Hello on this first February Friday!
The first month of the year is officially behind us. I hope you all are knocking away at your goals and that this year has been treating you well. January was a very good month for me and I’m hoping to keep the good vibes going during February.
As protocol dictates we must first cover last moths goals before we can move forward into February. So without further ado, I give you my doings of January.
Edit chapters 1-7 of Reaper 💚
I am thrilled to say that this goal went swimmingly. When the month started I was aiming to have all edits done by the end of January. Unfortunately this was putting a lot of unnecessary pressure on me so I decided to stick to my original plan of editing seven chapters a month until the end of March. It’s nice to have a project be completely on schedule. I’m also pleased to announced that I have scheduled to have Reaper sent off to an editor in July! The only hiccup in my plan is that the more I edit the more I feel as though I need to shift POVs from third to first. The overall plan is to move forward with edits as planned then in April work on a first person re-write of the first few chapters to see which way feels better to me. Fun stuff.
Finish The Queen’s Guard ♥️
I regret to inform you all that this goal failed. Everything was going according to plan until I started working through Jessica Brody’s writing mastery class. I found that there were some structuring issues with the story so instead of having to go back and fix everything I stopped ahead of time. Restructuring will happen in February so the new plan is to have The Queen’s Guard finished by the end of March.
Read two books 💚
Another goal that was eagerly completed. I thoroughly enjoyed Death’s Awakening by Sarra Cannon and the entire The Lost Witch series, which is the first season in a mass series by Chandelle LaVaun. Since I had already read nine books I decided I wanted to make it an even ten so I also dove into The Faerie Girl and Other Tales by Anthea Sharp which I automatically knew I was going to love.
Lastly, I even managed to create my TBR for 2021!
Exercise 3 times a week ♥️
Unfortunately January is just one of those months where it’s horrible to try and stick to a diet. I already have an exercise and diet plan worked out for February so hopefully I’ll be able to get back on track!
Add 2 new recipes to my cookbook 💚
I am happy to say that this goal is back up and going. I even managed to get my husband to try some new foods and that’s a win above all others. I’m really looking forward to adding new dishes to my cookbook especially now that I have my cast iron good and seasoned.
Prep fics 💚
I finished up two chapters of one story and made the outline sparkle (this story is going to be WAY longer than I expected) then I outlined three other stories. I’m still working on getting some single fics saved up to start posting but all and all I’m feeling good about it all. Needless to say, I enjoy keeping busy.
Start Secret Goal ♥️
It’s not much of a surprise that this goal didn’t set off into motion. A lot of things throughout the month popped up and ultimately I had to choose to put this goal on the back burner for a little while. I’m hoping to pick this back up later in the year.
January gave me really high hopes for this year and though I’m not naive enough to believe the year will come without its struggles, I’m still feeling really good about 2021 and I fully plan on holding onto this feeling for as long as I can.
With last month’s goals out of the way it’s time to go over everything I hope to accomplish this month!
Winter Quarter (December - February)
February Goals
Edit chapters 8-14 of Reaper
I’m excited for the chapters I’ll be tackling this month. They might not pack the action that the rest of the story does but this chunk helps to build my MC up in a way that’s instrumental to her character. I can’t wait to fine tune it all!
Restructure The Queen’s Guard
Not really where I was hoping to be with this story right now but that’s alright. I’ve moved some things around to it still fits into this year’s goals without anything being thrown off. It’s an unfortunate situation but the story will be better for it.
Outline Lullaby
That’s right folks! With Reaper working its way through editing, it is officially time to begin outlines for its sequel. I’ve been anticipating this book from the very beginning, mostly because Reaper and Lullaby used to be one book, and I can’t believe I’m finally at a point where I get to start laying the foundation for it. Drafting on this book won’t officially begin until April but outlining is just as fun for me.
Outline The King’s Court
This is the wonderful sequel to The Queen’s Guard. A story I wasn’t expecting, but a story that demanded attention all the same. I know the grander scheme of this story but none of the finer details so I’m really looking forward to jumping into this. Much like with Lullaby, drafting for this story won’t begin until April. Both projects make up a part of my Camp NaNoWriMo (both April and July) goal this year.
Start drafting Written In The Stars
This story sort of hit me like a freight train with an idea so powerful it demanded immediate attention. It wasn’t on my original 2021 plan but it works out since I was thinking of preparing a new story during February anyways. This story will be a nice break from my other works as it’s YA and more urban-fantasy.
Read two books
Up to bat this month are The Library by Casey White and Silk & Steel by Ariana Nash. I’m REALLY looking forward to reading both of these books. Oh and something I forgot to mention before, the majority of my 2021 TBR is made up of indie books.
Prep fics
February is the month where I actually start writing those stories I outlined last month! Almost every one of them turned out way longer than I had intended and I might also outline one more story this month. Either way I’m pumped for everything I’ve got going on.
Exercise 3 times a week
Month one didn’t go as planned but I’m holding onto a bit of optimism that my new plan will work. I have high hopes for this!
Add 2 new recipes to my cookbook
This month I want to aim for adding cast iron recipes to my cookbook for the sole purpose that I need to start building up my cast iron recipes.
Participate in Furious Fiction
This was another exciting new venture I dabbled in during January. A gentleman in the writing group I’m in told us about this monthly writing contest and I decided to give it a try. I was absolutely terrified yet also alive with excitement. I had finally reached a point where I felt comfortable sharing my work in such a way and I wasn’t even entering with winning in mind, I was more keen on what feedback I would receive. I did win this go round or even make the short or long lists but that’s alright, I absolutely loved what I entered regardless of where it placed. I’m going to try and keep at this each month and if you’re interested I’ll leave a link below for you to give it a look.
It’s hard to believe that this is the last month of this quarter. I have thought of switching over to a different quarter system but I rather enjoy going by the seasons. We’ve hit the ground running in January now it’s time to keep the momentum going. Don’t give up on your goals, even if you’re behind or have had to rework your goals that’s fine. You. Can. Do. This!
Until next week!
✿ Happy reading and writing to all and to all a good day ✿
https://www.writerscentre.com.au/furious-fiction/
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