2024 Goals

Hello, and happy New Year! I hope you had fun.

This year I want to focus more on personal and health-related goals. One of the big things I tried to focus on in 2023 was to not have a major mental issue because, since 2019, I had at least 1 issue every year. Be it a mental breakdown, an existential crisis, or suicidal ideation. I didn’t want to go through that again and I still don’t.

Because of that I’m cutting back on some of my more advantageous goals and making them more manageable so I hopefully have more time to take care of myself.

Firstly, I want to read 50 books this year. I know it’s a lot less than what I’ve been aiming for in the past, but I want to make attainable goals that I don’t have to stress about. And I’ve been consistently reading more than 50 books for the past few years. I know I can do it. I also want to take more time with books and enjoy them rather than just eat through them like I’ve been doing.

Secondly, I want to get AJ ready to be queried by the end of the year. I’ve been wanting to finish this for the past couple of years, but my hope is it will be ready by the end of the year at least.

These are my 2 biggest goals for the year. Because I want to focus more on my mental health I’m trying not to overwhelm myself.

I do have secondary goals that I would like to accomplish. But if none of these happen I won’t be upset.

1. I want to outline all of the rest of Side Quest. I know there’s still a lot to be done, but I think I can do it all in one year.
2. I want to post more consistently again. I hated how I left this alone for like 6 months. I’m hoping I can get to posting at least once a month. Idealy more often, but I’m not trying to push myself.
3. I want to finish outlining ‘Ghost Circle’. It’s been in the back of my mind for a while now. I just want it finished and then I can move on.
4. Last but not least, I decided after I was done writing ‘Anti-Hero’ that I wanted to turn it into a series. A little weird because it’s a more contemporary mystery thriller as opposed to a fantasy. But I want to do it. And I want to start outlining for at least a couple of the other books.

These are the things I want to get done this year. I know it’s a lot less than what I normally put down but this feels right. This feels like I may actually be able to cross everything off my list and not feel like I need to pull my hair out to get anything done.

Those are my goals for the year. If you feel like sharing, I would love to know what some of your goals for the year are.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. And if it isn’t wonderful, I hope it gets better. I also hope that this year is a good one and kind to you. Stay safe, and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

2023 Wrap Up

I realize it has been like 6 months since I last posted, and I don’t have a good reason for it other than I just haven’t.

The second half of the year also really got away from me. It all blended together. Like it started out as September and all of a sudden I was prepping for Thanksgiving and putting up decorations for Halloween and then the Halloween decorations were replaced with Christmas ones.

My sister ended up going in for a second surgery this year too. It’s unrelated to the first one, that one was fine. She’s fully recovered from it. There were no complications with her recovery or anything. This surgery went well too. I think the surgery itself took a little longer than they had anticipated, but nothing went wrong. She’s recovering well, quicker than a lot of medical personnel thought she would have to be honest. But because of that surgery, I did have to come and help her out again. This has left my parents on their own during the busiest season. But thankfully they had quite a bit of help without me.

I was hoping that I would be able to query by the end of this year, but that didn’t end up happening. There is still so much editing to do and I’m not even done with the second draft yet.

I did have a goal to read 100 books this year, and that didn’t happen. I only read 64. And I say that knowing full well that calling that ‘only’ is a massive understatement. I did read a lot of books this year. And I feel I liked a lot more of these books than I have in past years. And going forward I do want to focus more on the quality of my reading rather than just the quantity. I look back at 2022 when I read 106 books. Some of them I don’t even remember because I read so many and a couple of them read very similar or had very similar themes. Maybe if I read less I would be able to pick them apart better than just having them blend together in my mind. So that’s what I’m going to be focusing on more going forward.

I also had a lot to do in the garden throughout the summer, so that took up a lot of time. As well as processing and preserving everything I grew. I wanted to take pictures and share my journey, but I just didn’t. I really do need to get better at that.

I also got guinea pigs this year too! I’ve been debating and researching these little creatures for the past couple of years to make sure I could take care of them and they would fit into my life. So far so good. And they make me very happy.

I have more ideas and goals going into next year. It will just be a little weird because I’ll still be with my sister and not at home for the new year. I probably won’t be home for a few weeks yet. It’s not a big deal but it’s hard when you’re as much of a homebody as I am.

I think that’s everything I have to talk about today. It’s been an interesting year for sure. I think I’ve learned a lot about myself and that’s always important.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. And I hope this past year has been kind to you. If it hasn’t, I hope this coming year is because you deserve it.

Stay safe, and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

First Chapter Reading Exercise

Hello. I hope you are doing well.

Today, I guess I’m doing something a little different.

So, this year I’m on a book-buying ban until I have read at least 20 from my own library. So far I have only read 6 out of that 20. But I’m sort of at an impasse because I don’t really like my shelves anymore.

I want new books. I want books I’m excited about. I want books that I read and loved to look out at me and make me smile. But I can’t get any of these books until I have read another 14.

So I want to try something I’ve seen Kate Cavanaugh do multiple times, I’m sure others have as well but she’s the one I’ve seen, and that is reading the first chapter of a book and seeing if I like it. If I do like it, I will either continue reading it, or I will put it in a pile for later. And if I don’t, it’s going into my sell pile.

I’m also wanting to do this because I’m actually pretty behind on my reading goal for the year. I’m sure I can still catch up, but I also want to shift my perspective on books and how much I should be reading.

So, I’m going to list all the books that I have selected for this. I only have 5 right now because that seemed to be a good number that was both a challenge and not too intimidating to me. All of these books have been on my shelf for quite some time. At least 2 years. Though I think one I only got last year. I still want to either get through these or decide I don’t want to read them anymore.

I’m not going to feel too bad about selling or getting rid of them at all. Books are meant to be experienced and enjoyed. And if they would bring someone else happiness, who am I to stop it?

Anyway, I think I’ve put enough prelude down. Let’s get into it.

The Darkest Minds By Alexandra Bracken
The idea of having powers thrust upon you at a very young age after an illness that killed many kids your own age and being imprisoned in a government camp? Hello, interesting premise and fighting against the system. Where have you been throughout my life? I do have high hopes for this one. And admittedly, I think the only reason why I haven’t read this one yet is because my library doesn’t have it in audiobook.

Again, But Better By Christine Riccio
I was originally drawn to this one because I felt like I could really relate to it. It’s supposed to be a story about a girl who’s never been in a relationship her entire teenage life, and so in her early twenties goes to school abroad and basically reinvents herself. I’m not sure how exactly I feel about it right now because I have come to terms with and gotten more comfortable with my realities. I still think I will enjoy it, but I’m still not sure where exactly I stand on the contemporary genre.

Red Queen By Victoria Aveyard
I think out of all of them I have the most mixed feelings about this one. I’m still not a big fan of romance, and I’m not sure how I feel about a forced lost princess angle. But I had very similar thoughts about Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen, and I really liked that book. Maybe I don’t know what I like just yet? Maybe that one was oddly well-written? Maybe I’m just in denial about my preferences? Who knows?

Heartless by Marissa Meyer
I have found that I really like Marissa Meyer’s writing. So I have probably the highest hopes for this one. It’s a retelling or reimagining of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It has forbidden love and forced expectations and someone who just wants to be true to herself. What more can you ask for, really?

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
I am a sucker for a good apprentice story. Couple that with magic and assassins, I’m a happy camper. I think I haven’t picked this up sooner because I can be quite a mood reader, and I just haven’t been in the mood for it recently. I don’t think I’ve been in the mood for much recently. But I’m changing that today!

So there we have it. 5 books I would like to get through the first chapter of, at least, in the next couple of days. I don’t know how long it’s going to take me. I’m hoping I can stick to it because I’m posting it and that helps to make me follow through with things.

I guess that’s all I have at the moment. Please let me know if you’ve ever tried this and how it worked for you. I would love to know if you’d like to share.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. And if it’s not wonderful, I hope it gets better. Stay safe. And I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

Life Log #19

Hello. I hope you are doing well.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to go quiet for so long.

What’s been happening the past 2-ish months?

My sister’s surgery went well and she healed quickly and cleanly. She’s had several surgeries in her life and this one has been the easiest for her, so that’s good. And because she’s better, at least 90%, I’m back home.

I got back at the beginning of May, Just after the first week. And immediately once I was home I was thrown into work! Between being busy in the restaurant and setting up my garden for the summer there really hasn’t been a lot of time for much.

I have my garden set up and fenced in, I had to because I have dogs who like to jump on everything and dig. This was also my first year starting my own plants from seeds instead of purchasing them. I had mixed results on what came up and I don’t think a lot survived the transplant. It seems the things I direct sowed are fairing better. It’s a little disheartening to see all your hard work die, but there is a large learning curb and I know things didn’t start out how I wanted because I had to go and help my sister. And there’s always next year.

I didn’t finish the post about what I read in March because it didn’t seem like those posts were getting a lot of traffic and they were starting to get tedious to write. Also, I literally didn’t read anything in April so I wouldn’t have had anything to post for that either.

This month I’ve started a reading challenge. I’m using the same criteria as I did last year because I liked it and I think the information gathered at the end is really useful. If you would like to look at that post to see all the info you can check that out here-> https://trflynnofficial.wordpress.com/2022/08/01/august-reading-challenge-2022/

I’m also about 10 books behind on my reading challenge of the year, so I’m hoping this will get me back on track as well.

I’m also finally learning how to drive. I know, only now? Aren’t you like 25? Yes, and yes. I’ve been very anxious as a teen and the idea of being behind the wheel was enough to make my chest tighten and it to be difficult to breathe. So, at 25, and in a good place, I’m finally ready to try. As I’ve learned there isn’t a timeline for when you need to do things, I could be 40 and getting my ‘L’ and that would be fine.

So, yeah. There has been a fair amount going on. But nothing I haven’t been able to handle, it’s just left less time for me. I’m hoping I’ll be able to get back to a regular routine soon. If not, I do hope I can get more consistent at posting again. I guess we’ll see.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. And if it’s not wonderful, I hope it gets better. Stay safe and I’ll see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

Life Log #17

Hello. I hope you are doing well.

I really wish I had something more interesting for you, but I really don’t. At least right now.

I’ve been focusing a lot this past week on, not only, my monthly reading review and finishing ‘Anti-Hero’. I finished it, and I have that post up if you’re interested in finding out what I read in January. You can check that out here if you’d like.

So, fortunately, these are good problems to have. I do feel a bit bad having to skip a week last month because I just didn’t have the time. And tomorrow I’m going to be needed in the restaurant to help with a lot of things for a gathering we’re hosting.

My sister is going in for surgery next month, unfortunately not the one on her back, but one equally important for her well-being. So there’s been a bit of stress because she asked me to come and help her out in her recovery. I’m happy to do it, the issue was just finding a way to her. We figured all that out already so that’s no longer a worry. And I don’t have to worry about getting to her until March because that is when her surgery is.

So I guess it would be a bit of an understatement to say there has been quite a bit on my plate the past couple of weeks.

I was able to start on a couple of posts, but I wasn’t able to finish them in time for this week. Hopefully next week there will be something more substantial for you. If not, I hope you understand that I’m doing the best I can and that there’s probably a reason for my silence that week. I am hoping to get a little bit ahead on weekly posts so that way there is more content for you, but like most things in my life, it’s a slow process.

I think that’s all for the moment.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. And if it’s not wonderful, I hope it gets better. Stay safe and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.