Tag Archives: goals

September!

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We’re in September now…and I have no idea what to do with myself.

I got so wrapped up in going to Camp that yesterday, I felt the need to add onto my story, which I didn’t.  Because I wasn’t sure what else to add, and I didn’t really feel like adding onto it.  So I wanted to write, I just didn’t feel like it.

November is two months away!  Goodness, is it really that time of year again?  I don’t know where the time has gone!  I suppose I should get reading, I still haven’t decided how much time I’m going to spend reading in November, or if I should read as much as I can this month and next month.  I’d like to not have to worry about reading 9 books during November, so if I add on a few extra books in the next couple months, I should be good.

Speaking of doing things during November, I still haven’t decided how much I’ll be cooking.  I will be making a couple things, but I’m debating whether I should make a bunch of stuff during October and freeze it, just in case.  I think this will be the year when I actually have a stockpile of snacks and stuff.  The key words, of course, are “I think.”  Because I tell myself I’m going to have snacks and that I’m going to cook in advance every single year, and I never do it.  If I were going to do it, this year will probably be it, and hopefully it’ll work out.

Actually, wasn’t the whole point of me cooking new things every month to find out what I should make during November?  I think it was, but I actually can’t remember!  Oh well, I have of things to make, and I think I’m going to work on a November one.  I’m set for September, and maybe October, but I definitely want some stuff that I can freeze well, so I can just stick in the freezer, and then take it out, and thaw it out and stuff.  That’s the plan anyway, hopefully it’ll work out.

That’s about it for today, I think, so have a great day!

What Have I Been Up To?

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I’ve been reading a lot, as evidenced by all the book reviews I’ve been posting, and I’m fairly certain there will be one or two next week. 

I’ve been baking, and I have to say that I really like the Dorie Greenspan cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours.  I wish I had time to make everything I have bookmarked but I don’t think that’ll happen in the next couple weeks. 

And of course, I’ve been doing Camp NaNo, which is going okay.  We’re definitely in week 2, and I’ve been playing catch up.  I’m almost completely caught up now, with a total wordcount of 19,974.  I’ve also been working on my other projects, which are going okay.  I think I’m going to hold off on any planning until next month, when I’m not writing 6 million different things, but if I end up doing some planning, that’s okay too. 

I’m still waiting for that Pottermore welcome email…but I did get a congratulations email, which told me to wait for my welcome email.  I can’t wait to get it, because the few pictures I’ve seen are amazing!

Halfway There!

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I’ve reached the halfway mark!  At least in terms of wordcount.  It was very exciting, and I definitely need to start wrapping things up.  I have a definite idea in mind now for it.  It’s strange how everything becomes more clear after the halfway point.  Currently, I’m at 25,069, so while I’m not caught up, I will be soon! 

As for my other writing, I did work on a couple characters, as well as doing my other projects for the week.  I definitely like splitting them up over 2 or 3 days, as opposed to one each day.  Once I start writing, I want to keep going with something, so that’s what I’m going to stick with.  It is working, and since I’m all about doing what works these days, I should definitely do that.  I’m definitely hoping to have a rough draft finished for Turning Point, the Giant Prehistoric Chicken, and my NCIS fanfic by November  Maybe even one or two of my HP fanfics, depending on how much I write for them.  It’s weird, but exciting at the same time.

That’s about it, so have a great day!

Not Much Was Done Yesterday

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Yesterday turned out to be…not very productive.  I did get some writing in, but not a lot.  It’s okay, though, because this is fun, and there are going to be ups and downs.

Still, I am having fun with it, and things are starting to fall into place.  I’m not as stressed out about it as I was last week, but that was a fun kind of stress, the kind that goes along with starting something new, and if it’ll work out okay. 

My current wordcount is 19,185 words, which means I just need to write 819 today.  Who knows, maybe I’ll get on a roll, and write a lot more than I need to?  I definitely try to write as much as I can, but at the same time, sometimes I just need to stop at an earlier point.  I’ve been reassessing at different points- once at 667, then at 834, and again at 1000.  If I decide to keep writing, good, but if I don’t, then at least I wrote something. 

For me, it’s not just about reaching a number: it’s about the actual writing, and telling the stories that I have in my head.  There are so many stories to be told, not just by me, but by others as well.  And if I can get that idea onto paper, then I accomplished what I set out to do.

I’m Staying On Track!

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Before I get into my update on Camp, I hope everyone enjoyed the 2 posts yesterday!  I wasn’t expecting to do it, but I figured why not?

So onto Camp.  I’m still ahead of schedule, which is good, because I definitely want to have some extra words stashed away, just in case.  I really like how everything is relaxed this month, and I’m not stressing myself out. 

I’m definitely trying to stay ahead of schedule, because I’d like to be able to take a day off and not have to worry about catching up.  Plus, if there comes a day where I don’t want to write (or can’t), then I can take some time off.  Or if I’m stuck, or any number of scenarios…I usually don’t have any problem catching up, so if I do get behind, it’s not that big of a deal, but if I can not write one day and not have to worry about catching up, then I’ll totally take that opportunity. 

I think trying to stay ahead is something I want to do during November.  Whether I actually do so remains to be seen, but I will keep it as one of my top options.

I think that’s it for now, so have a great day!

Word Can Be Very Evil!

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Microsoft Word is evil!  Evil, I tell you!  Yesterday morning, I managed to write 800 words so, saved it on my flash drive, and when I went back to work on it later…the document was corrupted!  It was really frustrating, but thankfully I backed up my novel to dropbox after I finished writing yesterday, so I only lost 800 words.  I think I managed to cover most of what I wrote in the morning, and I’m pretty sure I forgot to throw in a few things.   Besides, I got the important stuff back in there, so I think I’m good to go! 

Let this be a lesson: always back up your work, because you never know when you might need that back-up copy.  I’m definitely going to keep a text file saved, just in case.  I’m pretty good about backing up my work, because if I ever lost any copies of my novels, I’d be so sad!  And honestly, it worked out a lot better, because I got to expand on a couple of pretty important things.  The re-write pretty much doubled what had I written in the morning, so that was awesome!  Plus, I liked this version a lot better than the one I previously wrote.

I was on such a roll that I’m almost completely caught up!  I’m glad because I can worry a little about getting to where I need to be.  It is weird writing one novel, because it’s been a while since I’ve worked on one novel.  It is a lot more relaxing, but at the same time, I really like having more than one thing to work on, which I do…it’s definitely interesting though.

So, my word count is 6412, which means that I just need to write an extra 256 words.  So I should be able to catch up today, which makes me happy.

Camp Is Fun!

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Camp NaNo is going well…kind of. I still have no idea on theories, so I definitely need to do that. I have some general notes, on spoilers I found, so that’ll help.  I’m pretty sure that I can reason my way through who the mole might be.  It’ not hard…I just don’t want to do it.  Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow.  It’s not likely, but I’ll try!

I’m definitely going to get back on track for camp nano, since I only wrote 456.  Gtting the fanfiction written was pretty easy, but I didn’t really want to work on my original stuff. I managed to, and once I got going, I was fine. It just took a while for me to actually sit down and write, so hopefully camp nano will help out with that, since I’ll be writing everyday.  It’s just taking me a while to get settled in.  I did some reading- and I finally decided to start re-reading Harry Potter.  Not sure if I’ll get through the whole series in the next couple weeks, but I should get through the 1st three, and I’ll probably read Deathly Hallows while watching the movies in preparation.

My excuse for not going to the gym last week was the fact that it was really hot outside, and working out was the last thing I wanted to do.  Yet I somehow managed to lose almost 2 pounds.  I swear I’m going to start up my food journal, and do some kind of exercise, whether it be at home or at the gym.

I think that’s about it for today, so have a great day!

Today Is Going To Be A Cooking Day

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Yesterday, I decided that I needed to cook today.  I know I’m making brownies, and I have a few things I’m thinking about making.  Hopefully, they’ll turn out well.  The baking I did turned out really well, but as for the actual food…not so much.  I’ve been watching the food network over the last couple days, and it’s making me hungry!

I decided to check out a couple cookbooks from the library, which is something I thought I would never do.  Mainly because I don’t want to get anything on them…but at the same time, it’ll be a good way to test out cookbooks before I actually buy them.  And checking them out works just fine because I’m already starting to get bored with the cookbooks I already have.  Someday, I like to have a decent collection of cookbooks, and I’d like a few of them to focus on baking!  I definitely want the Bread Baker’s Apprentice and Baking: From My Home To Yours, and I definitely want to see what else is out there…and maybe I’ll find a few people that I love as much as I love Rachael Ray!

I think that’s it for now, so I’m off to bed!  I’ll share what happens with the whole cooking day sometime this week!

I Was More Productive Than I Thought I Would Be

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I got a bunch of writing done-  not a big surprise, but I am managing to write in months that aren’t November, which is a big achievement.  Plus, I’m very slowly working on projects in months that are not October, which is also an achievement, because it gives me time to think, and plan (at least a little).  I never considered myself much of a planner when it comes to NaNo, but the one project that I had the least trouble with last year is the one I had the most notes on…which is especially strange, since I went into November with some vague ideas.  Notes are good, at least in a very limited experience.  I don’t know if I’ll outline or not, but at the very least, a list of potential conflicts is necessary.  And right now, I’m all about trying new things, so maybe I’ll eventually work my way up to a very vague outline.  Anyhoo, I wrote just under 2000 words last week!

I only worked on one character from my funeral plot bunny, which is okay.  I used a different worksheet for Hannah, which I like as much as the last one.  There are some similarities, but some differences too.  Maybe I’ll combine questions from both for future plot bunnies.  I definitely want to have some kind of profile/biography for most of the family members, even if it’s only one page.  It’ll be a lot to work on, but I figure if I do 2-3 week, I should be able to get through most of them by November.

I worked a little on my pact plot bunny- I have a bunch of different ideas and thoughts and possibilities, so there’s a lot to think about!  I have a few lists to make, and I’ll work on those this week.  I just need to pick something, but I have no clue what I want to go with right now.  Lists might help with that.

There’s not much to report on the weight-loss front- I stayed the same, which is okay.  At least I didn’t gain anymore weight.  But honestly, I’m not exactly trying either.  I don’t want to go to the gym, because I’m lazy.  And not even my biggest loser workouts are appealing right now.  I’ve been eating okay, but not as good as I could.  I did make a bunch of food this month, but unfortunately, I didn’t like any of the food I made.  The desserts were fine…unfortunately, I can’t live off dessert.  And I don’t have a big sweet tooth anyway.  It is part of my food experiment though- I will come across things I don’t like, but I’ve also made things I love, so it all balances out.  And how will I know if I like or dislike something if I don’t make it?

Speaking of things I like, I went to the library a couple times last week, and I was super productive!  I got reading done, and most of my writing too.  I might not be able to eat in the library, but I sure am productive!

In This Week’s News

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Writing wise, I had a great week, some of which I already shared.  I wrote around 1850 during the week.  It felt really good to be writing a lot, and it didn’t feel forced.  In weeks past, I really had to force myself to meet the word goal for the week (for some projects) but since I started doing the average, I haven’t felt that at all!  Sometimes it is a struggle to keep writing something, even when I don’t feel like it, but struggling is part of the process.  I’m not always going to want to write but I always feel better after I do. 

I kind of started working on one of my characters from my funeral plot bunny, but it didn’t really get very far.  Thankfully, the tree is done, and everyone has a name (except for a few very small children that aren’t too important).  I decided to redo the structure of it, so I’m currently on a second draft of the family tree.  I’m definitely going to put it onto a posterboard (or a very large piece of paper) because I had to write some of the names really small to make it fit. 

I do have an idea of who’s going to be dead, and the order in which they die, but not when they die, so that’s something I’ll try to work on this week.  Plus, working on some of the details of the different perspectives.  I have so many characters that I’ll never be able to focus on all of them…especially in one month.  And with so many characters, it’ll be a good idea to focus on a few anyway. 

Let’s see…weight loss update!  I gained a pound, which isn’t a surprise.  I only went to the gym once, and it’s doubtful I’ll manage to get to the gym this week.  I might, though, but I’m having so much trouble getting myself in the mindset of going.  I’ll definitely do some sort of exercise (I hope) whether it be a workout video or going to the gym.  And while I am eating better, it’s still not as good as I could be eating, so I’ll definitely be doing some cooking this week. 

As for my reading challenge, I’m feeling slightly burnt out for a few reasons.  One, I read 13 books last month, and I’m a little tired of reading.  I could probably get away with reading a few less books this month, but at the same time, I want to hit the halfway point this month.  I definitely need to read a few short books (preferably fiction) to give myself a little break from all the long non-fiction books I’m reading.  And two, I’ve been reading a lot (45 books so far) and sometimes I feel like all I’m doing is reading.  I’m definitely enjoying the books I’m reading, don’t get me wrong, but at the same time, reading 100 in a year is a lofty goal.  I’m sure I can accomplish it, but I can slow down the pace a little- and reading multiple books at a time would definitely help since I can switch back and forth between different things. 

I think that’s it for now.  Here’s a preview of a few posts I have planned for the week: at least one book review, a character spotlight, and some pictures!