Weekly Goals, Week 49: On to the Next Thing

It was a whirlwind ending, but NaNoWriMo FauxNoWriMo, our November novel writing challenge, is over.

I did not make it to 50,000 words in the month, but I knew I would not.  Early on in the month, in fact, I gave myself permission to fail, since I knew I would be spending a lot of my time taking care of Izzy.  My goal was to write every day, and while I didn't entirely succeed, I also was able to maintain a habit of writing at least five days a week throughout the month.

Perhaps even more importantly, I finished the novel I was working on, the sequel to Amnesia (that still does not have its own name).  The ending is flat and I know the novel (well, the entire story arc) needs a lot of replotting, rewriting, and fine tuning, but the first draft is done.

Without wasting any time, I'm moving on to my next project, an idea I had a week or so ago.  I'll work on this for a bit, maybe even finish it, and then go back to Amnesia to try and fix it.

I discovered TrackBear has a public profile feature that compiles my writing projects and statistics.  I've turned that on and you can see my FauxNoWriMo progress there, as well as my writing challenge for December: to write almost every day (or, in terms that I could quantify for a challenge, to update at least every two days).  I've also included my most recent project, Amnesia, as well as the new one I'm working on, The Year of the Horse.

Now that NaNoWriMo FauxNoWriMo is over, I'm going to try to get back to a schedule of getting things done.  It'll still be rather limited by Izzy needing something every few hours, but I'm going to see what I can accomplish around her care.  Last week didn't produce the results I wanted, but that was in the demanding last week of November, so hopefully this week will be more productive.

My goals for the week are, therefore:

1. Keep writing nearly every day
2. Clean up and organize in the kitchen and doll spaces
3. Get back to work on doll stuff

I have a bunch of doll projects that were put off when Izzy got sick and then again when November started, but now that that's over, I want to try to knock some of those out before the holidays.  Plus there is a lot of cleaning that hasn't been getting done while Izzy's been sick, in addition to the ongoing organization projects I was already working on, so I want to make some progress on that as well.  It doesn't have to be a lot; I'll settle for small amounts of progress, here and there.

Incidentally, one way I know I've been slowly settling into a schedule is the fact that I'm reading again.  For a long time after Izzy got sick, I was barely able to read (or eat, for that matter).  Finding time to read again has made me feel like my life is getting back to some sense of normalcy.

I am hopeful that the other areas of my life will follow suit.

Weekly Goals, Week 48: Giving Thanks

This week is already shaping up to be a doozy.  My husband is furloughed all week due to the holiday, so we'll have some time to hopefully work on some things around the house (neglected cleaning and organization while Izzy has been sick) as well as wrapping up NaNoWriMo FauxNoWriMo.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be nuts as we have three big days of events in a row: my favorite event, the annual museum write-in, a final push write-in on Saturday, and the Thank Goodness It's Over party on Sunday.  Plus we'll have family obligations for the holiday week as well, so it's sure to be busy!

Last week... well, I'm still not sure where last week went, but I made it so yay!  I managed to write five days out of seven, which isn't every day but is still pretty close.  Other than that, I feel like I didn't accomplish a ton, but I survived it and Izzy did too, so that's what matters.

This week is going to be a little more chaotic, unfortunately, what with the holidays.  I also want to try to get some things done while my husband has a few days off, so I have plans: to clean and organize, to get some shelves up, and that kind of thing.  Small projects, and just a few, but ones that have been waiting for a while.

So my goals are a little more complex this week, but not much:

1. Write every day
2. Run the last week of FauxNoWriMo
3. Clean the kitchen
4. Mount shelves
5. Organize my doll trunks

Hopefully my husband being of work will help free up some time to get things done, because this looks like a scary list considering how little I've been able to manage thus far!  I'm also hoping that Izzy starting to eat more on her own the last few days will result in a lighter workload for us, but that still remains to be seen.

Despite the difficulties, it seems important to note in my Thanksgiving week post how truly thankful we are that Izzy is still with us.  She still has a long road ahead of her, if she's even able to fully recover, but we are grateful for every additional day we have with her.  A month and a half ago, we didn't know if we were going to get any more time with her at all, so the fact that she's still with us truly is a gift!

Weekly Goals, Week 47: Still in Survival Mode

The last week has been a blur, busy and stressful.  True to my survival mode goals last week, I focused mainly on writing and keeping up on NaNoWriMo FauxNoWriMo.  I managed to write six out of seven days last week, including three days where I didn't have a write-in to keep me going.  In fact, the only day I didn't write was Friday, and that was mostly due to our entire day getting hijacked by an emergency vet visit for Izzy.

This week will be similar as far as goals go.  Taking care of Izzy takes up so much of my time that I don't have a lot left to spare, so I'll focus what I have on writing.  For now that will have to do.

1. Keep working on my novel
2. Keep running FauxNoWriMo

I feel like I'm starting to finally adapt to my new schedule.  I have been running myself ragged, going to bed early and then getting up in the middle of the night to give Izzy fluids.  It was getting harder and harder to get up in the middle of the night, so last night I finally drank some late-night coffee to keep myself up so that I could get uninterrupted sleep afterward.

It's still stressful, but I'm hoping I can settle in to the schedule a little better so that it doesn't feel quite so hard.

November Writing Month Check-In

In the past few weeks, I've heard all kinds of creative alternatives to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) that are popping up.  Many former Municipal Liaisons are distancing their regions from the original organization after the scandals of the past year or two.  I've heard it called NoNoWriMo (presumably November Novel Writing Month, although "No No" is spot on too), TNT (That November Thing), and of course, our region is calling it FauxNoWriMo.

The point is, NaNoWriMo has become a movement that goes beyond the parent organization.  You can take the MLs out of NaNoWriMo, but you can't take NaNoWriMo out of the MLs or the wrimos!  We're all still writing and doing our own things.

The month has been tough for me due to my cat's illness.  Her care has been demanding and the cost has been high, prompting us to start a GoFundMeow in the hopes of getting a little money toward the ongoing expenses.  (Donations and especially shares are appreciated, thank you!)  I've been so stressed out that I've had a hard time eating, plus I've been pretty sleep deprived from staying up until 3am and 4am to give her water in the wee hours of the morning.  And, of course, I haven't had a lot of time to work on much else, so I'm way behind in writing.  I'm only at 9,830 words so far this month, when usually I'd be at around 20,000 words by this point in November.

I'm still plugging away, though, and considering everything that's been going on, I've given myself permission not to make 50,000 words.  It's more important to me that I write every day as much as possible.  I did miss several days early on in the month, but currently I've written six days in a row, and I hope to keep the streak going.  Even if I only get a couple hundred words written on any given day, it's still progress.  I feel like finding time to write at all right now should be celebrated!

I hope everyone else's November writing project is going well too.  If anyone has lost communication with their region and is missing the feeling of community, please feel free to visit FauxNoWriMo.com, sign up for our mailing list, and check out our calendar of events.  Most of our events are in the Denver area, but we do have some virtual write-ins, and we welcome all writers!

Weekly Goals, Week 46: Survival Mode

I can't believe it's already Monday again.  Last week was a blur.  We got a major snowstorm from Tuesday night into Friday night or early Saturday morning, so we really didn't go much of anywhere (other than to the barn to run chores, and a few local errands) during that time.

The snowstorm meant that most of our write-ins for the week ended up canceled, but I still did end up getting some writing done, mostly thanks to writing sprints on our region's Discord server.  We also had an easy day on Saturday, so I spent much of the day working on my novel.

I'm also mostly staying on top of the demands of running our region for NaNoWriMo FauxNoWriMo.  I sent out our email blast for the week and posted it to social media last Monday, and then ended up sending other messages out canceling write-ins due to the snow.  This week I do need to resume my search for a local venue that might host us on Saturday, November 30th for an extended, last-day write-in.

We're still taking care of Izzy, and while she's been doing better (and we put off any appointments during the snowstorm), the demands of her care mean that I'm still in survival mode.  With so much to manage, I'm trying to minimize what else I'm doing so I can focus on taking care of Izzy.  Therefore my goals for the week are again pretty brief and focusing mostly on the things that I either can't or don't want to sacrifice.

1. Keep working on my novel
2. Keep running FauxNoWriMo

I'm trying to work on my novel as close to every day as possible, even if it's not much.  I missed a bunch of days earlier in the month, but I've managed to work on it the past four days in a row.  The first day of the streak, I only got 164 words written before I tapped out, but the days since have been more productive.  I would rather write even 30 words than not write at all, though.

As for FauxNoWriMo, the main things I have to do are to write the weekly communications (there are three of us running the show, but I volunteered to take that on), and to run my write-ins (Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening, and Sunday afternoon).  I didn't go to the Tuesday one last week because of Izzy, and the Wednesday one was canceled due to the snow, so last week was a little light.  This week will be more a little more demanding in that respect, especially when you add in the write-in on Friday that I want to go to (not mine, although I'll be covering it next week).

I'm hoping Izzy continues to do well and the week itself goes well too.  I'm not sure I can handle having anything more on my plate right now.

Weekly Goals, Week 45: On the Struggle Bus

This week I'm feeling the weight of everything.  Taking care of my cat and NaNoWriMo the November writing challenge combined are almost too much to manage, leaving no hope for cleaning my house or getting caught up on doll work.  Last week was so hectic I didn't even get a chance to write my weekly goals post until Friday.

Other than Izzy's demanding schedule of care, I'm keeping my goals pretty minimal to avoid adding to the overall feeling of overwhelm.

1. Work on my novel
2. Keep up on the demands of FauxNoWriMo

FauxNoWriMo should need too much maintenance from here on out, just a weekly email and maybe some last-minute organizing to get a final push write-in in place for Saturday, November 30th.  Since that day falls on a Saturday, we're thinking it would be a good opportunity for an extra-long write-in to help anyone who needs a big push that day to finish.

I'm really hoping that Izzy starts to improve so that her care will begin to be a little less demanding, but if that point comes, it'll probably still be at least a week or two out.

Weekly Goals, Week 44: Ramping Up

This has been such a crazy week that I'm only now finally blogging about my goals for the week, and the week is basically over!

Part of the reason everything has been so crazy is that I realized over the weekend that November was nearly here.  While our region is distancing ourselves from NaNoWriMo, we are still planning on carrying on as usual with writing and events.  I had done a bunch of planning last month and early this month before Izzy got sick, which turned out to be a blessing, because once my cat got sick, everything else fell by the wayside.  I tried to get caught up on planning last week, but November was coming up too quickly and we weren't doing enough promotion, which I didn't realize until late Sunday evening.

So most of my work time this week ended up being focused on getting ready for NaNoWriMo - or FauxNoWriMo, as we're calling it.  I put together an eleventh hour email and social media blast on Monday providing all of the kickoff party details, worked pretty much all week on getting the last of the planning done, and wrote a week one blast to go out yesterday, reminding everyone of the kickoff party and listing the write-ins for the rest of the week.

I also babysat Monday through Wednesday, and yesterday took Izzy to the vet for a follow up.  She ended up being unexpectedly hospitalized overnight.  We were up late for the kickoff party, of course, and then up early this morning to talk to the vet.  Izzy is coming home this evening (we're on our way to pick her up now) and then it's back to planning our lives around her schedule of feedings, water, and meds.

I'm definitely feeling it all wearing on me.  I'm sleep deprived from staying up until 3am and later to take care of Izzy, then waking up early (for me) the next morning to do it all again.  Being up super late last night too for the kickoff party did not help.  Plus there's the stress: emotional, financial, and the weight of the to-do list I no longer have time for hanging over all of it.

Enter November writing month.

I think, between Izzy and writing this month, there's a lot else I won't be able to accomplish.  I am solidly stuck in survival mode, just like I was when my horse was sick two years ago.

With all of that in mind, I'm not going to overload myself with goals just at the moment.  With only this weekend left before next week starts it all again, I have only two goals right now:

1. Get Izzy's GoFundMe up
2. Work on my novel every day

It may prove to be too difficult with the demands of Izzy's care, but I'm going to try to keep up on writing during November.  I may not be able to sustain 1,667 words per day right now, but I'd like to at least work on it every day, even if it's a smaller amount.

But most importantly, I need to get Izzy's GoFundMe up.  We've nearly exhausted our resources, and with her having come so far, we can't give up now.  We just need a little help getting her the rest of the way.

Heavy stuff.  You can see why I'm stressed, not just with the amount of care, but with the financial responsibilities as well!