May-cation

Hello, readers!

Remember back at the beginning of April when I said I was going to get my act together? Yeah... about that...

To make a long, whiney story short, I've had a lot of unexpected things going on the past few weeks and have finally gotten to the point where I'm stressing enough that I need a break. I'm not saying I won't be posting, writing, or submitting at all for the month of May... just that I'm not going to hold myself to my normal schedule. May was going to be a wierd month anyway, between family stuff coming up and Elianna being out of school for half the month before her little camp starts up in June.

In any case, I'm hoping and I can come back restored and refreshed in June.

But before I leave, I did want to drop some updates for you. My followings online have increased per below:

Facebook: stayed 101

LinkedIn: from 77 to 80

Twitter: from 43 to 58

Damn, Twitter! Keep on keepin' on : )

Peace out, y'all. See ya soon.

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.)

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.

Oh-well-tober

The downside to the timing of Banned Books Week is that since it's always the last week of September (and often a couple days into October), I don't have a good opportunity to post about my October plans and goals in the time frame I normally do. Oh, well.

I've been working on-again off again on updating my platform since March, yet, somehow, it feels like I haven't gotten much done on that. I have fantastic new pictures I need to switch out on all my sites - here, Facebook, and LinkedIn - and somehow have not gotten around to it. I've been dragging my feet on getting a Twitter account up and running.

Additionally, because I've been focusing on the above (have I, though?) I haven't been doing much writing. I have an idea for a cosmic horror short story that's been tickling the back of my brain for a month or two now. I have pieces that are done that I need to be submitting. And, of course there are those three unfinished novels always looking over my shoulder...

In fact, I think what I'd really like to do the next couple months is focus on one of those.

I've been working off and on (very off sometimes) on finishing The Wolf and the Sheath for the last couple years and... while I'm not saying I can't or don't want to work on that one, I also wonder if maybe working on a different one might give me a little freshness and inspiration.

I still don't know what I'm doing with BrightFire. It needs a massive rewrite.

But I do think that I will go back and reread Brinyor. Depending on how it sparks as I reread it, I might do what I did for W and S for NaNoWriMo a couple months ago - go through and make a list of what scenes and transitions I still need, and then spend time each day in November adding a little. No, most likely not the 50,000 words in 30 days/1,700-some-odd words per day - but something.

I'm not saying it will be easy, and it will be the first time trying something like this since Elianna was born. But she's very good at playing on her own, looking at books, even going potty on her own now. In fact, I've been strongly leaning toward converting the downstairs diaper changing station back into a desk. It's in the room that she mostly plays in, so it would be a good place for me to work while she plays, rather than coming up to my office (which is a MESS*) and either trying to keep her from messing with stuff, or keeping an ear out for her while she's across the hall in her room. (Though, honestly, we could probably try her hanging out in her room - she can keep herself occupied with books for quite a while, like someone else I know.)

*Yes, I could clean it. But right now my time limitations are "clean OR write" and I really need to get back to the latter.

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!

May Maintenance

Hello readers! Just a quick monthly update for you.

As you have probably seen from my past two posts, I'm spending some time working on my online presence, and will continue to do so for the month of May. During the month of April I've collecting some feedback*, working on planning and drafting, playing with some software to make visuals the same across all platforms (or potential platforms).

*And, hey, it's not too late if you want to participate! https://www.iveyink.com/blog/2021/4/17/feedback-needed

As usual, I struggle with finding the time. Most of what I do is done while Elianna is at preschool - which, once you take out transit to and from; and lunch prep, eating, and cleanup - is really only about an hour and half twice a week. That's a good amount of time each day to get stuff down if you really buckle down and focus (and if you know what you're doing, *cough* color customizing *cough*) - but three hours a week is not a lot of time to build/rebuild a-multi-platform online presence.

Granted, Jason and I are working on trying to find more time for me - time on weekends that he can watch Elianna, seeing how independently Elianna can play while I work, etc. But if you're wondering, "Hey, there are graphic designers that can do in a couple days what you're allowing two months for"... well, that's why.

And that doesn't mean that I'm not doing anything creative at all. I am always thinking about one of my projects. In fact, on Wednesday I was having a discussion with someone about The Wolf and the Sheath and what it's about. I'm hoping to be able to get back to focusing on the creative part of the craft this summer. But with Elianna's school almost out and scheduling shifting up, I'm not going to try to guess right now what my work time is going to be like then.

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!

Rest

Every Easter... or maybe it was Palm Sunday... anyway, one weekend near Easter/Passover every year, we always used to watch The Ten Commandments when it was broadcast on a major TV network (I mean, it doesn't get better than Charlton Heston and Yul Brenner snarking at each other).

There's a scene where Moses (Heston) takes mercy on a stone cutter who hit an overseer in order to save an old woman. Moses, being a Good Boss, has a discussion about what the Hebrew slaves need to work better, rather than just taking "Master Butcher" Vincent Price at his word that they are lazy and expendable. The stonecutter mentions extra food and a day of rest. "A day of rest!" echoes the crowd in awe, as though he just suggested they all be given their weight in gold. Moses grants them the food, and the day of rest, and the Egyptians harp on this for while.

This was unprecedented. If you were a worker, you worked. That's what you did. The idea of taking a day off for rest, for contemplation, that just wasn't done.

Not trying to get super religious here, but there is something to the "remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy" commandment. When was the last time you took a day off - really took a day off, where you did nothing, or only did things that relaxed or rejuvenated you?

I've recently been trying to be more aware of giving myself down time - time to relax, time to think, time to do nothing and just let my brain go. It's hard. I am the sort of person that I'm ALWAYS doing something. But I'm trying to take a few minutes in the evening to just sit quietly with my eyes closed. I made it three minutes last night! : D

We as a society need to be better about resting. We've gotten it into our heads that if you're doing nothing, if you're not being "productive," you're "lazy." But your body and your brain need time to rest, to relax, to do nothing.

I commit to doing nothing for at least four minutes today - who's with me?

The Shortest Month

February being the shortest month - and for a couple years in a row it was also the month we had doggy drama going on - I have historically not gotten much done in February. But not so this month! Yay!

First, to address my progress on goals:

-I've stuck well to my writing schedule, with the exception of the week that Elianna's school was out for mid-winter break. (Though that week we did have our physical therapy appointment, so that gave me a free chunk of time one afternoon, which I did make use of.)

-I have submitted two stories for publication, putting me 2/3 of the way to my goal of tree submissions by the end of March.

-This will be my third weekly blog post this month. I did miss a week, and another week I did what was mainly a rehash of an old post. So not stellar.

-While I have not put much thought into what long project to work on next, I did write a new short story this month.

Not part of my goals, but also progress worth noting - I'm starting to get my motivation back. I've been struggling with my motivation to write for probably two solid years now. Two years ago, we found out that Baldur had terminal cancer, so that, of course, killed my motivation to do anything but spend time with him. And of course having a newborn, and then post-partum depression is not conducive to getting things done. I'm also starting to notice that, while winter's lack of light didn't used to affect me, it seems to now. Don't know if this is an age thing, but I've felt very unmotivated this winter, even when Elianna's been in school and after the holiday rush was over. But now that the weather is improving, the days are getting longer... it seems like my motivation is ticking up, so that's good.

In addition to the afore-mentioned short story, I've been thinking about other pieces more, too. Just in the past two days I've gone into great detail with two friends about four stories I'm wanting to write (some longer than others). Just talking about it, getting their feelings and feedback has made me feel good, and made me want to do more. I'm also constantly jotting down notes for a fifth - new - story. (Technically it's not new - I took elements I liked from a problem story and combined them with a new idea that I didn't have a whole plot for, and now I think I have a good, solid plot with much better character dynamics.)

So, that's what I'm up to. What have you crammed into your shortest month?

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?

June is Bustin' Out Already

Well... Remember my plans for May? To get back into my routine and get my head back in the game? Yeah, not so much...

I did finish rereading the bulk of my Wolf and Sheath material - the main document and most of my snippets and tidbits that I haven't figured out where exactly they go in the main story yet. I think I still have about 10,000 words of new-ish material left to reread.

I also have been good about keeping to my social media schedule - writerly quotes on Mondays and and blog posts on the weekends.

But that's it - I haven't gotten any actual writing, editing, or submissions done this month.

And, granted, there are reasons for that. We've been making some pretty big preparations for our little girl, including having the carpet upstairs replaced today. I don't know if any of y'all have ever had the carpet replaced in a house you're currently living in. It's like moving - you have to get everything up off the floor and, even if the carpet people are going to be moving furniture, you have to get stuff off the furniture. That means knick-knacks off shelves and dressers, pens and papers off desks and - yes - books off bookshelves (and bedside tables and the floor).

As you might have guessed, as a writer, former library worker, and avid reader, I have a boatload of books. I wouldn't say I have enough books to sink the Titanic... but it might not be going too far out on a limb to say that I have enough books to plug the hole in the Titanic. And, as those of you who are also writers, librarians, or avid readers know from trying to move your own books, books add up quickly and are heavy in large quantities.

Even under normal circumstances, it would have taken us several days to pack and move everything we needed to to prepare for this. But in my third trimester, I'm not supposed to be lifting more than 20 pounds, and in the past week or so have gotten to where bending over, crouching, etc. is getting to be more difficult. Plus, going on almost a month now, I've been without A/C at work. So when I get home in the evenings, I'm hot, tired, cranky, and the last thing I want to do is spend all night cleaning and packing.

So Jason and I have been tackling this in small chunks, an hour or half hour at a time. And now we have to put it all back...

So June... We still have baby preparations - we have to get nursery furniture. We're meeting a doula tomorrow. My shower is in a couple weeks. And that's on top of plans to spend time with people before the baby comes...

So I'm not expecting June to be hugely productive. I'm not saying I won't continue trying to do what I set out to in May - just that I'm going to try not to give myself a hard time if I don't get a lot of writing done on top of all the other things that are pressing in on me.