Sometimes I’m really bad at using the time I’ve been given to write. Yesterday was one of those days. Being the first of the year, I’ve got all sorts of plans, actually too many, and squeezing them in is next to impossible.

And then I have days like today where I won’t have hardly any time to write.

Anyway, we’re talking about yesterday.

I split my writing between two projects – one is a paranormal thriller and the other a short story. Neither was finished, obviously, and both are brand new projects that started on the first.

I’m also doing some editing on the Hungry Gods series. I’m reading back through the old stuff to make sure the upcoming book 3 is consistent.

I spent a lot of the day researching markets and studying some different genres. The rest of the time went to work around the house.

I still haven’t talked about goals, and I’m not necessarily ready to, but one of them is going after the one million word count again. I’m off to a good start, and I’m going to try and keep the moment all year long.

• Jan 1 Word Count: 3,189
• Ytd: 3,189
• Paranormal Thriller Novel: 1,884/50,000
• Short Story (Pen Name): 1,305/10,000
• Editing Hungry Gods Series: 9,971/162,408
• Editing Novel (Pen Name): 11,090/77,310

Welcome to 2018.

Who are you?

Is it just me, or do we let our lives define us? Our beliefs, our faith, the definition of who we are as human beings, are all tightly controlled by our society and others.

Get a job. You are a (insert career you may or may not be happy with). This is what you believe. This is how you should vote. This is how you will treat others. Way to go! One of us!

So… who are you? Are you one of… them?

So… yeah. Whatever. Sometimes it’s too easy to be distracted by life, paying the bills, did I mention life?

But if you take a moment to stop and observe yourself, are you really doing what makes you happy? Do you ever wonder what’s killing you? or giving you that random eye twitch?

There’s nothing special about 2018. No year is special. But the start of a new year is a good place to reboot. It feels fresh. It’ll feel less fresh tomorrow, and the day after that it’s gonna smell a little closer to as rotten as the previous years. That’s why today is the best day to reboot.

Find a way. Who are you? Will you blend in with your surroundings? Will you continue to fit in with the mold, or will you allow yourself to choose the definition of who you are, what you believe, and what you will be?

So this was going to be a post about my goals, but I know what they are. It can be another post later, maybe tomorrow. I’ll be posting my daily updates again, starting tomorrow, after I’ve made sure I’ve done my due diligence today. I’m gonna work on some art now.

SEPTEMBER’S RESULTS

September is over!  What happened? Let’s take a look!

September started strong as I attempted to write a novel in a week. After getting a little over 20k into it, I didn’t like where it was going, so I set it aside. The rest of the month went to editing Died for You, which pretty much took all month.

September also saw the end of my first writing streak as I took a two-day vacation. When I came back, I missed a few more days.

September was my third best month for writing, behind April and August.

I did, however, just finish editing Died for You. I’m just getting my notes back from my editing/proofreading team, which brings me to October.

PLANS FOR OCTOBER

• Died for You will release this week digitally, and a week later in paperback.
• Indie Author Day is October 14th. I’ll be at the Buhl Public Library selling books, and hopefully, Died for You.
• I’m setting a goal to write three shorter works in the first three weeks of October.
• I will write a full-length novel in a month.
• I will edit Hungry Gods 3. Because I should stop ignoring it.

With all of that said, I have no idea what I’m going to commit to writing in October. I guess it should be horror.

I started a short story yesterday, which I’ll try to finish this week, but it’s a side project. I just needed something to work on yesterday. It’s also under a pen name, so nothing fancy.

SOMETHING IN A WEEK

So today I need to decide what I’m going to write. I’ll go through my list of ideas and figure out for sure what to start. I only have Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday available for a decent word count.

I need to commit to a short book for the week, and a novel for the month. I’ll let you know tomorrow.

• Days 55 Word Count: 1,157
• Day 55 Editing: 0
• Current Works in Progress Word Count: Short Story (Pen Name): 1,157 (target: 5,000)

ACCUMULATED STATS –

• Writing Streak Average Word Count per Day: 716
• Current Writing Streak: 10 (Best Writing Streak: 38 days)
• Writing Streak Word Count: 7,164 (Best writing Streak Word Count: 66,279)
• September: 33,094
• September Ave. Word Count: 1,103
• YTD: 207,793
• Ave. Word Count YTD: 746

It is finished!

Yesterday I delivered Died for You to my editing/proofreading team. It depends on how much they get into the book on how soon it will be released.

You’ll be seeing more about Died for You in the days to come, so for now? A COVER REVEAL!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

Died for You –

An unconventional romance with blood, brains, and a whole lot of bite!!!

I have no idea what I’m going to work on today… maybe a short story.

• Days 54 Word Count: 736
• Day 54 Editing: 8,987
• Current Works in Progress Word Count: Died for You: 74,478 (DONE!!! With Editors/Proofreaders)

ACCUMULATED STATS –

• Writing Streak Average Word Count per Day: 667
• Current Writing Streak: 9 (Best Writing Streak: 38 days)
• Writing Streak Word Count: 6,007 (Best writing Streak Word Count: 66,279)
• September: 31,937
• September Ave. Word Count: 1,065
• YTD: 206,636
• Ave. Word Count YTD: 744

I made more progress last night, though I had been unsure I would. Today I have 9k words to make it through, so I’m not going to spend much time on the blog.

Watch for announcements after this weekend.

On Sunday, I’ll be starting my next attempt at a book a week. I’m going to think of it like Grindhouse Pulp Fiction, maybe with Grindhouse-type covers. We’ll see.

• Days 53 Word Count: 362
• Day 53 Editing: 2,123
• Current Works in Progress Word Count: Died for You: 74,475 (editing completed through 65,491)

ACCUMULATED STATS –

• Writing Streak Average Word Count per Day: 659
• Current Writing Streak: 8 (Best Writing Streak: 38 days)
• Writing Streak Word Count: 5,271 (Best writing Streak Word Count: 66,279)
• September: 31,201
• September Ave. Word Count: 1,040
• YTD: 205,900
• Ave. Word Count YTD: 745

Wednesday has me at 85% completion of completion for Died for You. And yet I’m dragging. Granted, the week hasn’t been completely cooperative, but neither have I been that short on time.

Today, for example, I was called in to the Post Office, but I also had to deal with some yard work I’ve been neglecting.

So I have tonight. I’ll make at the very least a small dent in editing. But tomorrow!? It’s on. 11k words left to revise/edit.

It will happen.

By the way… here’s a good (older) article I discovered through Twitter on Why your protagonist needs a dialogue buddy. It’s your treasure for the day.

• Days 52 Word Count: 603
• Day 52 Editing: 1,702
• Current Works in Progress Word Count: Died for You: 74,579 (editing completed through 63,338)

ACCUMULATED STATS –

• Writing Streak Average Word Count per Day: 701
• Current Writing Streak: 7 (Best Writing Streak: 38 days)
• Writing Streak Word Count: 4,909 (Best writing Streak Word Count: 66,279)
• September: 30,839
• September Ave. Word Count: 1,028
• YTD: 205,538
• Ave. Word Count YTD: 746

Well, I made it through two tough days, and have a day to make some serious progress on wrapping up Died for You. I do anticipate this taking two full days of editing, despite, only having about 20k words left.

SO! I’ve got some ideas brewing for October!

• Edit Hungry Gods 3. This will be my full-length novel for October, and maybe I’ll have it completed by the end of the month. If I remember correctly, it’s 60-ish chapters, so I’ll try to edit two or three chapters a day (as a goal).
• Write three shorter books, one a week (with the exception of the last week). I know that I can hit 20k in a week, at my current level of focus. So nothing longer than 20k. I mean it this time. Then, maybe in November, I’ll see if I can bump my writing up a bit. I’ll announce my projects at the end of this month.

Okay, so that’s all I got at the moment, a two-bullet point list.

In other news, check out the newest 5-star review I just received for Soul Sister. Short and sweet.

• Days 50-51 Word Count: 222
• Day 50-51 Editing: 348
• Current Works in Progress Word Count: Died for You: 74,335 (editing completed through 61,666)

ACCUMULATED STATS –

• Writing Streak Average Word Count per Day: 718
• Current Writing Streak: 6 (Best Writing Streak: 38 days)
• Writing Streak Word Count: 4,306 (Best writing Streak Word Count: 66,279)
• September: 30,236
• September Ave. Word Count: 1,008
• YTD: 204,935
• Ave. Word Count YTD: 746

I’m not going to throw out any numbers for yesterday because I was operating in a state of exhaustion. I did some editing for about half an hour and added something like 31 words.

Tonight’s much the same, though I think I’ll try to make it through a long chapter.

Okay… part of a chapter.

I think I’ve mentioned that I have a part-time job as a postal carrier. I usually avoid talking about it, because this is a blog about writing. But sometimes, often really, we put in a lot of hours. And sometimes when there’s a lot of mail, you’re carrying who knows how many pounds for 6-10 miles, walking, for 8 to 9 hours (sometimes more sometimes less). And sometimes, I’m actually tired afterward. Like right now.

As of right now, I’m not scheduled for the next three days. If my schedule stays that way, I’ll have Died for You wrapped up and sent to my editing/proofreading team for the weekend, and I’ll start the paperback layout immediately. And I’m cheating… I took a vacation day on Friday. So at least that one day is a guarantee.

Not going to write much on the blog today, but yesterday got me through another 6500 words. That means I need too more full days of editing… which will be hopefully Wednesday and Thursday, but definitely Friday!

So thanks for stopping by. I’m sending you away disappointed. But!! I’ve got to get to writing… sooooooo… yeah. Feel free to stare at my numbers below. 😛

• Days 49 Word Count: 1,736
• Day 49 Editing: 6,565
• Current Works in Progress Word Count: Died for You: 74,395 (editing completed through 61,318)

ACCUMULATED STATS –

• Writing Streak Average Word Count per Day: 1,021
• Current Writing Streak: 4 (Best Writing Streak: 38 days)
• Writing Streak Word Count: 4,084 (Best writing Streak Word Count: 66,279)
• September: 30,014
• September Ave. Word Count: 1,251
• YTD: 204,713
• Ave. Word Count YTD: 751