Photo by Matt Duncan on Unsplash
Hello Family, Friends, and Fans!
I have a lot going on in my writing journey, as well as in my personal life. But there’s one thing I am very proud of: I hit the first milestone of the year. I completed and published blog posts on the 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st of January 2023!
Now, I just have to keep this momentum going, and I am armed with a plan to do so, as well as keep up with my writing projects and personal life goals.
Writing Journey
In January, I only missed three days of writing. It didn’t matter what I wrote, but I kept track of my word counts in different areas of my life:
- Writing fiction, outlines, blurbs, marketing materials, and blog posts.
- Schoolwork.
- Miscellaneous, including journalling, editing (not as a word count, but just a record of days I edited), etc.
The three days I missed writing were when I was traveling for the day or had plans with friends, along with one “burnout” day where I didn’t write a word.
The burnout day happened when I felt out of spoons (as a measurement of energy), so I took the day off. When I did the math to see why I felt burned out, I realized that I had written over four thousand words in three days and had a traveling day in the middle, as well as the first draft of a six-page school paper due.
So I took a deep breath and made a plan to slow down so I could work my way back up to writing one thousand words of fiction a day without burnout.
I bargained with myself to help myself get started with the daunting task of writing my dragon project because I am at that halfway point where the project has lost its luster, and I want to move on to something else. I told myself that if I write two or more pages of my dragon project, then I can use the rest of my writing time to work on whatever strikes my fancy, whether that’s a blog post, editing the novel I plan on publishing this year, outlining the second book in the Poseidon’s Object series, or doing schoolwork.
Just like the photo I chose above, the writing journey is full of hills and valleys. I’m learning to take things as they come and adjust my goals and plans to align them with who I want to be and aim for the success that I define for myself.
Writing Goals:
- Write two pages or more per day on my dragon project.
- Keep up with schoolwork, including reading ahead and keeping up with the assignments, so I don’t procrastinate until the last minute.
- Write a blog post every week on the 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th of February 2023.
- Make a story bible for the Poseidon’s Object series by reading through the first book and compiling quotes and information directly from the text.
- Write and edit these blog posts on the day before I send them out. There’s no need to schedule them, but save them as a draft and then post them the day they are due, at my convenience.
Thank you for your continued support, family, friends, and fans. You keep me going.
Fiction Author Hayley Green 