So I’m starting to realize that a structure is emerging from these posts, so I’m just going to follow suit. Here’s what’s going on!
LAST WEEK’S HAUL
Last week’s successes: Yup. So we make plans and God laughs, apparently. The rest of last week didn’t go at all according to plan, lol. My baby and I were still sick and recuperating. So I instead chose to tackle and snipe a series of smaller, easier admin tasks that are still important to life, but not necessarily steeped in my writing goals. I have learned some really important lessons, though.
For one, that taking care of yourself and the ones you care about is paramount. My baby’s the most important thing to me, so she needs to be okay. Secondly, without your health, you really can’t do much. So I HAD to take care of our health last week if I had any hope of achieving anything this coming week! And thirdly, any moves to make your life easier and more solid, even if the things you have to do are completely unrelated to your writing, are NECESSARY to your writing. For example, I needed to make sure my moving plans and finances were in place so that I could start working towards my major move to Arizona. While these things do not immediately contribute to my word count, they do help me to achieve more stability. That way, I can hit the ground running when my creative journey up-levels this September!
So the key lessons from last week are to take care of oneself, one’s life, and one’s security so that your creativity can flow freely. Then life, and your creativity, can DEFINITELY take care of you!
What I finished last week: So, in better news, being that I couldn’t really work, I could at least get some reading done, and… I FINALLY FINISHED Catching Fire! It was a really great book, albeit a teeny bit slower than I liked. Still, I loved the character development and then the fast-paced action towards the final third of the book. It is literally a book that “catches fire”, slowly, but in a satisfying way. Check out my review for it here!
Also, I caught up on my informational podcasts, and sat a bunch of professional author-entrepreneur trainings where I could be a more passive learner. In particular, I finished Alinka Rutkowska’s Goodreads Cracked Course and her Facebook Ads for Authors Course! AND I LOVED THEM! I’ll probably post reviews for them sometime towards the end of this week. And I DID get a little writing done for The Books of Ezekiel; it was just minimal, like around 500 words, but a lot of it was also scene development for the rest of the second season arc! I also got in a bit of worldbuilding and history-making for The ASYLUM trilogy. So while not much fiction writing got done, I sniped my goals and tasks where I could. Here’s hoping that this week will be worlds more productive.
THIS WEEK’S HUSTLE
What I’m writing this week: The Iron Maiden. We’re in full writing mode, even though I’m still writing the scene list. So I’ll be working on both. But I’ve got some scenes and surprises that will blow your mind! I’ll also be working on the preliminary back blurb for TIM so that I can FINALLY schedule my pre-orders. Lastly, I’m working on a series of blog posts for The Bohemian Badass.
What I’m editing this week: I realized that my author website needs a little tweaking where the mailing list is concerned. So I need to streamline and then test that as soon as possible. That, and my growing scene list for The Final Page series.
What I’m reading / watching / listening this week: So this week, I’ll be working on reading Mockingjay, the final installment to the Hunger Games trilogy. While I’m enjoying the series, I’ll be really happy to finally finish it and move onto other awesome trilogies. 🙂 I think I’ll try Divergent or Shatter Me next!
What I’m researching / developing: I’m working on a “world character arc” and “historical timeline” for the ASYLUM trilogy. The FORGOTTEN Trilogy is still in “middling mode”, but I trust that my subconscious is doing the work it needs to do so that I can start writing in June!
What I’m learning for this week: YUP! New section! Because the creative training hustle here at Colby’s Cove is just too real! I’m finishing off my trilogy of courses from Alinka Rutkowska with her 100 Review Book Launch Course! I’ve had such a great experience with Alinka’s courses, that I have some seriously high hopes for this one. I just KNOW it’s going to blow my mind! And of course, I’ll post my review of it next week!