Identity Function

I don’t like burnout. The worst thing about it is that I don’t see it coming: I am diagnosing January’s burnout in retrospect. In the moment it just felt like I was overwhelmed and tired, but in hindsight it is pretty obvious that I had taken on too much and wasn’t getting any of it done.

So this is not going to be a positive Things post, as should be obvious from the way I am not getting it done until two thirds of the way into the month.

Let’s lift up the rock and see what’s underneath.

Three Things for January

With the understanding that I basically didn’t do anything, what did I complete?

1. Cinnamon Harmonies — no work. I will come back to this later in the year, April at the soonest. The trick here is going to be closing it out. No points this time though.
2. Song fourth draft — I need to develop a revision plan, but I didn’t do that. This is probably the second most important thing I need to do this quarter. Marking this incomplete.
3. blog — obviously not, although I have done more blogging than anything else. Half a point.
4. workshop application — I have done some work on this, with thoughts on the cover letter and the sample I want to send. Calling this half done, although that might be generous.

What I have done this last few weeks is some wildly overdue card sorting. The Konmari spirit is upon me still, and clearing out cards to make space for other things is still pretty important to me.

Still overall, I am going to rate that two halves out of four, or 1/4 once the fractions are simplified.

Three Things for 2019

This is not the vigorous start to 2019 that I had hoped for, but this has not been vigorous month so that’s just where I am.

1. query A Turquoise Song — a goal in three sequential parts:
   1. prepare a fourth draft — incorporate feedback, make it good. Target is to have this done by the middle of the year. No progress on this first part yet.
   2. prepare query letter — obviously the initial targets are the agents I talked to at the conference in 2017, but I also want to prepare for querying other agents.
   3. query — get the book out there.
2. short stories — I am finding my relationship to short stories becoming much less contentious, even fruitful!
   1. several stories to write for Boundary Shock Quarterly — I have started in on the first of these.
   2. write and submit four stories to other markets. So that’s one a quarter, and I will mark it as such.
3. engage with the writing community — this is a nebulous label for a group of related goals that don’t warrant a top level item to themselves.
   1. workshop application — I’m going to apply for an intensive workshop. More on that once it’s in hand, which it really isn’t yet.
   2. podcast — one of the things that came out of the inconclusive work on producing Livia as an audiobook was a desire to launch a podcast of some kind. This would be audio-only initially, although I am still searching for a good format. No work this month beyond some sorting to make space.
   3. cons & confs — I need to be getting out there more. I just do. No progress on  doing so, however.

As I say, not a great start but I still think this is going to be a good year.

Three Things for February

Not that there’s much left of February, at this point, but…

These month goals are predicated on the truncated amount of time remaining in the month. That necessarily reduces the volume of work which can be completed, as well as the scope.

Still, there are real tasks that can still be accomplished towards my goals for the year.

1. Song fourth draft — I’m expecting to receive more feedback on the 3rd draft from my crit group, so I need to prep some questions to help provide prompts for discussion.
2. short stories — two things:
   1. finish draft of next BSQ story
   2. plan story for submission this quarter
3. workshop application — write draft of cover letter.

Note that I am not putting in work on Cinnamon Harmonies this month. I plan to come back to that in April.

Alright*, let’s get back to it.

[*] US English convention is “all right” but I grew up with “alright”. For some reason I have suppressed that British usage for most of the time I have been writing seriously, even while I use other British usages without compunction or mercy: armoured trousers are are my speciality, for example.

I am reclaiming this part of my upbringing.

2018 felt like a long year, and yet was it long enough for me to make progress on my goals? Well, let’s find out.

Three Things for December

When I set my December things I didn’t account for how exhausted I would be at the end of the year. Basically, I checked out for the last third of the month because I just needed a break from all of it.

With that caveat, let’s look at the things I said I would do and how much got done.

1. Cinnamon Harmonies — my goal was to keep working on it, which I achieved up to a point, and I have 10,000 more words on it than I had at the end of November. I floundered on plot, though, so I have a necessary January goal to replan the story. Let’s call this another lesson in needing an outline before starting a draft.
2. Song fourth draft — feedback was expected from the developmental editor. Feedback received, but not fully processed. The feedback is certainly valuable, I just haven’t grokked the implications or made the decisions I need to.
3. blog — did barely any blogging in December. At least I got my health goals update written.
4. office clean-up — some work, but not as substantial as I needed.

So, yeah. I’ll call that 2/4 overall, but I spent a lot of good time with my family which I needed, so it was a successful month even without the full panoply of completed creative goals.

Three Things for 2018

Obviously the December outcome isn’t going to move the needle on my 2018 goals much, but here is where things stand at the end of the year.

1. finish A Turquoise Song — my decision to engage a developmental editor meant I could not finish this book in 2018, but I have been working on it consistently over the whole year so I count this as a success even if it is incomplete.
2. submit my work — a goal in two parts:
   1. submit Song once it is done
   2. complete and submit short stories

   No change from November — my 2018 Boundary Shock Quarterly stories are done, and I did not query Song.

3. produce Livia as an audiobook — effectively abandoned. I made progress on some of the prerequisites (sorting out recording software, learning a bit about post-processing) but I struggled both with a mangled voice from an extended cold and an impossibly cluttered recording environment.I also realise that I am going to have to work very carefully around the other people in the house. My kids are not especially loud, but teenagers are not inherently quiet beings.

Score for the year, therefore, is 2/3, with the only true failure being the audiobook production.

Three Things for 2019

2019 feels like a watershed year already. Many things are likely to come to a conclusion, if not fruition.

Let’s get specific.

1. query A Turquoise Song — a goal in three parts:
   1. prepare a fourth draft — incorporate feedback, make the book good. Target is to have this done by the middle of the year.
   2. prepare query letter — obviously the initial targets are the agents I talked to at the conference in 2017, but I also want to prepare for querying other agents.
   3. query — get the book out there. Minimum query count is three.
2. short stories — I am finding my relationship to short stories becoming much less contentious, even fruitful!
   1. several stories to write for Boundary Shock Quarterly
   2. write and submit four stories to other markets. So that’s one a quarter, and I will mark it as such.
3. engage with the writing community — this is a nebulous label for a group of related goals that don’t warrant a top level item to themselves.
   1. workshop application — I’m going to apply for an intensive workshop. More on that once it’s in hand.
   2. podcast — one of the things that came out of the inconclusive work on producing Livia as an audiobook was a desire to launch a podcast of some kind. This would be audio-only initially, although I am still searching for a good format.
   3. cons & confs — I need to be getting out there more. I just do.

Nothing here about the Livia audiobook. That’s not to say I won’t do work on it, but it will be a side project instead.

It’s going to be a good year, I think.

Three Things for January

December hangovers, 2019 enthusiasms.

1. Cinnamon Harmonies — finish this draft. I will need to do some plotting first, but the end of the story is not that far away.
2. Song fourth draft — process feedback received, develop revision plan.
3. blog — restore regular blogging service.
4. workshop application — applications will be open soon, so get ready.

Here’s to a substantial 2019!

It’s the last month of the year and I feel like I am waking up after the long month of November. What exactly is going on again?

Three Things for November

1. NaNoWriMo — made the words, if not the entire story yet.
2. blog — I made some blog posts, admittedly mostly about NaNoWriMo but there were blog posts.
3. office clean-up — didn’t really do anything here. Ugh.

Still, a firm 2/3.

I never wrote a blog post in November about health goals but I do want to post an update about that so a health-focussed update will be coming. It is good news, though.

The best thing about November was a regular write-in with some local authors. We are going to be continuing that in the new year, which I am quite excited about.

Three Things for 2018

Where am I on my goals as the year draws to a close?

1. finish A Turquoise Song — I not only decided against querying this in November, but chose to engage a developmental editor to look at the pacing and other issues with the book. Basically, I feel like I need some advice on how to make the book function properly. I am expecting feedback in a little over a week, but once those comments come in I will be working on the fourth draft. I will call it a new draft, because I want to draw a distinction between how far I got on my own and where I went with guidance.
2. submit my work — a goal in two parts:
   1. submit Song once it is done
   2. complete and submit short stories

   All my Boundary Shock Quarterly stories are done. I will not be querying Song this year.

3. produce Livia as an audiobook — no new work, and this looks like an abandoned goal unless there is some extraordinary effort in December.

   I have no plans for such an effort.

I have made consistent progress on everything except the audiobook production. I would be happier if more things were actually complete, but having three stories out in the wild is pretty special.

Three Things for December

Finishing up 2018 in fine style, I hope.

1. Cinnamon Harmonies — I don’t particularly expect to finish this in December, but I do want to keep working on it.
2. Song fourth draft — I am nervous about the feedback I am going to receive, but I am looking forward to making the book better. This month will probably be more about ensuring that I understand the feedback I receive than necessarily applying all of it.
3. blog — there are a few posts I have delayed. Catch up on those.
4. office clean-up — I just need to clean that shit up. Not expecting to set aside an audio are of any type.

Let’s get it done.