“Mist blankets the morning garden and the empty fields; a last rose blooms slowly over the arbor by the backyard gate. Paintbox leaves fall to the ground under galoshes and the wheels of slicker-yellow school buses. Sweaters come out of cedar chests, soup pots simmer, and wild geese make their mercurial journey southward across the pale autumn sky.”
:: Michelle Morgan ::
Autumn arrived. Frost on the car, cloudless skies, green leaves beginning to fade… September brought that back-to-school-feeling, and the recognition I am not as fit as I wish I were.
Reflections on the Journey
i. Read 12 books: 10 / 9 – I didn’t complete any books this month, but I’m still on track for now.
ii. Edit novel draft ready for submission: 1/1 submission – I submitted Darkening Skies to four agents. I’m working on a short story and editing TFG ready for the next phase.
iii. Track my wordcount and aim for 100,000 words: 22,171/75,000 words – I began working on a short story this month, but I’ve returned to edits which haven’t required major re-writes at this stage.
iv. Re-create a wellness routine: Progress is still being made. My new work role will require some changes, but small steps are the most likely to last.
I’ve got a fairly solid workout schedule in place, and we’ve tried a new recipe and a new food item a month. This month I made turkey spinach lasagna roll ups, and we bought a Mooli (radish).
Experience Collected
- 200/200XP
- 350/350XP
- 150/300XP
- 400/400XP
Total XP for September: 1,100/1,250
Total XP towards Level Up: 1,325/7,500
Jumping the Wall…
- I returned to University.
- I have a new job role, new supervisor and new team. I even moved office floors.
- We re-seeded the garden. By the end of the month some shoots were 4-5 inches tall.
- My laptop arrived home from repair. It doesn’t seem as sensitive to my keyboard presses as before, but it works.
- The cats turned two yesterday, so we got them a replacement for the flying frenzy and bought them some fancier food.
The Path Ahead…
- I’m beginning to think about NaNoWriMo and how University studies + dayjob will impact my ability to write a novel this year.
- I’m hoping to get through this round of edits by the end of October, but I’ll be balancing Uni/work so I’m not setting up too many expectations.
- I’m hoping to walk on University days, unless it’s too cold.