Weekly Goals

Oh wow, I'm really late with the update this time. Work sucked me in this morning, but at least that meant I got some important tasks done.

As for the goals, this was another great week. The third in a row, if I remember correctly. I did falter a bit in regards to my health goals, so I will try to make that a focus this coming week. Other than that, though, I'm very happy with how things went. Lots of writing and reading getting done.

Core Goals

Write, edit, or outline every day (including the weekend): Check. I got a good amount of writing and editing done during the weekdays and a bit outlining done during the weekend.

Get exercise: Due to some logistical issue, I didn't get to gym this week. Still, I managed to get in two exercise sessions, two 8K jogs, and a shorter run. That's definitely a success and more exercise than I had dared hope for..

Eat healthier: I fell through on this goal in the middle of the week. I didn't fail in a big way, but I definitely failed this goal. Though, even if it didn't go so well this week, I'm generally happy with how I have managed my sugar cravings lately. However, I do need to make sure this week was just a one-off and not the start of a downward spiral.

Read with intention: This keeps being a pretty difficult goal to judge, but once again, I feel like I'm at least getting better at noticing when my attention is drifiting and either pulling my focus back or taking a break..

Focus while writing: Very much the as the above goal. Also, that improvement in focus is, I think, a big part of why it seems I'm getting more writing done lately.

Do a WYRM review: Check. I got a single review done before the weekend.


Stretch Goals

Write 1K words: Check, I got 2.2K words written on my current WiP, and finishing the first draft, which was far more than I had expected.

Do vocal exercises: Once again, I hit the goal halfway through the week and just kept going from there.

Do writing exercises : Once again, I did a character exercise. Even though I only did the one exercise, I'm giving myself double marks. Not so much for the effort (though, I did well in regards to setting aside time and focusing on the exercise instead of rushing through it), but because of the outcome. Doing the exercise again gave a small "eureka!" moment in regards to how I should develop characters and achieve a natural scene progression on the page. If I can implement this in my stories, I think I might just have elevated my writing quite a bit.

Read short stories: A regular goal from last year. I want to read/listen to at least 3 published short stories.
- I listened to a comedic fantasy story over at Upbeat Tales. The comedy was well executed, and the tone was nicely set from the beginning. However, the premise felt too familiar, and a lot of the story was very predictable, starting with the MC being so sure they had hit their big breakthrough moment, that it was all too obvious that it wasn't going to be the case. The end twist did salvage a lot, but it wasn't enough for me to completely remedy all that predictability.
- I listened to an older story published in Apex magazine. This was one was a rare gem. The premise was so-so, but the writing was excellent. It almost felt more like poetry than prose.
- I read a story over at Flash Fiction Online. It was very well written and made interesting use of a list format (based on senses), which I always enjoy in flash fiction. It wasn't quite enough for me, though, as I got no real sense of who the protagonist was as a person, and the premise and plot were very familiar.
- I read a story over at Every Day Fiction. It was okay but very heavy in backstory and light on actual plot, which wasn't really for me.

Read “new” magazines: Both the stories from Upbeat Tales (which I had never listened to before) and Apex and Every Day Fiction (which I only read very infrequently) count towards this goal.

Read/listen to non-fiction:This goal is meant to help do light research and get information from the real world. Ideally, this should lead me to produce more original story ideas than the ideas I derive from already published stories. I need to read/listen to podcast/chapters about at least 3 different non-fiction subjects. Ideally, they will also be different sources, different podcasts/books.
- I listened to an episode of the BBC documentary about the war in Ukraine, focusing on the people dodging the recruiters and the people having to tell those left behind that their loved ones had died.
- I watched a video by a military economist talking about shot exchange range, air defenses, and the war in Iran, and another analyst who talked about how the war affects Russia and was really only made possible because of the war in Ukraine.
- I listened to another episode of the BBC documentary, this one focusing on a Hydrogen plant in Namibia. It didn't spark any immediate ideas, but it was a great insight into how even something as benevolent and green, renewable energy for millions of people, which might create much better job opportunities in a poor country, could be contentious by affecting the local environment, ruining a small local community to benefit people far away disproportionally.
- I listened to an episode of the Myths and Legends podcast on a story from Finnish folklore, which gave me some ideas for a fantasy setting, with a shapeshifter who can only return to their true form after having been killed in all their other forms, and a witch who serves bones and gross stuff for a court instead of a real meal.

Submit short stories: I submitted a story that had been rejected halfway through the week, and I finished edits on a new story and got that submitted as well. As of writing, I have 15 stories out on submission. If that's not a new record for me, it's at least close to it.

Do Fantasticon work: I think this one deserves a double mark as well. I had planned to continue translating a GoH story for our con booklet, but I actually managed to finish the translation.That leaves the SoMe post regarding the con, but even there, I'm seeing a bit progress.