Doing what I love takes the sting out. Much of it anyway. Not all. The death of my husband overwhelmed me and impacted what I have accomplished so far this year. It’s been messy. I’ve not met many of my intentions. But tracking what I have accomplished and reporting on it here reminds me of what I have accomplished. Takes the focus off what I haven’t done.
Do what you love, and do it well – that’s much more meaningful than any metric.
Kevin Systrom
Intentions
Instead of goals or resolutions, I use intentions. You can miss a goal. You probably break most resolutions. But an intention is a focus. When life impedes your plan, take care of that event or disturbance, intending to return to your primary plan. Every morning begins with a renewed intention.
Making
I didn’t finish the revision on my work-in-progress as soon as I had hoped. But I finished the first set of revisions on If I Should Die. The book is out to my Beta Readers.
Beta readers are voluntary. They understand that this is not a polished draft. They comb the manuscript for inconsistencies, slow pacing, or other story problems. I usually give my beta readers a 3-4 week window to read and get their comments back to me. When I have all their comments, I review the comments. I consider all comments carefully, especially if more than one person made similar comments. After a week of brainstorming how to use those comments to improve the story, I revise the manuscript.
This is doing what I love. I love writing, but unlike many authors, I also love revisions. It’s exciting and satisfying to shape the story into the best reader experience I can make it.
Managing
Busy, busy, busy. Attending the 20Books Conference in Vegas kept me running most of the month. I learned a lot of best practices, tips and tricks and small but significant details of publishing. I’ve spent a large portion of time since my return making plans based on what I learned.
I made calls. Sent emails. And I bought software and tech stuff that will (I hope) improve my productivity and health in this very sedentary life. (More about those later.)
I posted my second blog post on the Writers in the Storm blog. Those posts seemed to increase visits to my blog.
Posts on my own blog have slowed considerably this month. I planned not to blog while in Vegas, but other days were unplanned misses.
Due to all the extra activities, I also missed most of my virtual write in meetings and my critique group meetings.
Marketing
I’m continuing to refine my marketing efforts on Amazon. These efforts have increased impressions received on those ads. Hopefully, more sales will follow.
Home
This area of intentions has also been crazy busy. Cleaning and reorganizing, selling and donating, and strolling down memory lane are a large part of my non-writing time.
Of course, I still enjoy time with my grandson every week.
Mea culpa. I completely ignored the fact that during the last few years of my husband’s illness and then the pandemic, my poor dogs had only ridden too and from the dreaded vet’s office. SIGH. They have forgotten the joy of riding in the car.
Events
I’ve already blogged about Las Vegas.
My son and daughter-in-law hosted Thanksgiving dinner this year. I ate too much. And I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed game time with the family. (The toddler made a game of running in and out of the room where we were playing.) It was a low-key affair and just what I needed this year.
What I Learned
Oh my. I could fill a book with what I learned during this month. No, I won’t bore you with the details. However, in the months ahead, you will notice a few changes around here.
This is part of doing what I love. I love to learn new things, try new things, experience new things. Between the pandemic and my grief, I haven’t experienced the lift of doing what I love as much as usual.
Intentions for Next Month
I could fill a book… Yeah. I bite off way more than I can chew. Unfortunately, as an independent author, there are things that are time sensitive. And many pieces of writing and publishing must happen in a certain order.
Intentions for Making in December include drafting an outline for book 3 in the Fellowship Dystopia Series, revising my website and, at long last, republishing my books with new covers.
I am hosting on the Writers in the Storm blog this month.
And besides the two major holidays, I have a trip to Memphis planned, and three birthdays to celebrate. Oh, and the trip means I’m taking short drives with the dogs to help them remember car trips can be fun.
Yup. It’s going to be another busy-bee month. I’ve got big intentions and I know that most of my intentions will extend into 2022.
I am Grateful
It’s the end of November. Thanksgiving is over, but my cup of gratitude is overflowing. I’m grateful to be doing what I love. And my gratitude to my readers, my friends, and my family is unending. You all have enriched my life. Thank you.
What are you most grateful for at the end of this month?
What intentions do you have for next month?
Image Credits
Top Image by 3844328 from Pixabay
Middle Photo by Marije Woudsma on Unsplash
Last Photo by Ephraim Mayrena on Unsplash
Great image – your cup certainly has.
Glad you are slowly getting back on track, and that you had a good holiday with family. Thanks for sharing such calming mental images! We had a quiet one here at the retirement community – but didn’t have to DO a thing.
I just got through a video visit with my surgeon – can’t even start the next step until APRIL. That’s not even the procedure. It’s daunting to keep dealing with a problem an hour or two in the operating room will fix forever, after more than 1.5 years of dealing with it already.
Stress comes from every direction. I do my breathing exercises, take my naps, and remember it could be much worse, look for alternatives, and, best, get buried in the writing.
Wishing you good writing. Every little bit helps.