Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Revisiting My 2016 Resolutions

Well, 2016 hit me hard. To start, this is my first post since January 1st. Here's a look at what I did -- and didn't -- accomplish in 2016.

BIG RESOLUTIONS

Resolution #1: Finish the first draft of DSF.



HAHAHA. Nope. Didn't even start.

Resolution #2: Query TGITP



This is actually the only goal I DID meet. I sent my draft to beta readers at the beginning of July, and edited from October-December.

I sent my first round of queries TODAY.

Last year I said, "This is by far going to be the hardest goal to meet", and I'm glad it's the one I chose to focus on.

Resolution #3: Read 70 Books



HAH! Maybe it's because I didn't track the books I was reading each week like I did last year, but I fell way behind this year. To date I've read 23 books, and will probably finish two more before the year ends, leaving me 45 books short.

DAILY RESOLUTIONS

Resolution #4: Write Once A Day
Resolution #5: Clean Up for 2 Minutes Every Evening
Resolution #6: Do 3 Pull Ups a Day
Resolution #7: Do One Good Deed A Day

At this point, I just got too ambitious. I barely tracked these for an entire month. Lesson learned for next year, I suppose.

The most important thing from this year? I QUERIED FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY.

Sayonara 2016. You will not be missed.


Friday, January 1, 2016

My 2016 Resolutions

Last year I tracked my resolutions for the first time and made a really good attempt to accomplish them. I met my weekly goals between 60% and 70% of the time, and met both of my large goals as well.



This year, I'm stepping it up a notch.

BIG RESOLUTIONS

Resolution #1: Finish the first draft of DSF.


I'm almost done outlining and plan on starting in January.

Resolution #2: Query TGITP


In order to do this, I need to meet some mini goals.

  • May 31st: Send edited draft to beta readers
  • Aug 31st: Make changes based on comments, send to new round of beta readers
  • Nov 30th: Make changes based on comments
  • Dec 31st: Send query
This is by far going to be the hardest goal to meet. 

Resolution #3: Read 70 Books


This seemed to be a good number for me last year. Challenging, but not too crazy. If it's easier this year then next year I'll bump it up.

DAILY RESOLUTIONS

Resolution #4: Write Once A Day


This includes editing and outlining/research as well, and there's no specified time limit. So as long as I sit down to work, even if just for 5 minutes, then that counts.

What does not count is reading articles or blogs about writing, or rewriting books and studying their structure. It must be something directly related to TGITP or DSF.

Resolution #5: Clean Up for 2 Minutes Every Evening


This is a resolution I've been thinking about for awhile. I know the difference that even a small amount of time can make, but I'm always so tired at night that I don't get it done. I'm going to anchor this resolution and the next one together to make sure they get done each evening. More about that below.

Resolution #6: Do 3 Pull Ups a Day


I felt like last year I didn't really accomplish what I wanted to with this resolution (to be stronger) and part of that was because 5 pull ups a week wasn't enough to really affect my muscles. I tried to bump it up to 25 a week, but that was an overwhelming number. So I'm going to start this year off with 3 a day.

As I was saying above, I plan on anchoring this habit to make sure it gets completed. The time this year that I was most successful at this habit was when I anchored it to getting ready in the morning, arriving home from work, and getting ready for bed. This year I'm going to anchor it to brushing my teeth.

How this will look: After I finish brushing my teeth at night (and washing my face, etc), I will immediately pull out my phone and set a timer for two minutes. During that two minutes I'll do anything that cleans up the apartment, from picking up and hanging clothes to sweeping the floor.

When the timer goes off, I'll immediately do 3 pull ups. And that's it! Hopefully anchoring these habits to an already established one will ensure they get done.

Resolution #7: Do One Good Deed A Day


I toyed with the wording on this resolution for awhile, because I want it to be very broad. I want it to cover everything from letting someone in front of me in traffic, to doing the dishes for my boyfriend even if it's his night, to asking someone about how things are going in their personal lives.

I think this will be a hard resolution to achieve, because it's not the same thing every day and it's not a habit I can anchor to something else. It's more of a mindset. I also think it will be one of my most interesting resolutions this year. I plan on tracking whether or not I complete this resolution on the same paper as the others, but I'm thinking that I'll also need to record what good deed I do every day. I might record this in a journal or maybe on the computer, I haven't decided yet.

And that's it! Here's a screenshot of the spreadsheet I plan on using to keep track of my daily goals.


I have each week of the year on the sheet, and for every week I have each day listed, as well as a space next to it for a check mark. At the end of each week I'll write in the bottom corner how many out of 7 days I met my goal.

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Revisiting my 2015 Resolutions

At the end of 2014 I made some resolutions for 2015.


Let's look at how successful I was. 

Resolution #1: Finish the first draft of TGITP

I did it!!! Now I'm rewriting and editing. 

Resolution #2: Read 70 books

Finished, just barely in time! I think I'll keep this resolution for next year, 70 was a challenging number. 

Resolution #3: Write at least 1,000 words a week

This one kind of morphed once I finished the draft of TGITP and wasn't writing regularly. The 1,000 words sometimes represented the amount of time spent editing or outlining my new novel, DSF. Out of 53 weeks, I met this goal 32 weeks (school starting in September really killed my streak). 

That means I met this goal 60% of the time. Not bad, but not awesome either. It gives me something to beat with this year's writing goal, which will be in a post tomorrow. 

Resolution #4: Play an instrument once a week

About a month ago I decided I wasn't getting as much out of this resolution as I wanted, so I decided to start taking piano and guitar lessons again. It's so much more motivating to practice when you have someone experienced guiding you! Therefore this won't be a resolution for me next year, mostly because as long as I'm taking the lessons I'll automatically be held to practicing (especially since it costs so much $$$). 

But how did I do this year? Out of 53 weeks I met this goal 37 of them. That means I met this goal 70% of the time. Still not awesome, but much better!

Resolution #5: Do 5 pull-ups a week  

Yikes. This one did not do so well. Out of 53 weeks I met this goal 34 of them. Huh. Better than I thought. That means I met this goal 64% of the time. I wasn't planning on making this one of my goals for next year, but now I'm thinking maybe I should...

So there it is! I think that having a printed out, paper and pencil chart really helped me keep track of my resolutions. I'm planning on doing the same thing next year, but a little more detailed since I have some daily goals. More about that tomorrow, January 1st, 2016!

The 15 Best Books I Read in 2015

1-6.


7.


8-10.


11. 


12.


13. 


14. 


15.  





Here are all the "contestants":





Reading Bingo 2015

I finished! Here is the final list of what book I read for each category.

Card #1

A supernatural book without a werewolf or vampire: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
A book without a happy ending: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
A book over 350 pages: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
A book with a male narrator: Tracers by J.J. Howard
A fairy tale retelling: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A book with a villain as the main character: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
A book with multiple povs: Wonder by R. J. Palacio 
A book published in the year you were born: Stacy's Big Crush by Ann M. Martin
The end of a series: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
A book about a historical figure or event: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (about St. Mark's Eve)
A book with super humans or cyborgs: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
A book with an unlikely love story: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman
Book hangover: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
A book with a dystopian setting: Ash by Sheni Petroff
A book without romance: Cat Stories by James Herriot
A book about siblings: Panic by Lauren Oliver
The start of a series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
A book with music: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale
A book set in the south: Tell Me by Joan Bauer (Virginia)
A book set in the spring: Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan
A book with poetry: Crank by Ellen Hopkins
A book set in the future: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
A book with a diverse cast: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
A book you judged by the cover: The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin
A book in third person: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor


Card #2

A book with time travel: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
A book set somewhere you've traveled: Frostbite by Richelle Mead (Montana)
A book with a non-human antagonist: The Martian by Andy Weir
A book your fave public figure loves: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
A book being made into a movie: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
A book with a coffee shop: Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
A book with parents who are present: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
A book set in Europe: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
A book about an ancient culture: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
A book translated from another language: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
A book with a LGBTQ character: Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
A book involving religion: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Book hangover: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
A book with an unreliable narrator: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
A book with elements of horror: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
A book from a debut author: The Registry by Shannon Stoker
A book with an epic monologue: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
A book recc'd by a bookseller: Losing It by Cora Carmack
A book with a number in the title: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
A book with an adopted character: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
A book by an author you've never read before: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
A book with accents: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
A book based on a true story: Naya Nuki: Shoshone Girl Who Ran by Kenneth Thomasma
A re-read of a favorite book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
A book set in the wilderness: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

(Still Alive) Reading Bingo 2015 Check In

Teaching is really kicking my butt this year!

Soon I'll post an update on my New Year Resolutions.

But for now, time to check in on my reading bingo challenge and find out what I still need to read before the month ends.

The bolded categories are ones I haven't read yet, and the book in parentheses next to it is the book I plan on reading for that space.

Card #1

A supernatural book without a werewolf or vampire: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
A book without a happy ending: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
A book over 350 pages: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
A book with a male narrator: Tracers by J.J. Howard
A fairy tale retelling: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
A book with a villain as the main character: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
A book with multiple povs: Wonder by R. J. Palacio 
A book published in the year you were born: (Stacy's Big Crush by Ann M. Martin)
The end of a series: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
A book about a historical figure or event: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (about St. Mark's Eve)
A book with super humans or cyborgs: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
A book with an unlikely love story: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman
Book hangover: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
A book with a dystopian setting: Ash by Sheni Petroff
A book without romance: Cat Stories by James Herriot
A book about siblings: Panic by Lauren Oliver
The start of a series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
A book with music: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale
A book set in the south: Tell Me by Joan Bauer (Virginia)
A book set in the spring: Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan
A book with poetry: (Crank by Ellen Hopkins)
A book set in the future: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
A book with a diverse cast: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
A book you judged by the cover: The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin
A book in third person: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor


Card #2

A book with time travel: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
A book set somewhere you've traveled: Frostbite by Richelle Mead (Montana)
A book with a non-human antagonist: The Martian by Andy Weir
A book your fave public figure loves: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
A book being made into a movie: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
A book with a coffee shop: (Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle)
A book with parents who are present: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
A book set in Europe: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
A book about an ancient culture: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
A book translated from another language: (Inkheart by Cornelia Funke)
A book with a LGBTQ character: Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
A book involving religion: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Book hangover: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
A book with an unreliable narrator: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
A book with elements of horror: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
A book from a debut author: The Registry by Shannon Stoker
A book with an epic monologue: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
A book recc'd by a bookseller: Losing It by Cora Carmack
A book with a number in the title: (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)
A book with an adopted character: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong
A book by an author you've never read before: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
A book with accents: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
A book based on a true story: (Naya Nuki: Shoshone Girl Who Ran by Kenneth Thomasma)
A re-read of a favorite book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
A book set in the wilderness: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong


Only six to go!

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Dog Stories, Shadow Kiss, The Wrath and the Dawn, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

It's been awhile, and you can blame the start of the school year for that!

Dog Stories by James Herriot


I've always loved cat stories, so I bought dog stories from amazon. It's the first non-digital book I've bought in awhile. It was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Cat Stories. 

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead


Third book, read it, still loved it. The ending, though. That ending made me have to put the series away for awhile before I go on. 

The Wrath and the Dawn


I'm reading this one right now and really liking it, even though I HATE not knowing what's really going on!!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (audio)


Yup, still working my way through the series again. Actually, I'm listening to this as I type :).

Until next time!