready.

(Related to that, if any of you who are not already beta readers for me would like to be, please PM me your email through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, or by using the email form on this site. No writing or editing experience necessary! Sometimes I want the opinion of "the average Joe on the street.")

-Goal: Increase Facebook following from 99 to 109

Actual result: no change.

-Goal: Increase LinkedIn following from 69 to 76

Actual result: 72 connections, an increase of about 4%

-Goal: Increase Twitter following from 16 to 20

Actual result: 37 followers, an increase of about 57%

Y'all. Y'ALL. I met my follower goal the night I posted my previous goals. I thought about going back and updating the blog post... but then I also said, I could go through and do that every week and drive myself crazy.

I went into starting a Twitter account with the caveat that it might be the hardest to grow an audience on, because it's the one that requires the most interaction, but I've increased my following by over 50% each month since I've been keeping track. (Granted, when your following is 10 or 30, an increase of 50% isn't a lot. I don't expect to keep gaining by 50% or more each month for much longer.)

Next month's goals: Pretty much the same as this months, honestly.

-Submit three stories, or to three publications. Yes, I know I should do more than three a month, but I think trying to increase my goal when I didn't submit this month is shooting myself in the foot, as far as motivation, anxiety, and guilt go.

-Increase online following as follows:

Facebook - break 100 (change of 1% - yay, easy math! ; )

LinkedIn - increase to 75 (change of about 4%)

Twitter - increase to 50 (change of about 35%)

I will also be switching up the contents of my My Works page this month, so keep an eye out for that.

Want to help me meet my goals? Here's how you can help! Make sure to like, share, and especially to follow me on social media!

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for several small snippets each week.

Or, if you're looking for more professional content (less frequent, but more closely related to writing, publishing, or libraries), connect with me on LinkedIn. (I do ask that if you request a connection on LinkedIn that you mention this blog so that I know how you heard of me.)

Following for February

Just a few quick notes on January, since I haven't gotten a lot done:

One of my goals was to make three submissions this month - and I did! Yay!

My platform goal was to increase my social media following. My goals were:

Facebook - goal: 106 (actual: 99)

LinkedIn - goal: 66 (actual: 69)

Twitter - goal: 10 (actual: 16)

For February, aside from trying to figure out how to get my motivation back, I will aim to keep similar submission and following goals:

-Make at least three submissions (a single submission to at least three markets, or multiple stories to one market)

-Increase my followings by:

-10% on Facebook (from 99 to 109)

-5% on LinkedIn (from 69 to 76)

-10% on Twitter (from 16 to 18)

So far, Twitter has been growing the fastest, which I did not expect... but I also don't expect that pace to stay. But, if I do increase by say, 50 or 100 percent by the end of the month, then Twitter's goal for March will be quite a bit higher.

If you're interested in helping me increase those numbers, make sure to like, share, and especially to follow me on social media!

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for several small snippets each week.

Or, if you're looking for more professional content (less frequent, but more closely related to writing, publishing, or libraries), connect with me on LinkedIn. (I do ask that if you request a connection on LinkedIn that you mention this blog so that I know how you heard of me.)

Writer's Block or Pandemic Fatigue?

Guys, I think I'm having a little bit of an existential crisis about my writing.

I've really been dragging my feet about it the last couple months. The idea of finishing and publishing a novel seems daunting, not inspiring. Looking for places to submit my short stories seems tedious and not worth the effort.

I've been "supposed" to be working on Brinyor since November, but find I keep delaying rereads and editing in favor of making a map I probably won't use, in depth costume research I probably don't need, in depth linguistic name research that I'm probably the only one who cares about it...

I've been "working" on Brinyor for ten years - Wolf and Sheath, and BrightFire for twelve and eleven years, respectively. (I guess I should quit thinking such uncharitable thoughts about George R R Martin, huh?)

Maybe it's the pandemic fatigue talking - here we are almost two years in, and we just had another exposure scare. (I guess I shouldn't complain - I know a lot of people who have had it; I know some people who have had it twice.) I was supposed to be getting back into things, being productive, now that we're through the holidays and Elianna was going back to school (prior to quarantines and lack-luster ice storms).

I just don't feel the drive. Some people get up in the morning and they HAVE to write, like they have to breathe. Most successful authors will tell you "you have to write every day." I'm definitely not doing that right now. People say, "If you REALLY want to do something, you'll FIND the time, you'll MAKE the time." But you know what I'm making time for? Naps. Admittedly, I have never been ambitious about ANYTHING, so maybe this isn't such a big change. But I am starting to wonder if I'm wasting my... time? Time may not even be the right word, since I'm not even spending that much time on it right now.

But if I don't write, if I'm not a writer, what am I?

(It's an open answer, possibly even a rhetorical question, and in no way meant to be a downer. I've just been rolling this all around in my head recently.)

...though Jason is feeling the same way about some of his leisure activities, so it helps to know I'm not the only one.

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What To Do In '22

It's time for my annual update on goals!

First, what my goals were in 2021, and how I did with them (full post on that here.

Because I was trying to be a little less vague about my goals, some of them were more time-specific (do X by the end of January):

-Get back into my writing schedule - Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings.

-check

-Submit either one story to at least three publications, or at least three stories to one publication each by the end of March.

-check

-Resume my weekly blog schedule.

-check

-But within the first couple weeks of the year, examine my current writing schedule and see if I want to move which day I do my blog. (I currently am "supposed" to be posting a blog every weekend, but that hasn't happened in a while.)

-check

-Resume my monthly project/status updates.

-check

-Finish rereading Bright Fire by the end of January.

-If I recall correctly, I did

-By the time I finish the above, decide what work I want to do next on The Wolf and the Sheath.

-I did work on W and S for a while, but I didn't make a lot of progress

Other things I did last year included:

-revamped my platform. This included updating my website's layout and imagery, and adding a Twitter account.

-made nine submissions (which admittedly isn't a lot, but it's something).

-made decent progress on setting relatable, achievable goals and meeting them. I figured out a formula of sorts of how much to increase followings on various platforms by and did pretty well with that.

So what are my goals for 2022? Honestly, I haven't given it a lot of thought. For the moment, I will continue my status quo:

-Continue my regular writing schedule (Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Thursday mornings and evenings, Sunday evenings, and alternating weekends (the last of which I have not been good about).

-Continue my social media posting schedule: Writerly quotes on Mondays, alternating Writing Prompt Wednesday and Throwback Thursday, and posting a new blog at least every-other weekend.

-Make three submissions by the end of January. Whether or not those publications/contests allow for simultaneous submissions will help determine what my next submission goal is.

-Continue to increase my following on various online platforms by approximately 10% each quarter.

-Update and/or swap out material on my website quarterly.

"But what about writing," you ask, "all these goals seem to be platform-oriented." You would be right. I haven't had my head in the writing end of the things the past couple months - even NaNoWriMo was tough for me this year. I haven't really given a lot of thought as to what writing goal to set or how to measure it. I've been working on Brinyor since November, and I'd like to continue that. I did a little bit of research for it, and a little map and costume sketching over the past week or two, so maybe that will give me some fresh inspiration.

In any case, I will definitely make an update post at the end of the month, so maybe I'll update my writing goals at that time.

Enjoyed this post? Want to see more content like this? Make sure to follow me on social media!

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for several small snippets each week.

Or, if you're looking for more professional content (less frequent, but more closely related to writing, publishing, or libraries), connect with me on LinkedIn. (I do ask that if you request a connection on LinkedIn that you mention this blog so that I know how you heard of me.)

Whataya Know, NaNo?

Wow, December already? November just flew by... which is odd, because SO much happened in November. It seemed like one of us was always sick - sinus infections and COVID boosters for the adults, colds and pinkeye for Elianna. Fun. Add Thanksgiving to that mix and... well, who decided November was a good month for NaNoWriMo, huh?

So, first I'll talk about what I did in November, and then I'll launch into my goals for December and January.

In an attempt to kick myself into gear a bit, I decided to do a modified National Novel Writing Month challenge in November. My goal was not to write a new novel, but rather to try and crank out new material I need to flesh out Brinyor, one of my current novels. My intent was to write every day and, even thought many days I only managed about 20-30 minutes after Elianna had gone to bed in the evening, the first 2.5-3 weeks of the month I did pretty well. But, the week of Thanksgiving, everything kind of fell apart at once. To twist a line from Ian Malcom, "life, uh, gets in the way."

I knew I would be unlikely to write on Thanksgiving itself... but I also wasn't expecting people to get sick, Elianna to take a big step back in night potty training and/or willingness to go to sleep (cold, pinkeye, picking up on our stress? possibly also teething - I mean, that'll do it). She's gotten very defiant about naps as well and, as we speak, is sleeping on the floor on the opposite side of the room from her bed because she likes her play blanket and giant stuffed corgi and, well, Jason and I are tired of fighting with her at 4 AM. Two-year-olds, man.

But, yes, less griping, more progress reports. I managed to write a little over 17,000 words for Brinyor in November, in addition to spending some time working on my platform (including my newly-added Twitter. I even submitted a story to a podcast.

So, on to my December goals, which are... really low-balling it. Honestly, between holiday prep and Elianna being out of school for two weeks, I'm going to cut myself a lot of slack. If I can keep my current writing and social media schedule,* reread what I wrote in November, and start inserting it into the main body of the novel, I'll be happy.

*-Writerly quote of the week, plus business - social media, platform work, submission research - on Monday

-Work on my monthly goal while Elianna is at school on Tuesday

--Writing prompt of the week (alternating weeks) on Wednesday

-Work on my monthly goal while Elianna is at school, and alternating Throwback Thursdays on Thursday.

-Blog each weekend (unless I've done it earlier in the week)

-Alternating weekends to really focus on writing.

In fact, I have so little faith in having time to write this month, that the above goal is actually going to be my January goal, too. More of a six-week goal (because I know I'll be pretty useless the latter half of December) than a monthly goal.

NaNo? Maybe So...

The night is dark... A restless spirit moves through the house... Something calls my name...

"Elizabeeeeeeeeeeth... you know you want to do NaNoWriMoooooooooooo..."

So it's the same debate every year - to NaNo or not to Nano? And I think I will this year. Not the normal National Novel Writing Month - because I need to finish one of the novels I've already got started - but a modified version. A few years ago, I took one of my works in progress and wrote a new scene for it every day for a month, rather than trying to meet a certain word count. That worked pretty well for me - it rejuvenated my interest in the story, and got some new material down. Of course, that was the November before Elianna was born, and the November before Baldur died, so suffice to say I've had a lot going on since then...

But, in any case, I'll be doing that again this year with Brinyor. Fittingly, I started Brinyor for 2011's NaNoWriMo, so it feels right to try and get some fleshing out done to it for its 10th anniversary. (Oh, god, y'all, I've now got three novels I've been working on for ten-plus years...)

However, despite this decision, I'm not going to press myself super hard. I've spent September and October dealing with colds, sinus infections, potty training, and another round of colds and sinus infections. I never did get around to decorating for Halloween, and Thanksgiving and Christmas loom. I'm going to try really hard not to beat myself up if I can't get a scene, snippet, etc. written every day. I mean, the point is to try, yes, but I need to walk the line between making time to try and dreading doing so because I have too many other obligations.

We'll see what happens and, as always, I will have an update for you at the end of the November.

High-Stakes Secrets

Psst... Can you keep a secret?

Recently I've been consuming media about secrets - what a character will do to keep a secret, what happens when a secret gets out...

Jason and I recently watched There's Someone Inside Your House. It's a horror movie about a killer making his way through high school students with secrets. At one point, one of the characters throws what he calls a "secret" party. The attendees are encouraged to share their secrets, the idea being that if your secret is out, the killer no longer has a hold over you. These being high schoolers, the secrets range from crushes to miscarriages. Though as you might expect, not everyone confesses the Real Secret, the Big Secret, the High-Stakes Secret, and people keep dying.

I also recently finished reading Speak, a book about a high schooler keeping a secret that takes such a toll on her that she pretty much stops speaking all-together. Read more about that here.

It made me start thinking about my stories. What secrets do my characters have? What secrets do they consider to be high-stakes? When I was in high school my Big Secret was who I had a crush on, which seems so stupid now. But it's a matter of perspective. Sometimes it's a matter of culture or your place in society, too. A secret that is a big deal for a character in one story, in one world, may be laughable to worry about in another story and world.

I have neglected my characters' secrets. I don't even know what secrets some of my characters have. I need to go through my stories (and especially Brinyor, now that I've decided to workshop it some) and figure out what people's secrets are.

Welcome to Banned Books Week!

“A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.” The American Library Association

 

It seems like every year when I post my Banned Books Week blogs or start talking to people about Banned Books Week, I find someone who responds with incredulity.

 

“Banning books?  They still do that?” a friend asked me last year.

 

This year, I was chatting with my husband’s brother-in-law.  He asked me what I was working on with my writing these days.  I told him about my annual Banned Books Week blogs.

 

“Banned books?” he asked.  “Who’s banning them?”

 

And the answer is… anyone.  Any time someone – anyone – tries to keep other people from reading a book, tries to prevent access to a book for whatever reason, that’s a challenge, an attempt to ban.  It could be a parent or a “concerned” citizen.  It could be a school board member or an elected official, a member of the clergy, or even (though less frequently) a teacher or librarian.  In fact, with the prevalence of customer reviews on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and even library websites, an attempt to ban may come from any random person.

Per the American Library Association, 45% of the challenges made to books in 2019 were initiated by library patrons, the largest single group that year.  (See more data and infographics here: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics )

Why are people trying to ban these books?  What books are being challenged this year? Strap on your I Read Banned Books pins and join me tomorrow as we start on an in-depth journey!

More information on Banned Books Week and frequently challenged books and authors is available through the American Library Association

So Much in September

August has gone by so quickly! And, as seems to always be the case, I have a lot on my plate for September.

Most months I have multiple things I focus on, if I'm not working on one of my novels. This month, even though I won't have a big writing project, I'm only going to focus on preparing for Banned Books Week (the last week of the month). I just have too much non-writing stuff going on - things that will eat into my writing time - to focus on a big project, too.

But, with that said, if you have ideas for themes or topics you like to see me discuss for Banned Books Week, let me know!

Arrgh-ust

I was so pleased with myself for getting my blog done early last week that I forgot about my monthly update.

Oddly enough, I've had a lot of people asking me recently, "how's the writing going?"

With Elianna out of school and out of camp, plus travel, holidays, and birthdays in July, my writing schedule has been... shall we say, less that ideal?

Yes, I do occasionally find time when Elianna's asleep, or when my mom comes over to play with her. But since my mom works at a school supply store and they are at their busiest time of year right now, her schedule has also been erratic.

A few weeks ago, someone asked me if I had a secret to finding the muse - finding the inspiration - or if I just sat down and forced myself to write whether I felt like it or not. And the answer is... a little of both.

The times I've been the most productive were when I did have set writing times (an hour before bed, for example) or set days (my days off when I used to work, Elianna's days at school, etc.). Early on in getting into the swing of a writing schedule, it is very much the "sit down and make yourself write" thing. But what I have also found when I have had a set schedule was that if you are consistent, the muse will find you. If you always sit down to write at X time on Y day, your brain will turn on and be ready for you.

I also find that if I go long enough without working on anything (at least creatively) that the stories find me anyway. A couple days ago at lunch I had a few lines just pop into my head and had to get them down before I lost the setting and emotion.

But enough about my schedule... what have I done? What am I doing?

In July I did actually get some submissions off - not a lot, but my first submissions since March or so. I've been slowly working on my platform; something I think I will to some extent always be doing, but you have probably noticed the upticks in my posting on my Facebook author's page. I plan to continue that, and also hope to add twitter this month or next.

I'm also already looking ahead to banned books week in September.

So that's what I'm up to - any creative news in your life?

July? You Lie...

What, July already? How?

So the last couple months I have been working on my platform and, as so often happens when I'm working on something aside from simply creating, it's taking longer than I thought it would. But I've gotten a lot done and I'm pleased with what all I've accomplished. I also realize that "working on my platform" is less something that will have an end point, and more something that will always, to some extent, be a work in progress.

But, to date, I have made an extensive list of goals, and have been working with a graphic designer on new imagery for my website and social media. I'm hoping to unveil that soon, but we're still working on some of it. I have also revamped my social media posting schedule (if you also follow me on Facebook, you will have seen that page being more active lately).

So with a good amount of my platform work either done or under way, I'm shifting gears slightly... or adding gears. I don't know much about gears - I don't write steampunk ; )

For July (and the next few months as well, probably) I'll be splitting time between the platform work and getting back into creative work. I'll re-examine what I'm working on in August or September - July is shaping up to be busy, and Elianna's preschool starts back up in mid-August. For now, I'm going to plan to spend part of my writing time each week working on either submitting (which is what I'm working on after I post this actually), getting my brain back into The Wolf and the Sheath, or creating new material.

So keep an eye out - hopefully I will continue filling your feed with fun and interesting stuff!

Feedback Needed!

Hi everyone!

As those of you who follow my personal Facebook page will know, I'm looking at revamping my social media presence as an author. As such, I'd like some feedback from you - yes, you, dear reader!

Some of you will read this blog on my personal Facebook, others on my author's Facebook page. Still others may read it directly from my website. I'd like to ask you take a couple extra minutes to read the below, and respond in the comments (on Facebook or Iveyink.com).

Please at a look at my website as a whole, but particularly focusing on visuals* and on the My Works page: https://www.iveyink.com/myworks (*The photo currently on the About Me page is a place holder and will be replaced sometime in the next couple months, but what colors I'm wearing will likely remain the same.)

1. What are your initial impressions?

2. Do you think the color scheme suits what you know of my personality?

3. Do you think the color scheme suits the stories on the My Works page?

4. Having read the stories, please suggest a couple adjectives or genres to describe my style.

5. Any other thoughts and feedback you'd like to offer!

Thanks, everyone! Hopefully this will provide some much-needed thought as I "tell the story of my story" online.

Changing Gears for April

Hello, readers - it's update time!

As of today, I met my goal of three submissions before the end of the month. Yay! I have actually already received one rejection (boo) - but it was a good rejection - one of those that invited me to submit more, in a non-cookie cutter feeling way.

I went to a virtual class last weekend on the importance of having an author's platform. While I (obviously) already have a website and Facebook page, I also discovered both that what I already have needs some work, and there are some other parts of my potential platform that need to be fleshed out. Since I still don't really have a good grasp on which large project I want to work on next, I have decided that I will change gears for April and work on my platform.

This actually works out because Elianna will be out of school for the next week and a half, and I'm experimenting with redoing my writing schedule now that she's out of physical therapy. Working on my platform isn't going to require the same kind of focus that a large scale writing or editing project would (not that it doesn't need focus, just not the same sort of long stretches of uninterrupted flow).

During this time, I also may be posting here or on social media with questions specifically regarding my platform (what do you think of this photo? this color scheme? etc.) so be on the lookout for opportunities for feedback!

January's Almost Over?

Hello, readers!

True to my goals that I posted on New Year's Eve [ https://www.iveyink.com/blog/2020/12/31/goals-for-2021 ], here's my first monthly project update for 2021. Since I had some setbacks and schedule changes, I don't have anything big to talk about and instead will simply go down my goal list and talk about my progress:

-Get back into my writing schedule - Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings. Starting this coming week (January 3).

As I said above, I had some issues to iron out with the schedule. I had chosen the times I did due to Elianna's schedule. She used to have physical therapy on Monday mornings, but we've since adjusted that to every-other Wednesday afternoon. That's fine for the Wednesdays that she does have her appointment - there's no difference between sitting in the car and writing on Monday morning and doing the same on Wednesday afternoon. But losing one day a week (which I shouldn't complain about, she's come a long way), I feel like I need to find another hour-ish slot during the week, and I haven't really sorted that out yet.

I also chose Tuesday and Thursday mornings because Elianna is in school those mornings. But, as I posted about here [ https://www.iveyink.com/blog/2021/1/12/confessions-judgement-and-accountability ], her school was closed for two weeks due to staffing shortages, so I missed out on some of that time. I was able to make up some of it - Jason was off on Martin Luther King Day, so I took some time that day while he watched Elianna, and there was at least one time I was able to get some things done while she was napping. (Unfortunately, she's never had a clockwork nap schedule. Some days - like school and PT days - she can USUALLY be relied on to take a long nap in the afternoon... but not always. Sometimes I just lose writing time and don't get a chance to make it up.)

-Submit either one story to at least three publications, or at least three stories to one publication each by the end of March.

Right now, I have two flash pieces I'm having a group of beta readers look at as I consider a contest for them. I'm also looking into other submission possibilities.

-Resume my weekly blog schedule.

-But within the first couple weeks of the year, examine my current writing schedule and see if I want to move which day I do my blog. (I currently am "supposed" to be posting a blog every weekend, but that hasn't happened in a while.)

Even with the scheduling setbacks above, I've been able to make a blog post every week since New Year's. While they are not precisely weekly (a post each weekend) like I used to do, I've found that typing a post when I have a topic in mind, rather than forcing inspiration on Sunday night seems to be working better for me.

-Resume my monthly project/status updates. Consider this the first. Check!

Woot, here it is!

-Finish rereading Bright Fire by the end of January.

Done!

-By the time I finish the above, decide what work I want to do next on The Wolf and the Sheath.

Today I was going to decide on either something to do with Wolf and Sheath or something to do with one of the two other novels... but between not sleeping well last night and a much needed phone call from a dear friend, I didn't work on writing today (except for finalizing this blog). But, thinking about it off and on yesterday and today, it also occurred to me that maybe for February I should focus on the submissions. This way, I can not spread myself too thin or take on too much while I'm still kind of trying to get back into the swing of my writing schedule.

So, all things considered, I'm doing really well with my goals so far. Sometime in February or March, as I tie up the February submissions and March goals, I'll take a look at how I'd doing and feeling and think about goals for the next few months after that.

Goals for 2021

So, first of all, I don't make resolutions anymore; I make goals.

People joke about how quickly they're going to stop trying for their resolutions. To call something a "resolution" is almost to expect it to fail. So I make goals. A term I've come across recently is "SMART" goals - specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.

What, specifically, is your goal? (The bridge guardian squawks, "WHAT...is your quest?") It doesn't have to be big, but it does have to be clear. "Be healthier." How? Eat less? Choose low fat foods? Exercise more? How do you specifically define success for this goal, this idea?

How do you measure it? X fewer calories per day? Y more minutes of exercise?

And, really, it has to be something you can do. "I'm going to go to the Olympics for sprinting!" Not achievable for most of us. Running a marathon is also probably not achievable for most of us, honestly. "Increase the amount of time I spend running by five minutes each day," or "run five miles a day by July" is a much better goal - by both measurability and achievability.

And that last line takes us to time-based (yes, skipping relevant for now). How long are you giving yourself to reach your goal? Rome wasn't built in a day. But neither did the builders of the Colosseum say, "eh, I'll get it done one of these days." You have to give yourself a timeline. Adjust it later if you need to. To use one of the above examples, I definitely couldn't run - or even walk - a marathon any time soon. But, I could probably work up to walking or running five miles a day if I gave myself a six or twelve month timeline.

And then there's relevance. You need to make sure your goals are relevant to you. Why are you doing this? "I want to be healthier 'cause my doctor says so," is not a good goal. "I want to lose 20 pounds so I will feel more confident," or "I want to be able to run a marathon because my friend Jim runs marathons and I think it would be fun to do that with him" are better. You're not going to work toward this goal if it doesn't resonate with you.

So what are my goals for this year? Not running, despite using that as an example ; )

I have a few goals I've been kicking around. I've honestly only been thinking about these very recently. I've been meaning to "get back into writing" for a while... but that's vague and not SMART. So here are the goals I've cobbled out as of today:

-Get back into my writing schedule - Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings. Starting this coming week (January 3).

-Submit either one story to at least three publications, or at least three stories to one publication each by the end of March. (See? Time-based.)

-Resume my weekly blog schedule.

-But within the first couple weeks of the year, examine my current writing schedule and see if I want to move which day I do my blog. (I currently am "supposed" to be posting a blog every weekend, but that hasn't happened in a while.)

-Resume my monthly project/status updates. Consider this the first. Check!

-Finish rereading Bright Fire by the end of January.

-By the time I finish the above, decide what work I want to do next on The Wolf and the Sheath.

What are your goals for 2021?

Na No No Go

Today's a big day - no, not just the day after Halloween (and don't you DARE start putting up that Christmas tree yet ; ) - today is the first day of NaNoWriMo*.

*If you're not familiar with the abbreviation, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel-Writing Month, which takes place annually in November. Writers challenge themselves to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. It's not as hard as it sounds - it breaks down to about 1700 words a day, which is just a couple pages. The hard part is not writing 50,000 words - the hard part is actually finishing the novel after November ends.

Those of you who have been following this blog for a while will hopefully forgive me as I give a little background on my NaNo history here:

-In 2009, I did NaNo for the first time, and succeeded in writing 50,000 words. This novel, which I've referred to often in this blog by its working title, The Wolf and the Sheath, still sits unfinished 11 years later.

-In 2010, I did NaNo again, leading to BrightFire... which is also unfinished.

-In 2011, because I was very busy, I gave myself the goal of 30,000 words instead, and ended up with the partial novel I'm currently calling Brinyor which is, you guessed it, still unfinished.

A few months ago, I had been hoping to be back into some semblance of a writing routine by now. I have been trying to sit down and work on writing stuff a couple mornings a week. There have been a few times recently that I've worked on something else like laundry or food prep during the time I should be writing. I really need to cut that out. I really need to start treating my writing time as non-negotiable.

So, I'm sure that you might have guessed from all of that that I will not be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I just have too much going on (which, yes, all of you with multiple children that get shuttled back and forth to various activities, just pat me on the head and call me a sweet summer child) .

We're heading into "the holidays" and I have crafts I want to put together. There are areas of the house that haven't been cleaned since before Elianna was born. And we're going to have to start taking her to physical therapy because she's behind on walking. In addition, I'm dealing with anxiety and insomnia (though, it is 2020 - who isn't?). I'm trying to be more active so I can kick my weight loss into gear... I hope it doesn't sound like I'm making excuses; this just isn't the time to be putting a major task on my plate.

But with all that said, I think that I am going to try and reread all three of my partial novels this month, as well as do some other creative things (art rather than writing, but I feel that any creative juices are going to get others flowing).

And those of you who are going to take up the challenge this year - go for it! Take those emotions, those anxieties, and pour them into your novel. Write about the dystopia you fear, or write about hope and recovery. Just write. And, hopefully, your novel will make more sense than this year has.

To those about to write, I salute you.

#NaNoWriMo2020