Tag: January 2023

Posted in newsletter, Resources, Updates

Accountability and Productivity Proclivity: January 2023

Posted on by Hayley Green

Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

Hello Family, Friends, and Fans!

As promised, I will discuss my goals and the methods I use to finish and meet those milestones this week.

To be clear, I am not getting paid or compensated in any way for the promotion of the products and books. I am suggesting them simply because they have helped me, and I want to share resources that might help you!

Goals

My goals are as follows:

  • Write 2 chapters of my current work in progress
  • Write a blog post weekly on the 3rd; 10th; 17th; 24th; and, if applicable, the 31st of each month
  • Do all of my homework assignments for the week
  • Read ahead in the school textbooks
  • Keep track of my word counts every day
  • Do at least one Spanish lesson every day
  • Read for fun and to learn every day
  • Hang out with friends at least once per month

Productivity Tools:

The first tool is a book. I read The 12-Week Year for Writers by Trevor Thrall et al. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited, and I found it immensely useful.

The basic premise is setting deadlines in shorter lengths of time throughout the year, which will help motivate the writer and help with procrastination. It offered a 12-Week deadline, 4 times per year, with a break week to evaluate and plan the next deadline sessions.

While this structure is beneficial for me, I had to tweak it. 12 weeks was too far away for me to really fathom how close I was to my goals, and I am on 8-week terms for school. So I decided to make my deadlines every 8 weeks and have six of these in an annual year with four weeks of rest.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be more productive. There’s a best-selling version that is geared toward the general public if writing isn’t your cup of tea. But the basic premise is the same.

It even suggests a way to make sure you’re focusing on your goals daily and making progress, which was invaluable for me. Feel free to tweak this method to fit what you need, with weekly check-ins and setting aside time for your goals.

The second and final tool I will suggest is the “Go Girl Planner and Organizer for Women” This planner is uniquely suited to working with the first tool because they are set up much the same way. The “Go Girl” phrase is not stamped anywhere on the outside of the planner, and a simple stamp of two “G”‘s is stamped on the cover. Please keep in mind that this planner is not just for women and that men can use it, too.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Until next time, F3’s!

Posted in newsletter, Updates, Writing

Sneak Peek Week: January 2023

Posted on by Hayley Green

Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash

Hello, Family, Friends, and Fans!

As a part of my goals for 2023, I decided I would do weekly posts on the 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and, if applicable, the 31st of the month.

Here’s the catch: instead of making every post a “Writing Quest Update,” I have decided to make each week a different theme.

  • 3rd of the month: Writing Quest Update. Features updates on my personal life, my writing life, and my professional life.
  • 10th of the month: Sneek Peek Week. You will receive an excerpt or snippet from something I am working on, and I will talk about some struggles I face while writing.
  • 17th of the month: Reading Fling. This will include a list of things I am reading and book recommendations.
  • 24th of the month: Accountability and Productivity Proclivity. This will feature my goals and progress toward them as well as productivity methods and resources.
  • 31st of the month (when applicable): Frivolous Fun. I will post a fun poll, meme, or question just for laughs.

Snippet from Poseidon’s Pearl:

Leading up to this quote, the merman Prince River has been away on a trip and has returned in need of help. He saved a human from a riptide and needs help keeping her safe. So he goes to his best friend since childhood, Harvey, who agrees to help River.

This excerpt shows a little about River and Harvey’s dynamic.

*** Subject to change when published

River’s Point of View:

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Harvey.”

“Anything for his Royal Highness,” he called from deep inside his room. He preferred not to have bioluminescent jellyfish, just the algae.

“I thought I told you not to call me that, sarcastic or otherwise,” I said, a smile stretching my face. It felt good to be back home.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Royal-pain-in-my-ass.”

Writing Troubles:

I started the draft of Poseidon’s Pearl back in 2017. I went on to start and stop a couple drafts before buckling down and writing the 62k manuscript in 31 writing days. These days were not consecutive, and it took me three months to pen the first draft. This manuscript was the first novel-length project I had outlined and written to completion. But I had no idea how to edit.

For years I tried a bunch of different editing methods, interspersed with some life events that left me with long stretches of time that I didn’t write.

But then, once I figured out a method that worked for me, I dove head first. I went from the third draft to the fifth draft in about a year. But I neglected drafting other projects in favor of focusing on schoolwork, Write of Passion, and dealing with the dung bomb that was my life.

This means that my creative writing muscle was atrophed. That is, I could no longer write for hours on end, churning out 1,000-2,000 words per day. Now, getting 500 words of fiction is a challenge.

Lesson learned: I need balance between drafting and editing works so I don’t have to start from the beginning in terms of my creative writing muscles.

Thanks for supporting me! Until next time, F3’s!

Posted in Updates, Write of Passion News

Writing Quest Update: January 2023

Posted on by Hayley Green

Photo by Fang-Wei Lin on Unsplash

Hello, Family, Friends, and Fans!

We have survived another year, and the new one is full of challenges, victories, and possibilities. It’s time to make some goals and intentions for the upcoming year, and I am here to share some of mine, along with the normal life updates.

New Year: New Goals

One goal I have for the new year is to be more active on social media. I will continue to write blog posts on my website, but instead of making you click to read the post, I will publish the whole post on my Facebook page and group. Feel free to read wherever is easiest for you. I will also be posting more often. Specifically, every 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and, if the month has a 31st, that day, too. Be on the lookout!

As for my personal writing productivity goals, I want to publish the first book in my Poseidon’s Object series: Poseidon’s Pearl. I plan to at least finish the first draft of the sequel novel to my Dragons Within: Guarding Her Own short story. The short story is called “Fire Legacy,” and the working title of the sequel is The Last Pyro. Finally, I want to get started on the second book I have for my Poseidon’s Object series, which is yet to receive a title.

Finally, I would like to get started on the process of publishing an anthology for WofP with the four issues of Write of Passion published between May 2021 and February 2022. This will be a lone effort, so it may take a while. Plus, I have to track down the issues that were published exclusively online for the last two issues of that year since technology-challenged me accidentally deleted them in a haze of thinking I could do things myself. If you are considering switching website providers and transferring all of your data, ask for a professional to help you. Don’t be like me.

This Month’s Goals

  • Finish the edits of Poseidon’s Pearl and send it to beta readers.
  • Start drafting The Last Pyro.
  • Be more active on social media by posting on my website, Facebook page, and Facebook Group on the 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and, when applicable, 31st of the month.

Personal Life Update

I am planning to move soon, so I am going to give myself grace during that time if I don’t accomplish what I set out to do.

I am also using a new productivity process called The 12-Week Year for Writers. I do not get any compensation for suggesting this book, to be clear. It has been revolutionary in my life, and I think it could help others, which is why I am telling you about it. More to come on this on the 24th of January post.

I am still in school, and that is a priority over writing in my life. I’ve worked exceptionally hard to get to where I am and I’m not letting all of that go to waste by dropping out. When I graduate, I will have accomplished a life goal in the face of immense adversity. My education is important to me, and no matter how long it takes, I will get there!

Write of Passion Update

Ironically, I am no longer passionate about Write of Passion. Publishing a quarterly literary journal with a team of volunteers proved not to be sustainable. Instead of giving up, I have decided to keep the published issues on the website as a homage to our authors, and our anthologies will still be available to purchase through Amazon. To learn more, visit writeofpassion.com/publications.

For now, Write of Passion will only publish my books. hence the website announcing it is a “romance press” and is not accepting submissions. It will not be accepting submissions in the foreseeable future.

Though, as stated before, I will attempt to publish our authors from the magic-themed year in an anthology, just as we did with Fractured Realities and Shadows Redefined. However, it will be slow going as I attempt to do this on my own. I might be learning this lesson the hard way, like I did with switching website hosts. Wish me luck!

Thank you for your support! Until next time, F3s!