Well, That didn't go as planned...

And that's okay.

So, I had a few goals for 2023…
~FINISH WPWA BOOK #5
~START ANOTHER BOOK
~PLOT 1 OR 2 MORE BOOKS

~WRITE 120,000 WORDS

Sadly, I met only 1 of those goals; I started another book.
Just when I thought the medical issues with my adoptive grandfather were calming down, he had a stroke in March and passed 7 weeks later. Everything dealing with the stroke and events leading up to his death really zapped a lot of my creative energy. I barely wrote over 48,000 words in 2023, which I think has been my worse year to date.
So, I’m calling 2023 my own ‘annus horribilis’ and taking it as a wash.

That being said, my goals for 2024 are
~FINISH WPWA BOOK #5
I’d say I’m somewhere between 50% and 60% done with this book. According to my notes, I have 7 more pages of plot notes to cover. I'll be picking this up again towards the end of January, to coincide with Wrestlemania season. If I really apply myself, I can probably get this done by the middle of April. When I finish it, Edits will be done the following month, aiming for pushing 'Publish' about 7-10 days after edits are completed.
So, I’m thinking I am going to publish around the end of May.

~FINISH 'MALIBU'
This book was the one I started in 2022. In October 2022, I had a scene just bothering me. I mean, this scene was just SCREAMING at me... and I've always heard if something is SCREAMING at you, don't ignore it! So, with no plot notes or anything, I just started writing.
Over the course of 2023, I fleshed this out a bit more and I am now sitting at about 8800 words into this now-book. I've given up trying to formally plan this, so I'm hoping I don’t end up with some ugly plot holes. I pantsed one of my books and ended up with a GLARING plot hole I needed to fix after I published it.
I will say this scene/book deviates from my normal style of writing. However, I am NOT going to get another pen name for it. I plan to publish it as Daisy Loveless with HEAVY warnings that it’s not like my normal writing.

~PLOT 1 OR 2 MORE BOOKS
I have at least 15 more ideas that are nothing more than a few sentences… just enough to get the gist of the plot… plus a few more bouncing in the noggin. I’m halfway through planning one book (which is going to be the 2nd book in my Country music series) and I want to get at least one more book planned this year.

~WRITE 120,000 WORDS
I only have ‘records’ back to 2020, where I wrote 80,000 words. 2021, I wrote over 115k words. My challenge for 2022 and 2023 was 120k words, but that never happened.
So, that’s my challenge for 2024 is once again… 120,000 words.
It SHOULD average out to 10,000 words a month, but with April, July and November taking 15,000 words each, it knocks the other months down to roughly 8350 words.
Totally doable, as long as I don’t slack off.

I also want to update this blog more, but I don’t want to make it into a full-blown goal, because I may slip up on this one.

I’m signing off for now. How you all have a great 2024!

Onwards to 2023!

So, I had a few goals for 2022…
~FINISH WPWA BOOK #4
~FINISH WPWA BOOK #5
~START ANOTHER BOOK
~PLOT 1 OR 2 MORE BOOKS
~KINDLE UNLIMITED
~WRITE 120,000 WORDS

Sadly, I met only 2 of those goals; I finished WPWA #4, which was named ‘Saving Declan,’ and I was able to get all my books into Kindle Unlimited.
The medical issues with my adoptive grandfather carried into a good portion of 2022 (including a few week-long stints in the hospital and a 2 month hospital stay at the end of March), and it really zapped a lot of my creative energy. I barely wrote over 50,000 words in 2022, which I think has been my worse year to date.
So, I’m calling 2022 my own ‘annus horribilis’ and taking it as a wash.

That being said, my goals for 2023 are

~FINISH WPWA BOOK #5
I’d say I’m somewhere between 50% and 60% done with this book. According to my notes, I have 7 more pages of plot notes to cover. If I really apply myself, I can probably get this done by the middle of February. When I finish it, Edits will be done the following month, aiming for pushing 'Publish' about 7-10 days after edits are completed.
So, I’m thinking I am going to publish around the end of March.

~START ANOTHER BOOK
This could go two ways. In October, I had a scene just bothering me. I mean, this scene was just SCREAMING at me... and I've always heard if something is SCREAMING at you, don't ignore it! So, with no plot notes or anything, I just started writing.
I am about 2600 words into this scene. I still want to formally plan this, so I don’t end up with some ugly plot holes. I pantsed one of my books and ended up with a GLARING plot hole I needed to fix after I published it.
I will say this scene/book deviates from my normal style of writing. However, I am NOT going to get another pen name for it. I plan to publish it as Daisy Loveless with HEAVY warnings that it’s not like my normal writing.
I also have a set of plot notes completed that have never been printed out, so I have them to fall back on, in case I get stuck in either a plotting file or one of my WIPs.

~PLOT 1 OR 2 MORE BOOKS
I have at least 15 more ideas that are nothing more than a few sentences… just enough to get the gist of the plot… plus a few more bouncing in the noggin. I’m halfway through planning one book (which is going to be the 2nd book in my Country music series) and I want to get at least one more book planned this year.

~WRITE 120,000 WORDS
I only have ‘records’ back to 2020, where I wrote 80,000 words. 2021, I wrote over 115k words. My challenge for 2022 was 120k words, but that never happened.
So, that’s my challenge for 2023… 120,000 words.
It SHOULD average out to 10,000 words a month, but with April, July and November taking 15,000 words each, it knocks the other months down to roughly 8350 words.
Totally doable, as long as I don’t slack off.

I also want to update this blog more, but I don’t want to make it into a full-blown goal, because I may slip up on this one.

I’m signing off for now. How you all have a great 2023!