Weekly Goals

As usual, I'm late with the update. This is a good thing, though. It means I managed to include the weekend in reaching my goals, including keeping up my writing streak.

Work took up way too much of this week, and while I did get some extra time at the end, I had to spend it regaining a bit of energy so as not to burn out. I kind of knew this would happen, though, so I had already dropped any idea of joining one of the online Codex events or reviewing the entries for the Lodestar competition.

Considering the kind of week I had, then, I really think I made the most of it. I spent my commuting time wisely, and I got around to reading/listening to quite a lot of stories. Looking at my goals, it was actually a surprisingly productive week.


Core Goals

Write, edit, or outline every day: I didn't get as many words written as I have in previous weeks, but I kept up the good habit of writing a bit every day, including the weekend.

Get exercise: This goal suffered somewhat from having to spend a lot time at work. Still, I reached the bar I had set for myself and got a bit of exercise done.

Stop snacking: I did really, really well with this goal, far better than I had dared hope for. No snacks during the weekdays, not even hot chocolate at work, and halfway through the week, I even stopped putting sugar on my oats in the morning and replaced it with almonds and raisins.
Giving myself triple marks is perhaps a bit of a stretch, because I did snack a bit in the weekend. However, consider that I was at a birthday party with snacks and cake and all, I constrained my sugary needs really well.

Do vocal exercises: I rarely miss this goal, and this week wasn't any different. Another thing the commute is good for.

Stretch Goals

Do a WYRM review: I had not thought I would reach this goal, but I did, and I'm very happy about that. I even got started on a second review, but I didn’t have time to finish it.

Start a new short story: I got started on the first draft of a new SF story. I got two scenes written, so while I don't feel like I got much writing done this week, it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Do writing exercises : I did a couple of prose exercises, which was nice. I need to keep that up.

Read short stories:
- I read two stories in Fantasy magazine, continuing with their “old” podcast. The first story was pretty good, though also quite depressing and with annoying narrator and a sort of non-ending. The second story was initially interesting, but again, it really lacked a resolution. It might be a bit premature, but I’m starting to realize that, sadly, this might not become a new favorite magazine.
- I also read another story in Stupefying stories.
- I also listened to two stories on The New Yorker's fiction podcast. I only ever read one of their stories before this. So far, I have mixed feelings about what they publish.

Read “new” magazines: Both Fantasy magazine, Stupefying Stories, and The New Yorker counts as "new" magazines for me (magazines I don't read regularly), so I went well above the goal I set out for myself. Hence, I'm giving myself double marks.

Read/listen to non-fiction:
- I listened to a BBC Documentary episode about female baldness, which was pretty interesting, but the podcast tends to lack depth.
- I listened to an episode of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast, which while not providing me with any ideas for stories, had some really interesting points about dependence on US big tech companies and the dangers that entail.
- I also kept reading in my book about Korean myths and legends. This time, one of the story had some really interesting cultural information about the way flowers are often used for nicknames in Korea. Also, it described a myth about how choosing the right sight for a house and burial ground will affect the rest of your life. Bot of which were pretty interesting and elements I can definitely see forming the basis of a story at some point.
- And I listened to a Danish podcast called Art of War, which had a surprising amount of overlap with the Tech Won’t Save us episode mentioned above. That in itself gave the subject of software/hardware independency a lot of depth.
- And I watched an in-depth analysis on Russia's new "super weapon" and why it's a vaste of ressources.
That was quite a lot of non-fiction for me this week, so another set of double marks.

N/A Submit short stories: I didn't get any stories rejected this week, so I had nothing to send out.

Do Fantasticon work: Check. We had a meeting in the planning group this week, and I had already followed up on the assignments I took on the next day. Plus, I was active in all the discussions we had during the week. So, yeah, I definitely achieved this goal as well.