November slunk in with frost-bitten feet and a cold shoulder as it settled down by the fire. I resisted NaNoWriMo, yet tried to connect with people taking part. Moving in September has essentially left me isolated, and this month that really came to light. I also had a few health-things to sort out this month, causing greater stress than I first realised.
Still – December’s rolling in, and I’ve found my feet.
Reflections on the Journey
Goals:
At the beginning of the year I set myself four goals: track my daily wordcount, write a minimum of once a week, “sort out” Resilience, and submit my manuscript to someone by July 1st.
So, how far did I travel this month?
i. The Daily Word Count
I hadn’t realised just how much trying to write daily had impacted on my stories and my opinion of writing until I stopped. I’ve continued to measure my wordcount output, as per this goal, and refocused my aim of writing 12,500 a month. As of today, I only need to write 6,033 words to reach my annual goal of 150k, but I’m wondering how manageable it would be to increase that goal next year. Especially in light of the last two weeks (I’ve barely written anything), I wonder if, without a daily or weekly goal, I wouldn’t even reach 10,000 words.
This month I wrote 11,002 words:
The Felled Gods: From 21,653 To 31,171
ii. Write Once a Week
Check! I only took 6-days-in-a-row off from writing, thus can check this off.
Also, on the days I didn’t write, I’ve been plotting out Act II of TFG, pretending I’ve changed the first 5 chapters to fit the model I’m now following, and working out where that would put me, so I can continue the thread as if it were edited.
iii. Work on Resilience
I did not work on Resilience this year. However, I started 2 new novels and finished one of them, and added more to a third. Thus, I feel I’ve fulfilled the main aim which was to “branch out” and not just spend all year on one project.
iv. Work Towards Submission by July October May2015
To update you on Sekrit Project I from September, my re-telling of a Welsh myth will be included in the Anthology “Twice Upon A Time.”
v. Read 24 Books
I aimed to read two books a month, I finished four (Originally this said three because I forgot I’d read a cute little book about two dinosaurs). Two left to complete the challenge!
This Month’s Score: 4/2
This Year’s Score: 22/24
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Closing the Gate…
This Month:
* I went home for an evening to attend my mum’s choir concert and see a family friend. She baked us cake, which I brought home to O.H.
* I decided to cut posts down to one a week (with any extra being an extra), since I’m only posting at that rate anyway. There are a few possible changes being tested out for next year.
* My new laptop arrived. This is awesome, however, it has led to complications. Blue Screen of Death is always frustrating, but in a week-old laptop, it’s a tad confusing too.
* O.H.s parents visited, and I didn’t come last in Scrabble.
* We bought some old games in charity shops: Mastermind, Trivia Pursuit and Monopoly. We also picked up the complete works of Oscar Wilde in a charity shop, and I grabbed book 4 of the Stonewylde series.
* O.H. and I began going for walks. This may have led to us getting lost and traipsing through farming fields and me slipping over into deep soggy mud.
* O.H. had some time off, which meant we got to watch some Anime series (an almost entirely new genre to me).
* We finally registered with a local doctor.
* I began playing Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna), a game/experience following a little girl, artic fox and spirits through the snowy lands of her home.
* O.H.s best friends came down to visit. Although I met them seven years ago, I barely know them. It was nice to connect a little with them.
* We’ve continued our tradition of pancakes on a weekend morning if O.H. isn’t working. It feels good to create routines which settle us (settle being my ‘word of the year’ for 2014).
* We did Yuletide shopping together, which brought all kinds of warm fuzzies because we’ve never been together at this time of year to share it. This is the first year we’ll be sending and receiving joint presents all round, and it feels very family-esque.
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The Opening Door…
Next Month:
* December marks Yuletide, and thus seeing family, gifting and receiving, and our annual Yule buffet with O.H.s family and mine.
* I’m aiming to write at least 6,033 words, to reach my writing goal, and read 3 books, to pass my reading challenge.