2019 - Determination

Happy, 2019! Yes, I'm saying happy. This year, I'm not going to let life roll me over and flatten me out. I will plow through the obstacles! Is that determination enough to go along with the post title? I hope so. Not sure how much more I have in me right now. My tea is the only thing keeping me awake right now (I really need to stop staying up so late).

Anyway, my goals for this year look oddly familiar. Hm... yup, almost exactly like last year's! Hahahahaha. Yes, I'm laughing about it. I have to, to hold onto any shred of sanity I have left.

First, my mantras. I narrowed these down and only have three this year. Wait, you only see two listed below? That's because I'm keeping one to myself. It's a bit of a harsh one, and I don't want to offend anyone. My mind works in mysterious ways, and although I know what the mantra means for me, people could easily take it another way.

2019 Mantras

❦ Just Write.

❦ Passion, Determination, Focus.

There's that word determination again! Super stubborn Leo here, and I'm not going to let life stop me from reaching my writing goals. With that said, I still have kids and other responsibilities, so my goals aren't too insane this year. Keep going, just need to keep going, and have fewer days where I'm not doing any writing tasks.

2019 Goals

❦ Follow the writing schedule I've planned. The basic focus of this is to write (or do writing related tasks) for 1.5-2 hours per day, every weekday (weekends off!), through August. Come September, I hope to up this to 3-3.5 hours per day, since my youngest will be in school full time. I've also given myself 50 off days (I know this sounds like a lot, but kids... especially in summer) -- this includes holidays, vacation, and sick time. Time Spent > Words Produced. Especially since the more time I spend consistently writing, the quicker I write.

❦ Revise, edit, send to copy editor, edit again, format, and release Thorns Entwine the Blade (Trinity Torn, 2). Finally. I hope. I better.

❦ Draft, revise, edit, format, and release Well of Shades (Fortunes of Fate, 7). I'm still not sold on Shades. Since I have so many S alternatives for that last word in the title, maybe I should just call it Well of S? Heh.

❦ Write introduction and format Untitled Fortunes of Fate Collection (Fortunes of Fate, 1-6).

❦ Finish draft of Obsidian's Obsession (Chains of Nect, 1). I'm going to need more chapters for my newsletter subscribers! If you'd like to see the chapters earlier, please sign up for the newsletter (link on the left side), but I'll also post them to my blog (and Wattpad) one month after each chapter is sent via the newsletter.

❦ Blog posts -- I'm still aiming for one post every other week. However, I'm considering trying to up it to one post per week again. Though this would include several shorter, commentary type posts. I'm still tumbling things around in my head on how exactly I want to approach the shorter posts. Maybe some with just pics? Some with a link or two I found useful? Any thoughts are welcome!

❦ One newsletter per month still. And a chapter of Obsidian's Obsession available to download in .MOBI and .EPUB format in each, too!

❦ Back to doing one Critter critique each week as well.

❦ Limit social media. Focus on writing. Makes sense, right? I am trying a new thing, though. One picture (minimum) per day on Instagram. It's the one social media platform I don't side eye on a regular basis, so I figured, why not. So, if you want to see a daily pic from me, follow me on Instagram!

As usual, those are my main goals. I have a whole slew of side goals if I happen to make awesome progress on the things above.

I'm not going to list the planned publications. You can see from my goals that I'm hoping to release three different titles, but I don't want to make any firm dates yet. Yes, I may be determined to take this year by storm, however I know how big problems can flatten that in seconds. I'm knocking on wood (well plywood - lol) a hell of a lot at my desk to keep away the big, bad stuff.

Oh, and the 5-Year Plan is on ice. It needs an overhaul, but I don't want to waste the time doing it right now when things are still a bit in flux. Maybe if life seems to even out nicely once both kids are in school full-time.

I'll leave everyone with a picture of my Writing Bullet Journal. Ready to kick off 2019! I still love bullet journaling -- so relaxing.

And feel free to share any of your goals for the year below. May we all vanquish our goals with ease!