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January Check in for 250 days of writing

2021-02-01T20:33:04Z

Since GWO gave me an Excel tracker, I haven't been posting every day here. However, I'm going to sum up my work for January for accountability purposes!

I've been jumping around a lot to keep me motivated and also keep me writing. Anamnesis was a bit on the back burner this month as I worked through the blueprint w/ my book coach.

In Memoriam was on hold because I was awaiting beta reader feedback. Now it is really close to submission.

I also stared this new epic fantasy series that's been rolling around in my head for a while, Bane of Blood. Trying to implement stuff I've learned from my book coach at the beginning of this story. I also am working on thoroughly worldbuilding before writing too much so I can have consistency from the beginning.

I only missed 5 of 31 days this month (didn't write/edit etc. at all) which I feel is pretty good! Especially since we are in the thick of a basement renovation also.

So, you want to know what it looks like to be a full time writer? It's not as glamorous as you think, but it's actually been really fulfilling! Here are my accomplishments this month.
TOTAL DAYS WRITING: 26

1) Blogging/Journaling
- Journaled 1500 words
- Wrote 11 Whole 30 Blogs (not counting WC as that's too much effort)

2) Bane of Blood - my new epic fantasy side project
- Started & Wrote 16,491 words on Bane of Blood
- Wrote 5548 words for Bane of Blood front matter/lore (not part of the manuscript)
- Wrote 2 parts of the outline for Bane of Blood
- Did countless edits & rework on Bane of Blood as the story kept shifting as I wrote more. However, I think it's finally in a place where much of the backstory and lore is established which should help with writing the subsequent parts. Unfortunately, I don't have a page count on edits, but effective if I wrote it, I edited it LOL.

3). Anamnesis - My main project. Book 1 of "The Savant Uprising series" a cyberpunk series. Book 1 is undergoing extensive rework w/ a book coach
- Wrote 2583 new words on Anamnesis
- Finished parts 1-9 of my Anamnesis rework Blueprint
- Edited some sections for consistency

4). In Memoriam - My other main project, a cyberpunk prequel to Anamnesis. Getting ready for submission.
- Polish-Edited the 1st 3 chapters for In Memoriam (my cyberpunk prequel to Anamnesis) to prepare it for submission
- Implemented beta reader feedback in In Memoriam
- Finished going over feedback from my manuscript mentor

4). Misc
- Edited 4 short stories
- Redesigned my author webpage & my business cards
- Wrote, edited and submitted my first erotica (tee-hee)

5). Income (which is not a lot)
- Wrote 3 paid articles
- Took surveys for money
- Sold stuff online

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Day 12 & 13 of 250 Days of Writing

2021-01-15T19:06:59Z

The last two days, I've been fighting with a complete website overhaul. While not directly related to writing, it has a lot to do with my online author presence so I am peripherally counting it. But I've also done some other writing stuff as well.

Day 12: Website overhaul, edited 1250 words of Anamnesis (book 1 in the Savant Uprising)

Day 13: Finished website overhaul, rewrote/edited a ~2000 word scene in Anamnesis, Edited ~5447 (high level) of new Anamnesis content, & wrote 602 brand new words for Anamnesis.

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Day 10 & 11 of 250 days of writing

2021-01-13T05:59:24Z

Day 10: Journalled 200 words, edited many parts of the 16k words on Bane of Blood to fix inconsistencies and adjust the story. Also spent time further outlining and worldbuilding for consistency.

Day 11: Met with book coach for 1 1/2 hours to discuss Anamnesis, my cyberpunk story which is Book 1 of the Savant Uprising series. The rest of the day was spent working on my website and trying to figure out how to make passive income on writing which is kinda peripherally related I think.

I still don't feel like I'm doing enough, but I am doing what I can!

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Day 8 & 9 Of 250 Days of Writing

2021-01-11T04:03:28Z

Worked on the outline of FNYtbN which I've started calling "Bane of Blood." I also worked on a map and plotted out the journey, worked on worldbuilding as well.

Also journaled 1 of the 2 days but at least that's something. :)

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Whole 30 Journey - Day -1

2021-01-11T03:17:24Z

Hey there!

Big (temporary) changes are happening here at Kittenmost Manor! We're all going to do the Whole 30 diet for the next 30 days, starting tomorrow.

**For those who don't know this diet cuts out all grains, dairy (except eggs), sugar/artificial sweeteners, beans & alcohol. Which means, processesd foods are pretty much out (hence the "whole" in the name). Meats, all veggies & fruits are OK as are nuts & seeds (no peanuts) & coffee/tea (thank F!).**

We all realize we've been eating/drinking our feelings throughout 2020 and as a friend said a few years ago "we need to put ourselves in time out". However, if you know me, you'll know I'm not one for fad diets or "food trendz" (except avocado toast. Love that shiz), but who knows? 2020 was a shitshow so 2021 may as well be for doing things you'd never do before...and it's only a month, right? Right?!

This weekend was the pre-start of the diet. We've been testing out W30 recipes & eating our last gluten, dairy and sugar vices (while crying). But I'm ready. Not saying it's going to be easy, but it is...at least...going to be hilarious.

Like, tonight Eric and I decided to make homemade mayonnaise. It's just eggs and oil, right? How hard can it be? Well...um...have you met me?!

Here are the things I learned from the homemade mayonnaise saga:
1. It's not just eggs and oil, turns out...
2. You can crack an egg on the counter rather than a sharp surface to keep shells from getting into your food. WAAAAAT?! INORITE?! Mind. Blown.
3. They make 2TBSP measuring spoons...who knew.
4. Quadrupling a recipe you've never made is ambition, Eight-timesing a recipe is stupidity
5. While it's not baking science, mayonnaise making is still science
6. One word: Emulsification

So, while it wasn't a complete and utter failure (i.e. we didn't make mayo soup), it wasn't a resounding success either. And holy crap it takes a lot of time. When they say "drip" the oil in slowly, you'd better eff-in drip the oil in slowly so help you God...

It didn't turn out as thick as we would like and it was definitely mustard-y, it seemed to work great in chicken salad. So really what we did was accidentally make hollandaise sauce instead...maybe my dad's famous eggs benedicts are not so much a secret after all...

Maybe soon we'll try mayo making part deux...though first we have to go through a lot of mayondaise sauce.

This better help us all actually feel better and find out what it is that kills all our collective stomachs. Though, at the end of this I'll probably have the biggest bowl of mac and cheese in existence. 😉 Wish us luck!

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Day 7 of 250 Days of Writing

2021-01-09T04:09:10Z

Today I actually had paid work today, so most of my writing went to that. Wrote a 2300 word article on home remodeling contractors in Oakland. Fun stuff...

I think my FNYtbN now may have a working title. I'm calling it "Bane of Blood". I did manage to get 1010 words written on it today so that's good! Soon I will need to flesh out the outline for the next part though and that is intimidating LOL.

But little by little I'll get 'er done. :-)

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Day 5 & 6 of 250days of witing

2021-01-07T05:45:45Z

While yesterday was mostly consumed with an electrician's visit and several appointments, I still managed to edit 1350 words for day 5.

Day 6: I wrote 1322 word and journaled another 200. I'm also working on an article for commission which is not technically part of the goal, but is still writing related--yay!

Slowly, ever slowly, I am getting stuff done. :-)

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Day 3 & 4 and of 250 Days of Writing

2021-01-05T02:55:48Z

So I am going to count journaling with my new Christmas writing prompts as a creative writing endeavor. This is because I am trying to make journaling a daily habit. I find that I'm more motivated to do writing stuff after I journal.

Anyway, I forgot to update yesterday so here are my days 3 and 4:

Day 3: Journaled 200 words, edited 1850 words

Day 4: Journaled 400 words, wrote 3,044 new words

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Day 2 of 250 Days of Writing

2021-01-03T05:16:26Z

Day 2 of #250daysofwriting: edited the 1842 words from yesterday & wrote 1703 new. Does anyone else feel like a total dorky loser when writing sex scenes? I feel like I either go awkward the middle-school flirting route or full erotica, no in between!

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250 Days of Writing - Day 1

2021-01-02T08:10:42Z

250 Days of Writing - Day 1

- Blog Post 207 words
- First third of outline for "Fantasy Novel Yet to be Named" (FNYtbN)
- Wrote 1842 words of "FNYtbN"

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Accountablility

2021-01-01T23:42:38Z

Being a freelance writer is tough...especially when I can set my own schedule and my own level of work. While I have some work that I am paid for, the majority of my work is on my sci-fi novel series and other writig projects which don't have deadlines or immediate monetary recompense. Thus, sometimes it is hard to motivate myself to work on it, and it is very easy to procrastinate.

2020 presented some major challenges, but it also offered up a major opportunity. It has allowed (or forced) me to begin pursuing writing as a full-time job. Now that I have alleviated myself of most major debt, I can start focusing on this goal. I believe 2021 will be the time when I can turn my career around into something that satisfies and fulfills me.

Thus, I am setting up some accountability to keep working towards my ultimate dream of being a full-time writer and official author of a science fiction/fantasy series. My goal is to work on some writing activity or another for at least 250 days of this year. If I'm going to do this as a job, I should treat it as such.

Here's to 2021, may you be awesome, successful and productive!

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First post

2021-01-01T23:19:18Z

Testing out the journal feature by making my first post!

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