Many thanks to Misha and Beth who keep this hop rocking! :)
My goals this year are a little "wide" in generality, with some specifics I'll give each month.
1. Write Strong
Champion's Destiny is out for kindle, smashwords, kobo, and nook. The paperback is still in progress.
A friend asked me to write a study guide for her high school class because they are reading Champion in the Darkness! (wow!) So, I wrote a 3,000 word study guide.
I wrote 21,000 words of "other" stuff (top secret for now).
I wrote a short story for a contest and sent it out, then belatedly discovered that Write 1 Sub 1 closed it's doors. I'm sad that has happened, but yet thankful that I was able to take part for a short time.
And, I'm excited for The Turning Points Anthology that's coming later this year!
2. Market with Strength (use what works for me)
I tried thunderclap. It went. I had one sale that day. It wasn't what I wanted from that.
I used buffer, twitter, and facebook groups.
Overall, I had more sales this month than last year in January.
3. Publish with Strength (use the method that works for the project)
I self(indie)-published Champion's Destiny.
4. Live Strong!
I've been keeping track of my goals and my "accomplishments." Accomplishments are anything that I get done in a day that I consider "good."
This month, I biked 31 miles, and walked 17 miles. Plus, I did some other random "good" things.
5. Worship with Strength.
Prayer life and Bible study are still having ups and downs - wow - over an hour of prayer and Bible study in one day, and then five minutes the next. I've been repeating that pattern throughout each week. Hmm.
6. Gratitude and Grace = Strength.
I'm working on this. I had a seriously bad attitude for a few days this month. I did some growling around the house when no one else was home, and had a few cranky prayers. I wondered if I could skip this attitude goal next month?
7. Rest, as needed
I did this. I actually did it. I took a much-needed nap one afternoon. My family and I had some"just us" moments, and we went to see Stomp, which was a huge treat for my oldest daughter's 17th birthday and for our whole family.
I also did a bit of reading - some of which poured over from Christmas break into the New Year. One of my favorites so far this year was: The Eighth Day by Diane K. Salerni. Fun, exciting, and action-packed fantasy!
Favorite movie of the month on DVD/Netflix was: The Martian. My whole family loved this one and my hubs and I appreciated how closely it stuck to the book, but we also liked the "added" bit at the end.
Current series my family is watching on netflix: Malcom in the Middle.
It's humor-filled, slightly off-kilter, and fast-paced.
We love it, and it's decidedly a bit different than what we were watching before that . . . Gotham, Blacklist, White Collar, and Once Upon a Time, although it does remind me a bit of Chuck and Psych.
We also enjoyed but didn't love the newest Sherlock Holmes "special" from BBC. (My kids are teens so we are into slightly older fare these days.)
Favorite movie of the month on DVD/Netflix was: The Martian. My whole family loved this one and my hubs and I appreciated how closely it stuck to the book, but we also liked the "added" bit at the end.
We love it, and it's decidedly a bit different than what we were watching before that . . . Gotham, Blacklist, White Collar, and Once Upon a Time, although it does remind me a bit of Chuck and Psych.
We also enjoyed but didn't love the newest Sherlock Holmes "special" from BBC. (My kids are teens so we are into slightly older fare these days.)
Story Submission Link:
Brilliant Flash Fiction has a contest going for prize money! The subject is "the future" and the judge is Opal Palmer Adisa. For more specific information, go here: Springtime Fiction Writing Contest.
What are your goals this year and are you keeping track of them daily or monthly?
33 comments:
Hi Tyrean. You sound like you've taken the year by the horns. I wish you well in reaching your goals.Family commitments have stymied my writing goals for the moment, but I'm managing to get a little done all the same.
I enjoyed The Martian as well, although I liked the book a little better. Malcolm in the Middle is a hoot! I'm almost positive it's written by the man who played Adam on the Little House TV series....
You are doing awesome with everything! Keep going! :)
Malcolm in the Middle has always been one of my favorite shows! Hope your family enjoys it!
That's very cool about your friend's class reading your book.
Good luck with all of your goals!
You have been very busy and I always love the 'secret' stuff!
So cool to have your book read in High School and a study guide too. I can't imagine that. Congratulations!
Keeping track of your personal goals as well is key to keeping them! Wonderful!
That's awesome they wanted a study guide.
No more Write1Sub1? Bummer.
I'm trying to take it by the horns -considering it was a bit like a raging bull at the start. It all sounds like so much more at the end of the month when I tally up my word counts, miles, and stuff. On an every day basis, it feels like I'm just putting one foot in front of the other.
Thanks, Madeline! I think the book of The Martian is a bit better, too, but I appreciated the movie version.
We are enjoying it so far. We laugh out loud through most of the show.
And, thanks!
Thanks!!!
It's a private high school with a class of 11 students, so it's a small group - but I'm still super excited. :)
And again, thanks! It's just one day at a time type stuff and it adds up at the end of the month.
Yeah. I had to scratch my head for a bit at first and then I jumped into stuff like I would teach someone else's book - theme, world-building, character development, Freytag's plot pyramid, and a bit about why the book was written. If/when I've taught with other writer's books, that's the kind of stuff I cover in some way or another, so I had to take a huge step back and write the study guide that way.
And yeah. No more Write1Sub1 is a bummer.
I think that you've made some wonderful progress this month. Looking forward to seeing what you'll achieve in February. :-)
Thanks, Misha! It actually surprised me when I went to tally up my word counts, my bike miles, and my walk miles. I didn't realize how much I had finished.
How awesome! You've had a fantastic month. :) I'm excited for The Turning Points anthology too. It's so much fun to be in an anthology with your writing friends. Have a great weekend!
I also enjoyed The Martian, and I'm glad to hear that you accomplished so much this month! Thanks for sharing the contest link. I may have to give it a try!
A high school class is reading your book? That is so awesome!
I haven't heard of Buffer. I'll have to look into that. Good luck with your goals!
A high school class is reading your book? That is so awesome!
I haven't heard of Buffer. I'll have to look into that. Good luck with your goals!
Thanks, Christine! It's been better than I expected, all things considered. :)
Thanks, L.G.! Yes, give it a go!
Yes, it's a small private school high school class, but it is pretty amazing. :)
And buffer is just a social media manager. I use it to manage my tweets some of the time.
Good for you for managing to progress with so many different goals. It's awesome that a high school class is reading your book! Sorry Thunderclap wasn't as good as you expected. Marketing and sales continue to be challenges for all of us. Have a lovely weekend! :)
Thanks for your encouragement, Lexa!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend, too!
I love that you included rest as one of your goals. That is so easy to forget when you want to stay focused on achieving things.
And how awesome that a whole class is reading your book! You get to get quoted and analyzed and help students learn!
You've been doing awesome with your goals! I'm surprised you even had a chance to rest some too. :)
It's been a bit hard to squeeze in, but I made myself put a few things down to rest.
It is easy to forget . . . which is why I had to include it.
You have a lot of things in progress so far! That's good. :) Good luck with everything you plan on accomplishing. I kind of laughed at the "top secret stuff" because I'm the same way at times when it comes to my novels, haha. Either way, like I said, good luck! :)
Congrats on doing so well on the goals. We're going to watch The Martian this week. I'm glad to hear it follows the book.
Blimey, you've got a lot done. You're putting the rest of us to shame!
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Hi Tyrean, well done on having a book chosen as a school study book! You have so many projects on the go, I feel exhausted just reading them :)
I definitely want to see The Martian. Love sci fi films.
Sounds like you are incredibly busy! I'm getting tired just reading the list of what you did!
And this is only the first of February! I can't imagine what you'll post by mid-year.
You have some good goals and it looks like you're plugging away at them.
Excellent post. That's cool about the study guide. Malcolm in the middle- that show cracks me up.
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