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Posts tagged ‘Goals’

Sep 2

Building My Garden – Beginning of September 2024

Happy Fall!

I spent the summer doing all things writing. I finally uploaded two stories that had been published years ago and one story I uploaded in my chapbook in 2015. I thought about it a long time and decided to unpublish the collection. I will be uploading most of these stories later on this year. I think it is better to offer each on its own and let the reader decide whether or not they want to read them. Each short story will be $3.49. In January, I’ll evaluate if I should change anything or continue.

I also was able to finish another new story that leans a little long. I’m warming up for the new novel and I wanted to finish this story I started last year. I knew it was going to be long beacause usually my short stories are about 1500 – 3000 words. I think this story is double (?) the words. We’ll see…

So, three stories self-published, one completed short story, and plans for at least one more self-pubbed story and one traditional story to come out this year. For the rest of the year, I’m going to push for a finished first draft of the novel.

This month marks the ten-year anniversary of my first fiction story being published. I remember being so proud of myself for finally getting something out into the world and feeling like I was a real writer. Cut to ten years later, I have published five stories traditionally and (now) three stories self-pubbed. It is not a huge amount of work, but it’s not nothing. In some ways, I’m a bit disappointed I haven’t done more. Comparison is the thief of joy and seeing other writers rack up the publication credits is tough to see. Of course I am happy for them, but seeing the slow progress of myself is, at times, depressing.

However, I have found a new mantra to help motivate me and bring me out of depression.

A few weeks ago, I was watching one of those on-line guru videos on YouTube and I read a comment that stuck with me. It read, “If you want a butterfly, don’t chase butterflies. Build a beautiful garden.” I decided that this would be my plan going forward. I wasn’t going to worry about individual publications, or what anyone else was doing in their writing. Instead, I was going to build a metaphorical garden for my writing career. Story after story. One story was not going to get me what I wanted, but a collection of stories would. I will build my garden flower by flower, plant by plant. In the end, I I hope to have a beautiful garden filled with stories that I love.

Going forward, I’m just going to link my Amazon Author page in the Published Works section of this site. Any traditionally published stories will still be listed too.

Happy writing! (And gardening!)

Jun 2

3 Strategies I Use to Keep Writing with a Day Job

So here are three strategies, I use to get my writing done while holding down a day job.

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Apr 28

Take Some Risk – End of April 2024

On the night of February 15, 2024, I had one of the most memorable dreams I have ever had.

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Sep 5

Labor Day 2021

It’s the end of the summer. I don’t know about you, but I’m wishing for another month. While fall is a beautiful time of year with all of it’s exciting moments, I’m still wishing for a few more days of warm weather and long days. This year, things seemed to move too fast.

I did get to spend more time with my family this year and even had a couple of nice day trips out and about in the area. I’m not ready to get on a plane just yet. Things are still not back to normal. But in July, I went out to dinner, in a real restaurant, with no mask. That’s a win. Also, so far everyone I know is safe and healthy. Another win.

As for my writing, I wish could say I finished tons of projects, but the truth is that I am still working hard on my novel. Officially, I have been working on this thing off and on since March 2019 ( unofficially longer). Not too long ago, I got totally sick of it and considered abandoning the project, but after a few months, I have reconsidered. I read a few books, that were in my “to be read” pile, and started thinking of this novel in a new way. What story was I really trying to tell? Was this the best way to tell it? Maybe I was having so many problems, because I was on the wrong path?

So I started writing new scenes and so far, I’m liking the results. Being flexible with my work has been one of the best things I’ve learned over the years. You can’t be scared to try new things and change. Maybe these scenes will help the book, or maybe not, but I’m happy I’m still able to write more into this story. The worst feeling is to write and then hit a creative brick wall.

LOL. Oneday I’m gonna finish! There must be other slower writers out there. I can’t be the only one.

One nice thing is that I’m still working from home, so no commute for me. Those extra 2 hours a day have added to the writing time.

I still plan on self-publishing some of my short stories, so look out for those soon. I hope to get them done by the end of the year.

Lots of work left to do, but the year is not over yet!

Jan 18

January 2021 – New Year, New Writing Goals

Happy New Year!

It’s 2021 and I know we are all happy to see this new year begin. A lot is going on in the world right now, but I want to concentrate on what my new writing goals are for 2021.

Last year, it was all about my novel. I spent the majority of my time at home writing this book, and I’m still not done. I hope to be done by the end of this month. I can feel the ending coming close. Of course, the work won’t be done after I finish. The real work begins when I step back, look at all these words, and see if I have something worth sculpting into a novel that should see the light of day. For me, the hardest thing about writing this book is the belief that the story is worth spending my time on. It’s been well over a decade since I finished anything longer than 5k. Taking the time to write this book was a bit of a gamble, but I felt like it was time to dig in and write something that would have a chance at a larger audience. Short stories are great, but most people read novels.

So my #1 goal for this year is to finish a polished draft of my book, find an agent, and get a book contract.

Goal #2? Write at least one new blog post a month. I have neglected this blog in the past year and I need to do better.

Goal #3 is to continue to submit my short stories. I want to get at least one new submission per month. I did submit a few places last year with a stories I’m still trying to place. I got some great feedback and strong encouragement to submit again. This makes me want to keep submitting to find homes for a all my works.

Finally Goal #4 is a long neglected one. Five years ago, I self-published a small book of my stories. Since then, I’ve sold at least one copy per year. Although, I wasn’t getting rich, those sales meant so much to me. I’ve read that most people who self-publish don’t even sell one copy, so for me to have a handful of sales with barely any platform is heartwarming. (If you are one of those people — THANK YOU!) I remember two years ago coming home from the hospital and seeing a massive stack of emails. There were a few rejection notes, but also there was a letter from Kindle saying I had a royalty payment. It was a nice bit of news during a difficult time.

So the goal is to self-publish more work. Some of my short-stories as single buys and another chapbook. I also want to make my work available on other platforms ( other than Kindle) and maybe a print copy available too. That’s a lot to do, but I feel like this is something that should have been done years ago. I’ve been caught up in other things (health problems, job loss, other writing, etc.). I’ll always have something else going on, but I’ve got to make time for this.

Those are my goals for 2021. Sound good? I think so. I hope all of my readers are staying safe and I wish you all a wonderful new year! See you in February!

Aug 9

Mid Summer Update 2020 – I’m Okay and I Hope You are Too

It has been a while since I posted here. To be honest, I did feel like posting much. This year has been tough for so many and the last thing I felt like doing was adding to the noise. I felt like being quiet, still, and reflective. I live alone, which is great for the most part in a non-pandemic, but it can be problematic. By living alone, I am the one be to seek out human interaction. I make the effort to call, drive, fly, or any other kind of interaction with the world outside. The pandemic has severely curbed that. Six months ago, I saw my co-workers, family, and friends on a regular basis. Now, mostly Zoom, or email has been the norm. I have gone to see my parents and a few other family members. I am sure to mask up and stay a safe distance away. (Side note: My mom had a tested negative a few weeks ago. She had no symptoms, but needed to get one before she could go to the doctor. So, it seems following the rules of masks in public and social distancing have kept her and by default, my dad, safe. Yay!) But it’s not the same.

Back in March, I couldn’t write. Fiction was a luxury. I recorded no fiction writing that month. The guilt for wanting to do something so frivolous made me freeze in my tracks. Everything kind of stood still. I was aware the seasons were changing. I stopped wearing my winter coat and broke out my spring one. The cherry blossoms appeared. The days got longer.

It wasn’t until April 4th, the day before my birthday, that I really woke up. It was Saturday and I had plans to dash out to the grocery store early. I reached for a tea cup and my back seized up on me. I was bent over in agony, my back spasming several times, trying to reach for the pain killers. A few hours later, after the drugs had kicked in and had a ice pack on my back, I vowed to myself that I needed to take better care of myself.

First better physical care. I never really healed all the way from my surgery in 2019. I dropped a lot of weight, but it came back due to stress, new medication, and a job where I sit all day long. I may not have been able to get to a gym, but I certainly had more time (no two hour commutes anymore) to do something at home. Also, no more stress eating. I tried to clean up my diet, drink more water, and figure out how many calories I should be eating. Things are not perfect (when is it ever), but I’ve lost weight, sleep better, and no back pain.

Second better mental health. I realized that my feelings toward fiction writing were my ego talking. Not writing depressed me. I beat myself up for not writing. Then I asked myself, what good does that do? How does my guilt make anything better. So I started to write again… and I haven’t stopped. Lately it has been everyday, but I started with just a few times a week. At least this way I feel productive, hopeful about the future. I believe my better attitude helps others. Now when people ask how I am, I can say I’m pretty good. And by me talking about how I stay sane and strong, other people start to think about what they can do. My mom has taken up weaving. My brother is going back to school (on-line). Maybe folks are realizing that life is short. Time to start exploring interests and aiming for life goals.

I also started to mediate daily. A few minutes a day to remind myself what/who I am grateful for has done wonders. Like most people, I had been focusing on what I don’t have in life. Now l still have goals, but I also take a time out to remind myself, that I do have a lot that some people don’t have. I still have a regular paycheck, a place to live, people that care about me, my health, and a thousand other things that I take for granted. That daily reminder keeps my ego in check. No guilt anymore.

The novel progresses. I’m deep into it now. Dare I say more than half-way? It feels like a real story now, with multiple characters, setting, dialogue, etc. Moments that were only in my head are now on paper. I hoped to be done by the end of the summer and that is possible. For reference, I haven’t written anything over five thousand words in over a decade. This is the biggest project I have worked on since GW Bush was in office! Yep, it’s been a while. I didn’t even know if I had another novel in me, but here it comes. Flowing out everyday like a steady stream.

I’m doing my best, and I hope you are too. I hope you are taking care of yourself in every way. Even after this pandemic ends, I hope you continue to live your best life. Times are hard right now for many and there is a lot of fear. I don’t have the answers, but I do know, for me, that making my little corner of the world the best it can be makes all the difference.

I’ll write another post sooner than 6 months — I promise.

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