2023 Goals

So, here we are, 2023. I feel like the last few times I’ve tried getting goals scribbled down I end up loosing track of where I am on them. This time I’m hoping to be able to stick to them much better. I feel more focused, more capable at the moment and like I can actually follow through with these plans.

1 – Publish my zombie novella

2 – Publish one vampire era story to my ko-fi a month (this covers me till august)

3 – Continue writing War Child (2022’s NaNoWriMo project)

4 – Find publishers to submit Penal Earth to

5 – Complete Black Blood (just need to do the final edit)

6 – Continue planning for Penal Earth 2

7 – Spend no less than half an hour a day, for at least twenty-five days of the month working on writing projects

8 – Blog on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays

9 – Continue serial killer story

10 – Find anthologies to submit to

This feels like a big list, like there’s a lot I’ve lined up for myself. I do feel like I can do it though, I don’t feel like I’m fooling myself with what I want to achieve in this calendar year. A lot does rest on me continuing working on my life in general. I’m going to try and map out some personal growth goals as well, but I’m not sure where I want to start with that one.

Good Morning! 24th August 2020

Just a quickie today. Yesterday I got the read through of the original draft of Penal Earth finished and this morning I’ve done some planning for it. Mainly key plot points, character storylines, and a few other details.

So a good start to the day.

14th July 2022

Hey folks, how are we all?

I’ve eased off writing a little the last few days due to family and work taking priority. But today I’ve got stuck into editing some short stories for Ko-Fi, which means I’ve got stories scheduled for the Welcome To My Nightmare tier through the end of the year. Then next year, I’ll have something that I’ve been working on for a long time kicking off…….

In total I’ve edited 13751 words on four different stories today.

I’ve also stepped back a bit from Black Blood. I realised I wasn’t doing the deep edit it needed and was just going through the motions a bit. This tells me I’m burnt out on this story and I’m going to put it to one side for a while. I’ve got notes keep popping up in my head for it so I’ll note those down and when I get to editing it I’ll put those where they need to be.

In the meantime I’ll be working on Vampire Era as that’s the next on the schedule. I do need to make one minor addition to Penal Earth that I think will explain something a little better. It’s not a change, it’s just a small detail that I need to do a little research on, but it’ll likely be less than a sentence when I do add it.

Speaking of Penal Earth, I am in the very early stages of planning book two.

The last few weeks I have felt off pace, so I’m going to try and step it back up to the level I know gives me a decent level of productivity.

Good Afternoon, 12-3-22

Hey Folks,

How are we all doing today? I wrote about 600 words during the write in this morning. And I’ve also had a bit of a sort out of my desk this afternoon. I feel a little more organised now.

The gears are really beginning to turn at the moment and I’m getting really eager to wrap up Zombie, Penal Earth, and Black Blood. Other stories are really shouting at me and it is very much time I put these three longer term project to bed.

Right, have an awesome afternoon and evening folks. I’ve got a long day at work tomorrow so likely won’t be posting then but will be writing at some point.

NaNoWriMo 2021……

Good evening, folks! NaNoWriMo 2021 is. Just a few hours away and I am pumped! Despite having a very demanding day at. Work was so busy! And I feel a little like my body needs to go. In for some repairs! But NaNo is here!

I am doing short stories this year. A little bit of lobbing ideas at the wall and see what sticks.

We’re still not allowed to have any in person write-ins, so it’s all online again this year. My region, Kent, are utilising Discord again this year. It’s not the same but it is what it is.

Most of my words will be written at home in my office, definitely so for the first two weeks as I’m off work and then after that I’ll be getting a few words written during breaks at work. I am planing on getting to a couple of coffee shops to get some words done for a change of scenery, but mostly I’ll be at home for this years NaNo.

I’m going to smash the word count this year. These first two weeks I’m going to try and get to 30k and give me a good head of steam for when I go back to work.

Right, time for a little dinner. Good luck everyone who’s about to embrace NaNo. We’ve got this!

Status Update 13th October 2021

Good evening folks, how are we all doing tonight?

I’ve got a lot I want to get through tonight, so let’s get cracking!

The anthology K is for Kidnap came out featuring my story ‘Mother is God’ and is available in ebook and paperback. Please hit the link and check it out!

Love this cover!

The fantastic Leah Solmaz is working on an adaptation of one of my short stories! (squeeeeee!!!!!) Please go and check out Leah’s Instagram page, where you can see the intro!!! I’m super excited about this. Not only because something I’ve written is being adapted into a short animated movie, but also because its working with Leah who is a fantastic human being and damn talented as well. If you haven’t watched Theosight please check it out, I’ll add it to this post.

I have started on reading through and making notes based on the editors read of ‘Is that a zombie?’ I started then got hit with a head cold that knocked me off my feet. I focused my energy on work and matters away from writing. I’m going to get back on track with it by the weekend.

I’ve had a beta reader look at some of my longer pieces and got some excellent feedback, including that one wasn’t as polished as the other, so I need to go back and put my editing head back on to look it over.

Something I’m going to do in the next day or so is sit down and get my bearings on the different projects again. I’ve got a few which are at different stages and I’m just going to write them all down and figure where they all are.

On top of all of that we’ve got NaNoWriMo just around the corner…..

I am struggling to get back in the flow, much more then I thought I would. But it’s there, and I know NaNo will give me a massive boost and help get the words wrangled.

Good Morning! 5th of July 2021

Howdy Folks! How are we all doing today?

After I blogged yesterday I was going to get a little work done on an upcoming blog post but I had a nap instead. I was hoping to get it done so I could get it typed up and at least scheduled today, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.

I am planning on getting the vampire edit done this week. It’s less than 60k so I think I can. I am being flexible in things like this though. I’m taking into consideration the day job as well as other non-writing elements of life (like the little ball of black chaos that is known as Raven!).

I’ve been brainstorming a lot recently and I’ve got to set about transferring all those handwritten notes to the appropriate project files. I think some of what I’m getting from brainstorming is installing an element of a story in my head and when it comes to writing the story that element won’t be forgotten (hopefully!). But I don’t want to rely on my brain solely, I’ve got so many notes on the mermaid book now that I can’t guarantee I’m going to be able to recall them when it comes time to write the story (this’ll likely be my NaNoWriMo story for this year!).

A busy week ahead, and I’m determined to hit the ground running!

And here’s the ball of chaos being cute ☺️

29th of June 2021 – Stealing Words

Good morning folks, How are we all doing today?

I’ve got a busy day today so I’ve made sure I’ve sat down and got some words down before starting. I am hoping to get back into the writing work later on today, but it all depends on how I get along with other tasks.

I have written 456 words this morning on a story called Isolation (placeholder title). This short is now 1007 words long and it tied into a bigger story that I’m working on. More to come on that in the future once I’ve set some more foundations.

I am slowly getting back into the habit of what I think of as Stealing Words. This is where I will write a few words when I have just a few minutes. Like if I get to work a little early then I’ll type a sentence or two. Making sure I write on my breaks. Even if it’s a short shift with a short break, I can squeeze some words in during that time. Even if it’s not good, and I delete it later it’s still words written. Okay, I can’t edit like that. Brainstorming isn’t really doable for these snatches of time either. But writing a few words, for me that’s very doable.

Right, I’ve got to get cracking. I hope you all have a fantastic day! Please look me up on the social medias, the links are on the right hand side of the screen!

Rock on, Folks!

Good Morning, 24th 2021

Hey folks, been a busy couple of weeks, so little writing but lots of brainstorming. I’ve got four or five projects that I’m beginning to get a really good idea of what I want to do with them. I also re-edited my kidnapping story, despite the date for its anthology submission being long past, I can submit it elsewhere or self-publish it (I have plans).

I am very stuck on Black Blood at the moment. I’ve been trying to write a sequence which is vital to the story and I’m not feeling it. Maybe I need to think it out a little more, I don’t know, but at the moment it’s just not clicking. I think I’ve got a good basis for it, that it’ll work, but I’ve just got to suss it out. I honestly don’t think I’m far away from it, I think I just need one little element to slot into place and then it’ll come together.

I will also be looking at the two short stories I’ve been working on that take place in the Penal Earth world. One of them I think I’ve got a good core for the story, whereas the other one is a lot more bare bones and I haven’t found the real story to it yet. I don’t think I’m far off, it’s tickling the periphery of my conscious but it isn’t revealing itself just yet. I’m going to read what I’ve written of these two and then brainstorm.

I’ve not done this sort of brainstorming for years, and I’m really enjoying it.

Right, I’m off. I hope y’all have a fantastic day and week ahead.

Dizzy enjoying the sun and watching the world go by ☺️

7th of May 2021

Good morning, folks!

How are we all doing today? I overlaid and instead of having three and half hours to write, I had an hour and a half. I managed 698 words in that time, which I’m happy about. I’m liking focussing just on this part of the story. It’s making it feel a lot less intimidating than addressing the whole story. It’s nice being able to scroll up and add and adjust elements to the sequence as I’m writing, it’s just a lot easier to navigate. Scrivener does a good job of making it easy as a rule, but I’ve got to get better at organising and remembering what is where.

Although I haven’t written much this month I’ve been doing a lot of brainstorming. As of this moment I’ve got four different stories that I’ve thrashing ideas out on. This feels a little excessive, but these four stories are the ones taking to me, so they’re the ones that are getting a little bit of time here and there.

Right, I’m out of time. So I’m gonna wrap it here.

I hope y’all are all doing well and keep pushing towards your goals!

Note books and The Running Man