Tag: weekly plans

October Goals

Hello,

Thanks for the likes and follows. For October, the flowers are marigolds and cosmos. The birthstones are opal and tourmaline.

September ended, and we are all still dealing with the unexpected. An author more successful than I has a 90-day method, and she suggests a reset 4 times a year. Evaluate what works and what does not. Establish new strategies and sustain progress.

Writing update: Dead Girl Tale 2: Nox (DGT2) has been on pause for at least 2 weeks now. The change perspective method did not work as well as I hoped; instead of forcing words, I have moved back into a thinking phase for the scene. It was a little disappointing. I don’t want to tolerate setbacks, especially since DGT2 is part of a series.

This is where I tell an odd anecdote. I have multiple stories in various stages of development. I decided to be practical and look up ways to produce short stories. An excellent site for generating short story prompts is Reedsy. There are even weekly writing contests with rules and an application fee, but it’s worth it if you win or get an honorary mention. I’ve been a member since 2022, I think. So I saw a prompt and decided to write with it. I had no intention of entering a contest; my writing has not been consistent enough for that. I took the prompt and started to write, and the story fit easily into the FM Monogatari (FMM) writing project. This is a series of paranormal/urban fantasy short stories and novelettes featuring the same characters: Fayte (Fate) Devoe and Maghnus Knight. Monogatari is a Japanese word for a story. I am not an expert, and this is just a working title that I borrowed from a book I liked. I may have written about this project before. The idea has been in my mind since 2016. It’s paranormal and feels appropriate for October, and I have at least 2 complete stories for the anthology. They do need some edits, tweaks, and clean-ups, but they are in the almost-done phase of the writing process. Which was a happy surprise for me. All this time, I thought I was a mouse on a wheel, going nowhere, when in fact, progress was hiding in plain sight, or in a file folder.

This does not mean I have given up on DGT2. I will review my notes and adjust the outline to move the story where it needs to be.

Media update: The C-dramas I’ve been watching have reached the arc where the male lead and female lead have become a couple, and the real antagonist is revealing themselves. I’ve taken a break from them.

Instead, I updated my account to the streaming service Peacock and found myself rewatching the sci-fi drama Defiance and the urban fantasy Sanctuary. During the early 2000s, these were my go-to shows. In later seasons, the narratives got muddled, and I’m wondering if I was wrong. I found more problematic tropes and potential story waste. I was not aware of this before, but Peacock has produced a significant amount of original content. Some of the Peacock shows are fascinating and appropriate for October. The shows I’m going to mention for now are Girl in the Woods. It is a horror series based on the short film “Door in the Woods.” I am not a horror fan, but this felt more YA than just horror. I was intrigued to see how it would end. The other Peacock original is Vampire Academy, based on the book series by Richelle Mead. The series was considered a contemporary of the Twilight series. There was a movie that did not do well. Someone thought they could make it a TV show. Similar to what was done to The Mortal Instruments, a book series by Cassandra Clare, which became the TV show Shadowhunters. I would like to write more, but that is a post all on its own.

Goals for the month are to write 500 new words a day on the project of choice. This could mean DGT2 or FM Monogatari. I will also continue to look into writing prompts and see if I can apply them to the other story ideas and characters. I know I mentioned this before, but in the future for this website, I plan to launch a story page. The logistics of it all have yet to be finalized. The other goal is to complete the scenes in FMM and finalize the outlines of DGT2.

That is all for now. I wrote more than I planned to. This is what accountability looks like, I guess. I hope this post finds you all doing well. Don’t miss any positive opportunities and remember to be kind.

The End

Maintaining in Creative Chaos

Hello,

Photo by Skyler Ewing on Pexels.com

Thanks for the likes and follows. I hope the two weeks of September treated you well. We all know that somewhere in this world, it wasn’t for someone. Because of this, it is hard to remain positive. I maintain my optimism because I want what is best for my family, the world, and the future, and I strive to do my best to improve my actions. I can’t control others, only myself.

With this in mind, I write fiction. I have several writing projects at various stages of development. Some writing experts are against this. It splits focus and can become a problem in completing a story. At times, I would agree, and I’ve tried to keep focused on one writing project. The result is that I would lose interest, inspiration, or motivation for the story. Losing momentum is sometimes expected in the writing process; this fault has been an issue for me in completing stories. My remedy for this is to write shorter stories. However, my thinking process is grand. I came up with the Imperium/Galactic Alliance Universe saga. It is the setting for four distinct stories. These are the working titles in order of when I thought them up: Courier rdx, Dead Girl Tale: Az, Dead Girl Tale 2: Nox, Grave Signals. Although these stories are lovely, intriguing, and complex, I have at least four urban fantasies and two contemporary romances on the back burner of my mind. I don’t want it to happen, but I get overwhelmed. Not sure if that is the correct word for wanting to be creative and not being productive.

To be intentional with maintaining my creativity, I am engaging with some interesting C-dramas and reading a series of urban fantasies and alternate-world manhwas. I am reading the manhwas from the Tappy Toon app. At the moment, I’m looking at 4 alternate world fantasy manhwas. I find them fascinating because, although there is magic and time regression in some form, the characters are initially from the alternate world and not someone from our modern-day world. This is not unique, but somewhat different from the main character being of this modern age, and others due to a vehicle, overwork, or accident. The other series that I’m listening to is the Dark Files, the Shadow and Light series, the Witches of Hollow Cove, and the Witches of New York, which are all written by Kim Richardson. These stories are similar to the I/GA Universe saga. Each series is at least 4 books or more. The setting is New York City and the tri-state area. The main female leads do not know each other but are from the same world, hybrids of the supernatural light and dark. They don’t do the typical vampire/werewolf/dragon love interests. Kim Richardson came up with possibilities I did not think were plausible. Because giants and were-apes need love, too. I don’t know why I’m watching xianxia C-dramas except that I like the opening songs and I’m down for the wigs and costumes. I am well aware that none of these stories has anything to do with space. So occasionally I will listen to short sci-fi stories on YouTube. Some are ridiculous, some are redundant, but they all teach me something about storytelling and are brief.

That is all for now. I plan to elaborate on some of the topics I’ve written about in the post in the future. I may even give a review on a book, manhwa, or TV show. As long as the real world doesn’t intrude too much. These things will be done. I am hoping that until the next post, you all continue to do and be well and remember to be kind.

End

Updates January 02-06

Happy New Year! Observed.

Thank for the likes and follows.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Last week was a needed rest. This was almost a break in plans again.  However I presevered this update will be short.  I’m doing my best to improve this site. Things are still shaky.  Taking this first week to set up how things will be for the next 90 days.

There is a quote from Karen Lamb “A year from now you will be glad you started Today.”

These words are all the resolution I need.

That is all for now. Expect bunny pictures next week. I hope your New Year’s day was special.

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Accountable Wednesday #3

This post is a late edition and rare experiment.  It is being put together on my tablet.  I am not sure if I like working this way.  However I have to get myself in the habit of putting up content.  The picture selected  is a representation of spring.  

I wrote in the update, that Hollywood Homicide was complete.  I was inspired to listen to Hollywood Endings. It is the second book in the Detective by Day series.  Both books were narrated by Bahni Turpin.  She is really good.   I have not started to listen to the Fated Sky.  The other 3 books mentioned in previous posts are in a holding pattern.  

There was a time I thought writing reviews would be easy.  I like to read and listen to books.  I love writing what could possibly go wrong.  Reviews come in various quality.  It is my goal to write useful reviews.  While I am attempting to hone the skill, this post is here to help me form the habit.  Meanwhile enjoy the picture of spring.

That is all for this post.  Have a good rest of the week.

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