Category: Personal

July & August Bi-Monthly Goals 

In early July, I detailed how I came across an idea of Bi-Monthly Goal Setting by YouTube blogger, Kristen Martin. 

Overall, my goals were ambitious and probably a bit unrealistic.  However, I did accomplish the biggest goals in my opinion and I am very proud of that.  I will be a bit more strategic with the new goals and I want to have more balanced goals for the next two months.  When you work a full-time day job and have limited time and energy at night, you have to decide on priorities.  Technically, I was not successful in meeting 80% with getting only 7 of the 15 goals, but that is okay as it teaches me even more about myself and lessons on better goal-making.

RECAP: 

1. Finalize my Chapter Outlines for The Bleeding Crown
2. Complete the First Rough Draft of Bleeding Crown
3. Complete 52,000 words written (52 days * 1000 words)

So the good news is that I did finalize my outline and I was able to finish the first draft of Bleeding Crown on August 26^th.  I started it back on March 26th which means it only took me five months which is a huge step forward compared to previous efforts.  

The bad news is that the draft monopolized all of my writing time.   It was a lot harder than I thought it would be getting through the end of the book.  Pretty much all else had to be set aside while I tried to finish.  

What happened was that I had some big, lofty ideas for my characters and I was not sure how to get them to that point.  My original outline had been completed with too many broad strokes and I had to really take a lot of time to work up my plans for the events.  Even once the plan has been determined, writing the scene was not always as cut and dry either.  Anyway, I ended up with over 43,000 words for the two months (which is over 80% of my goal of 52,000).

4. Outline first two books of Elude Series
5. Write out three more Elude Sections

As stated above, almost everything had to be pushed onto the back burner in order to get The Bleeding Crown rough draft completed.  I did get two sections of Elude posted to the website (total of 4).  I will be “progressing” the goal of working up Elude’s outlines onto my agenda for the next two months.  I am excited by the potential of this book series and will be working up the backstories and characters so that I can use this series for the NaNoWriMo Challenge. 

For those who are not aware of the Challenge, it is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November.  Writers all over the country and around the globe take the entire month of November to write up a story of novel-length size (50,000 words).  I have never done this before, but have wanted to try it in years past.  This year I WILL TAKE THE CHALLENGE!

 

6. Compile and create an Ebook on the Writing Craft from my past blogs:

I did put this together and even got an exclusive offer by a new editing company.  They will work on the manuscript for free and give me their recommendations.  I wanted to see what they can do.  The Ebook is only 11,000+ words, yet I feel it will be a fun and worthwhile read.  I hope to have it out on Amazon and Kindle by the end of the year.  Current working title is Rookie:  Pitfalls of Year One.  It is a guide on self-publishing and writing craft techniques.

 

7. Design bookmarks for my books

I failed to even attempt this as I had limited time to get through a hefty writing goal. 

 

8. Get the character portraits from artist by August and start getting Poker Card and Calendars made

This did not pan out as well as my artist had too many other obligations at this time.  It is something I still plan on doing, but I will have to research and find alternatives. 

 

9. Complete two Giveaways (one on Kindle Review and my own Indie Book Giveaway):

The giveaways were successful and very rewarding (I received an email from the grand winner of the Giveaway I had created.  She had been restricted to bed by serious health conditions and this was great timing for her to get all the books).  They also helped with my email list and brought traffic to my author website.  I plan on participating or sponsoring future giveaways, so keep an eye out for news!

 

10. Complete one Newsletter a month:

Both newsletters were sent out without issues. 

 

11. Read one writing craft book a month:

Fail!  Ugh.  No time to read.  I did listen to books with Audible, but these were strictly as entertainment.   

 

12. Prepare for book convention in Tucson:
13. Get booth banners:

While I would like to attend, finances right now will not allow for comic-con participation.   I am thinking that with the possible sales from the non-fic book and/or Audible version of Consequences Within Chaos, I will have a bit more opportunity to do the conventions and book festivals next year.

14. Strive to walk 3 miles a night, workout set at least once a day:

I fell off the diet wagon these last few weeks.  So, I cannot give myself a pass on this goal, but now that the rough draft is not so pressing, I hope to re-establish my routine and even add weight lifting into the regimen.

15. Create a book trailer video:

This was postponed.  I am not sure that I am going to do one, so, for now, this will be taken off the goal list altogether.  Making and compiling a video would take away a lot of my writing time.

 

September & October Bi-Monthly Goals

1. Outline first two books of Elude Series.
2. Develop the list of Elude characters and develop their background.
3. Create a NaNoWriMo Prep Folder in Scrivener and complete the list of development items.
4. Write 1,000 words per day – blogging, outlining, writing (61,000k).
5. On October 1^st, start editing phase for The Bleeding Crown.
6. Design book cover for Rookie: Pitfalls of Year One.
7. Write new book blurbs for all my works and revamp all of the Amazon ads.
8. Complete a newsletter for each month.
9. Find a part-time post or two – extra income to help with new bills and investment in writing projects/marketing.
10. Lose at least 15 pounds in the next two months through refined calorie counting/nightly walking/weight lifting.
11. Read a writers craft book, listen to podcasts and youtube blogs weekly on marketing/writing.
12. Start a new series of blog posts.
13. Research and find alternative artists for projects (i.e. poker cards portraits, calendar and bio cards).

This goal set seems a little more in line with what I have time to do and will not spread me out on too many other projects at once.  I guess time will tell!