The Journal: A Lesson on Short- and Long-Term Goals

In today’s Journal

* Had a great visit
* Topic: A Lesson on Short- and Long-Term Goals
* Lost a subscriber
* Today
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Had a great visit with some of my extended family over the past two days during a whirlwind trip to New Mexico. We even got a five-generation pic. That was fun.

I also learned I’m no longer able to work while on the road. So in the future, when I have to go somewhere for a specific reason, I’ll focus on that without stressing over it. The writing etc. will necessarily take a back seat.

This morning I’m playing catch up. I spent almost two hours getting my writing ‘puter display back in shape, repositioning all the icons, etc. from how much I messed it up while trying to work on the road without my large-screen monitor. Lesson learned.

Topic: A Lesson on Short- and Long-Term Goals

I missed writing my story for the week and the streak ended. However, the deadlines (Saturdays) were my own, so no big deal. I intend to continue with my goals as stated earlier: a new novel every month, a new short story every week.

To get back on track, I’ll try to write two short stories before this coming Saturday at midnignt. The first will be “for” yesterday, March 14, even though it’s written after that date (today or tomorrow). The other will be to meet my March 21 deadline on time. If I make it, I’ll consider the sreak intact, more or less.

(Yes, I’m giving myself an “out” to keep the streak going, sort of, but more so I’ll end up with at least 78 short stories at the end of 18 months from the time I started. I mention this only to show how long-term goals can help you reach your short-term goals. But in my mind, there will always be an asterisk beside the March 14 short story.)

Anyway, I wrote zero fiction while I was gone, so for those of you who follow the numbers below, they’re correct as of today.

Well, I lost a subscriber to the Journal. It was right after I posted “Barely a Post at All” the last time I was up to bat. Too much opinion, I guess, or maybe the wrong opinion. (Oops.) Or maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe not enough topics or something.

I hope it’s the latter. I’m fortunate, I guess. I can separate a writer’s skill and his or her ability as an instructor from his or her personal opinions and preferences. If I tied the two together and stopped learning from that writer as a result, it would harm me, not the writer in question.

Rolled out at 11:30 p.m. (misread the clock and thought it was 1:30 a.m.). By the time I realized my mistake a pot of coffee was brewing. So I came to the Hovel, wrote most of the stuff above, then went back to bed until almost 5.

And now I’ve decided I need a day to recover from my trip. I’m not as young as I once was. Who knew? (grin)

I’ll be back in a day or two.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “Licensing Expo Postponed” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/licensing-expo-postponed/. Good news, at least for me. I like having longer to decide whether to go.

See “Mentorship Open For One” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/mentorship-open-for-one/.

See “Quality or Speed?” at https://mystorydoctor.com/blog/. FWIW and I recommend taking it with a grain of salt. I say you can write quality and write “fast.”

See “This Week in the Blogs, March 6 – 12, 2020” at https://www.thebookdesigner.com/2020/03/this-week-in-the-blogs-march-6-12-2020/.

See “Something Free, Something Fun, and Something Important” at https://kriswrites.com/2020/03/14/something-free-something-fun-and-something-important/.

The Numbers

Fiction words today…………………… XXXX
Nonfiction words today…………… 610 (Journal)

Writing of The Othgygnrkthers (tentative title, novel)

Day 1…… 3863 words. Total words to date…… 3863
Day 2…… 2408 words. Total words to date…… 6261
Day 3…… 3116 words. Total words to date…… 9377
Day 4…… 3051 words. Total words to date…… 12428
Day 5…… 3285 words. Total words to date…… 15713
Day 6…… 2486 words. Total words to date…… 18199
Day 7…… 2365 words. Total words to date…… 20564
Day 8…… 3053 words. Total words to date…… 23617
Day 9…… XXXX words. Total words to date…… XXXXX

Total fiction words for the month……… 29557
Total fiction words for the year………… 166252
Total nonfiction words for the month… 13970
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 68450
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 234702

Calendar Year 2020 Novels to Date…………………… 3
Calendar Year 2020 Novellas to Date……………… X
Calendar Year 2020 Short Stories to Date… 6
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 48
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 202
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31