Friday, January 30, 2015

Update on my Great Big Goal.

Hi all! I'm still without Internet, but it's good, because we delayed getting Internet pending us moving into an actual house in a few weeks. Yep, I'm currently writing to you from a caravan.

But since this is my own bloghop, co-hosted by Beth Fred, it wouldn't do for me to skip, would it?

For those of you who aren't familiar with this bloghop, we're a bunch of people who set some crazy big, crazy important or just plain crazy goals with the view of actually achieving them. To keep ourselves motivated (and to make it possible for us to encourage each other), we post updates on our progress on the last Friday of every month, unless otherwise arranged. If you have a goal that you're going after, you're more than welcome to sign up. Just click here for more info, or to see who else is taking part.

Let me just say that I'm in some excellent company.

And now, on to the meat of this post.

How did I do?

These were my goals for January:


1) Get back to sorting out the covers for Wo6C1, Wo6C2 and BvB1.
Didn't really get to this, mainly because of my lack of decent Internet. 

2) Finish final edit rounds for at least one of the three above mentioned books.
Done, with Wo6C2.

3) Finish rewriting ES1.

4) Rough draft 15k words.
I rough drafted over 16k words.

This should be what I wanted my January to look like, writing-wise: 

It really looked like this: 

The reason for the changes: 

I finished the rough draft to MDtS. 
I realized that P isn't really where I want it again, so I want to put some thinking into it before trying again. The same with DD. I was supposed to start writing it this month, but it simply won't go beyond being a concept and I just can't really see how I'll be able to turn it into a story this year, so I moved it down the priority list and swapped it with a Science Fiction project I'd planned to do next year. I didn't get to it or StW, though, because I was on a roll with BvB2. (There's a reason for that, but it'll take up  a post on its own, so I'll explain later. Preferably when I have Internet.)


Continue reading L’Etranger by Albert Camus.
I finished it. 

Start reading Twelfth Night by Shakespeare
I finished it. 

Read 4 other books
I'll finish my eleventh book for this month (counting the above-mentioned two) today. 

Social Media:

Still having to postpone, pending me gaining access to reliable Internet.


Survive first month of building a house while still editing and writing.
This one I did, but granted, there wasn't much active building done, because legislation had kicked in (that we didn't know about) that complicates building on farms. We've worked around this, but the way we're doing it requires research and testing. Luckily, though, it looks like we got a house near to where  we live, so we might move into it in the next few weeks. 

So yeah, I did pretty dang good for January. 

My goals for February:

I have a LOT of stuff I want to do, but I'm figuring that even if I do some of it, I'm happy. 


1) Sort out covers for Wo6C1, Wo6C2 and BvB1. 
2) Finish copy-edits to BvB1.
3) Rewrite Wo6C3 and my entry into the Untethered Realms Anthology.
4) Start with revisions to ES1.
5) Write 50k words total, rewrites included. This means about 15k words toward my rough drafts. 

So this is what I hope February will look like, writing-wise: 


1) Start reading Mansfield Park. 
2) Start reading King Lear. 
3) Read four other books. 

Social media: 

Survive until I have proper Internet again. Seriously. This sucks. 


Right now, most of my life is in limbo, which I'm using to get a ton of writing stuff done. But February might bring me some more stuff to do that isn't writing, so the goal here is to juggle as best I can. 

What about you? Got goals? How are you doing with them? Do sign up and let us know! 


  1. It is amazing that you're managing to get so much done while you're living in limbo like this. I was homeless last year, living temporarily in my parents' spare room with my son. It is so hard to settle into any kind of work when your life is so up in the air.

    I hope you get a proper roof over your head soon, and sort out all the legislative red tape.


  2. Wow! You're accomplishing quite a bit. You have high goals where I tend to lower mine because I procrastinate so much. Good Luck with this months goals.

  3. You exceeded your writing goals and then some. Not bad for no Internet and the pending move.

  4. I hope you juggle things well. And good job at making great progress!

  5. Writing from a caravan. Don't hear that phrase often. At least you don't have the internet to distract you from your writing...but limits research ability.

  6. It sounds like you got a lot done, even if it wasn't everything you had planned. Good luck with your February goals!

  7. Nice job with your goals, seriously.

    I read Mansfield Park a while back. Jane Austen isn't my favorite author, but I do admire her career.

    Best of luck with your February goals.

  8. I think you're making amazing progress!

  9. Great job with your goals this month! :)

  10. Way to go with your goals! You rock!

  11. My ears perked up at BVB2! Can't wait to see what happens. Sounds like you are rocking the reading, too, which is admirable.

  12. You did awesome! Good luck and keep on surviving. :)

  13. Well done for getting so much done when you're so unsettled.

  14. Had internet woes too. Congrats on all your hard work.

  15. Question Misha: do you find it harder to plan for stories/books in advance? What I mean is...does it keep you focused in the long run knowing these are the stories you want to write?

    I'm considering using your spreadsheet method to keep me on task.

    Now in terms of your January, I'd say your results are smokin' considering your Internet's been unreliable and you're in the process of building a home. Keep up that productive spirit! ^_^

  16. Sounds like lacking the Internet is helping those reading goals along! Gotta look for the bright side, right? Hope it all gets sorted out soon. Congratulations on the accomplishments.

  17. Being without the Internet feels like having a limb amputated :(
    But I'm sure you will be able to accomplish your goals more easily without the distractions it offers :)

  18. Way to go with January! You totally rocked it.

  19. Boggles my mind that you're so on top of things considering your current situation.

  20. I'm impressed as ever that you manage to keep so many different projects on the move at the same time. I barely manage to keep details of one story straight for writing/editing purposes, and anything else intruding throws me right off. Well done.

  21. Wow, you get so much done! I really like the visuals you have for your progress. I might have to try something like that.

  22. I'm really impressed with those spreadsheets! WOW. Maybe I should hire you to manage my time and goals! :)

  23. Hope things are going well. If nothing else you've got a lot of good organization going on.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out


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