2022 - Broke The Cycle!

Did I accomplish everything I set out to do in 2022? No. But that's OK. I didn't have a crappy year, like so many other even numbered years. Hell, I actually wrote more days and wrote/revised more words than 2021. Woo hoo!

Of course, 2022 wasn't without struggles, including many other tasks devouring my attention (stupid, messy, house... which is messier than at the end of 2021, if that's at all possible - heh). Some months didn't include much writing progress. One of these days, I'll get the hang of writing more when the kids are home. Probably when they're ready to leave the house - lol.

But this post isn't about what I didn't get done. Nope. It's all about what I accomplished in 2022. So here's the rundown!

2022 Publications

❦ Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5)

❦ Do Not Go Gentle (Prequel to Dead As Dreams)

Only one of the two I planned on publishing, but at least I published two, even if one was originally unplanned.

2022 Progress

If you'd like to compare what I accomplished to what I had planned, take a peek at 2022 - Keep The Momentum Going. But if you're just curious about my final numbers, read on!

❦ Revised Nymphs Need Love Too.

❦ Revised 46,190 words of Dead As Dreams (not finished like I wanted, but a lot of progress).

❦ Drafted and revised Do Not Go Gentle.

❦ Added 8,979 words to Magic Morsel - 9 new episodes.

❦ Unfortunately, no words added to Gemini's Echo.

❦ Newsletters - all 5 sent out, as planned. Chains of Nect: Obsidian's Obsession is complete!

❦ Born to Write - Hey, look at that, I blogged once a month. Twice this month, even.

❦ Marketing - I purchased the Ads for Authors course. However, I've only had a chance to watch a sliver of the videos, so I haven't experimented with more ads yet, aside from trying my hand at a couple Facebook ones before I bought the course.

Now for my favorite thing. It's number crunching time! Let's see all my totals.

❦ I drafted a total of 15,225 words.

❦ I revised a total of 63,055 words.

❦ I edited a total of 49,422 words.

❦ 123.47 hours spent writing, revising, and editing.

❦ 17.83 hours creating cover art, formatting, and publishing.

❦ And finally, 189.83 total hours on writing and writing related tasks (up to the time of this post, excluding reading and Haunted Unicorn Publishing work). I actually find this number quite interesting. It's lower than 2021, even though I wrote more days and produced more words in 2022. It either means I'm producing faster, or I spent less time with other writing tasks outside of drafting, revising, and editing. I'm guessing it's a mix of both.

I'm damned proud of all I accomplished, even if I shifted focus (for good reason) with some projects. Here's hoping that I'll be able to tackle all of my goals in 2023. Of course, that's for my January post. I hope you all had a great 2022!

Writing Update - June 2022

Is it writing update time already? How are we almost halfway through the year? Wow, time certainly does fly. Especially as an adult. How I miss those long summers as a kid...

OK, I'm getting off track. Seems like the theme of the year for me. Lots of distractions abound. Mostly life-related ones. Still trying to even out things with my health (physical and mental) and Youngest's mental health. Plus my dad passed earlier this year.

Now summer is throwing me for a loop with the million kid-related events scheduled (I try to not over-schedule stuff - I've never been a do everything parent, but Eldest seems to think she should do everything - she needs better time management skills, but I'm so not the one who's capable of teaching them to her - sigh). Plus the house is in a state of disarray due to an attempt at organization (decreasing the DOOM boxes) and projects (that need the organization done before they can be completed).

Through all the life distractions, though, I've been able to at least get some writing done! I'm not exactly where I wanted to be for progress at this point in the year, but I'm not at a standstill. So, let's take a look at what I've accomplished so far, and what I plan to juggle and change for this year's goals. If you'd like to see the original 2022 writing goals, visit 2022 - Keep the Momentum Going.

2022 Publications

❦ Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5) - It lives! I published this back in April, so go snag a copy if you haven't yet.

❦ Dead As Dreams (novel) - Unfortunately, I have to delay the release of this until 2023. More details about it under 2022 Progress.

❦ Do Not Go Gentle (prequel short story to Dead As Dreams) - Yes, I've added this. Since I'm pushing off the novel, and I've had the idea for this short story for some time that's related to said novel, I'm hoping to publish this in Fall 2022.

2022 Writing Progress

❦ Revise, Edit, and Format Nymphs Need Love Too - DONE!

❦ Revise Dead As Dreams - Though I'm no longer publishing this in 2022, I'm still working on it. The revisions are just going slower than expected. I've clearly changed as a writer since I last touched this, and it needs more work than I thought! I've revised 32,406 words so far. About a third of the way through, and the back half needs a lot more work than the front half. This is still my main project. I will not put this novel off again!

❦ Draft, Revise, Edit, Format Do Not Go Gentle - This is the new story. And since it's related to Dead As Dreams, weaving this into my schedule at least keeps me anchored in the same world as the novel. I'm aiming for a minimum word count of 5,000, but not sure where it will land once done. I've drafted 520 words on it so far.

❦ Draft at least 8 Magic Morsel episodes - I actually drafted 10 episodes (8,979 words)! I'm up to 39 episodes of Magic Morsel published. I'd love to get back to this at some point this year, but it all depends on revision progress with Dead As Dreams.

❦ I've sent out 2 Newsletters already, and I'll be sending out 1 more this week (maybe even today). And I've stuck to 1 blog post per month here on Born to Write - maybe I'll increase these again one day, but right now... life.

Yes, progress. Some shifting around of goals, though. It's OK. As long as I'm still moving forward instead of treading water. We'll see where I'm at again come the end of 2022. Until then, happy reading, all!