April 2021 Goals

Hello. I hope you are doing well. I know today is April fools, so I hope you had some laughs.

Fun fact, April actually holds my birthday! So, this month I’m actually taking some time off for my birthday and just to relax. So this month is going to be a little more light in terms of goals because of that. I also think it’s a good thing to do because the last three months have been very productive for me, and I don’t want to burn myself out by trying to ride that high.

I will encourage all of you to take some time for yourself, especially right now. Even if it’s only for like an hour or two today, just focus on yourself and relax. Play a video game, read a book, rent that movie you’ve been wanting to watch for a while. Take a little break. You don’t want to burn yourself out.

So, my goals for the month are:

1. I want to edit the entirety of Part 2 of Amilia. The piece is broken up into three parts. I got through all of part 1 last month, so I’m hoping to get through part 2 this month. It might be a bit of a stretch because I think part 2 is actually the longest part of them all. We’ll see.
2. I would like to write a Quest this month as well. Last month I wrote the first one, and I think now that I have the ball rolling the rest should be easier now that I have that basis to work off of.
3. Because I don’t have another project to be outlining or writing this month, I’m going to switch gears and start work on Crows in earnest. This month I want to get both the map for the world and the character profiles done for this. I’m hoping this will get done because I’m going to be spending some time out of the house this month, so I think it will be better to be working on paper.
4. Lastly, I would like to read 4 books this month. I don’t see this being an issue at all. Even if I don’t read any books this month I know I’m still on track to have read 50 books by the end of the year. So I’m very happy about that.

As I said, a pretty light month this time around. Because of that I’m pretty confident that I can get all of this done this month. Or, at least, I’m hoping I can.

Also, please do not worry about me. While I’m out of the house I’m going to be careful. I’m not going to be interacting with anyone outside of my bubble. I am so paranoid that my default when I leave the house is bubble boy. I will be fine.

That’s all I have for you right now. What are your goals for the month? What’s something you’re hoping you can get done in April? I’d love to know if you’d like to share.

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

-T.R. Flynn.

March 2021 Goals

Hello. I hope you are doing well today.

Spring is hopefully just around the corner. It might very well start snowing where I am. I’m looking forward to gardening this month. There is much that my mom and I want to get done in the back yard. I think we’ve settled into enough of a routine here that I can comfortably have an herb garden.

So because of all the outdoor work that will need to get done this month I’m not sure what exactly I will be able to get done, but I’m hoping the sun will do me well.

So, let’s get on with it.

1. I would like to get Aithne’s Journey outlined, at least roughly. And some of you might be questioning this, what do you mean a rough outline? Sometimes I need to go through two or three renditions of an outline before I am happy enough with it to start writing. This isn’t strange for me.
2. I would like to get at least half way through the second draft of Amilia, adding in as much as I physically can along the way.
3. As much as I said I need to pump the breaks on Crows I still have a couple things I want to get done for it. Like make a map of the setting. Figure out at least the main two characters names, figure out how many named characters with backstories I’ll need. Very light sort of things.
4. I want to get a Quest written this month. Even if I just start it, I need to figure out how I’m going to go about writing it, and keep up with it.
5. Lastly, I would like to read 4 books this month. I have no concerns about that.

And that’s about all I have for goals this month. It’s bound to warm up here in the second half of the month I’m sure, but I think I heard weather reports of more snow at least for the first week or so. It’s warming up here if nothing else. I’m looking forward to sun. As much as I like it chilly outside, I do have depression and it can be made worse with the darker winter months. So Spring will be a welcome change for me.

I am trying out a different lay out in my bullet journal for the month. I’ve been wanting to try out different methods for goals and being productive for a while now, so this will be a fun little experiment.

So, what are your goals for the month? Do you garden? Are you going to take the opportunity that continued quarantine is kinda giving to most of us and start? Would you like to see pictures of my gardens? That one might be too personal, but you know what, I’m asking anyway! Let me know what you think in a comment. I’d love to know if you’d like to share.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. And if it’s not wonderful, I do hope it gets better. Please stay safe, I know it’s tempting to go out, especially for Spring Break, but it is still not safe. So if you do venture out, please be careful. I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

LifeLog #4

I’m not sure if it’s the weather outside, as we just got another dumping of snow, or it’s me but this week has been kicking my ass.

I’ve been so tired and out of it I really haven’t gotten much accomplished. And I don’t feel like I need a break because I haven’t done anything to warrant it.

But I do have good news.

From rough drafts:

To final drafts:

Never before have I worked with maps and attempted to make my own worlds like this. So, I know they aren’t perfect, I understand this. And I don’t care. For a first-timer, I’m very happy with this and look forward to making more as my career goes on.

Other than my joy with my maps, I can’t say there was anything really of note to be had here.

So, that’s all I got for you today. How has your week been?

I hope it’s been wonderful. Just as I hope this week will be wonderful for you as well. And I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

February 2020 Goals

Ah, February, the month of love!

Unless you’re single, like me. Then other than maybe a loved ones birthday(looking at you dad!), it’s just another month. And a short one at that. Even on a leap year like this, it’s still short.

But that doesn’t mean that we can’t set goals and do our damndest to make them happen despite being short an extra day or two.

So, what am I hoping to accomplish this month?

1. First things first, I really want to get the good maps for ‘Side Quest’ done. If nothing else, this. I worked too hard last month to just shove this to the side.
2. I want to finish thought dumping project Death. I’m hoping I can get it ready to be outlined in Spring. I kinda want this to be the project I work on in NaNoWriMo, but we got time for that.
3. I wanna see what other writing contests have opened up this month. There might be something now that I can and want to participate in.
4. Because of my funk with WftGK, I’m hoping to take it slow. But I’m being optimistic and hoping to get halfway through the edits I need to.
5. I want to finish the character profiles for ‘Side Quest’. For this, because it is going to be a multi-book series, I really want to get to know all my characters and how they would react. And if I can finish this…
6. I want to try and thought dump at least a portion of ‘Side Quest’, at least five more quests anyway.
7. I want to start the rough draft for RotDE. And get to at least the end of part one. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.
8. And, finally, I want to read at least two books this month. We’ll see if this happens.

So, those are all the things I’d like to get done this month.

What are some of your goals for this month? I’d love to know if you’d like to share.

That’s all I have for you right now. I hope you’re having a wonderful day, and if it’s not wonderful I hope it gets better. And I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

January 2020 Wrap Up

Is it just me or did this month go by really fast?

Maybe this is just how time works when you get older, and that’s why we can’t keep track of it and the events that have occurred.

But, that is a theory for another day. Today, we are here to see just how far I’ve come over these past thirty days(spoiler, not as far as I would like) and what needs to be worked on.

So, for starters, I got partially through WftGK edits. I’m still not sure if this rut is bred from boredom of the project, or if my passion for it has completely fizzled out. I’m hoping if I go slow with it while working on other things I want to get done this year that I will get it done, albeit much later than I had initially hoped to finish it.

I have started looking into writing contests, but so far I haven’t found anything that piques my interest or has a reasonable cut off date yet. I plan to keep looking though.

I ended up wanting to do two maps for ‘Side Quest’, and I have both rough drafts done. As well as a guide book for the entire Realm that I plan to use a lot. But I don’t have the finished products of them yet. I plan to be finishing them soon in February. But I really like making maps and creating lore and backstories for every place, even if it’s just a little line about this is what it’s called, how it got its name, and what the main thing about the place is. So, if you want to know how I did my maps, I’ll be more than happy to share that once I’m done. And I’ll throw pictures up on Twitter too.

I have actually read three books this month, and I’m really happy to be ahead like that.

In regards to project Death, as I’ve been calling it, I have most of the characters laid out. I have a fair amount left to add to their character profiles, but I’m pretty happy with how I’m doing it. I don’t have the entire story out of my head and ready to organize yet, but I got a fair amount through. I’m pretty happy with how much I managed to do.

I did not start RotDE at all this month. I got things in order for it, but I haven’t actually written anything yet. I’m hoping to start and get at least to the beginning of part two next month. I think that’s reasonable.

Now, in regard to the weekly posts, I’ve been putting up, the LifeLogs as I’ve been calling them. What do you think of them?

I’ve noticed I’ve been getting about the same amount of traffic, if not a little bit more since I’ve been posting them. I do plan on throwing in some of my more ‘regular’ content as I feel I’m qualified to speak about certain things or share my experiences. But I’d like to know if there’s a certain time table you’d prefer to see them on, i.e. once a month, once every three months, every other week, etc. I’d love to know if you wouldn’t mind sharing a comment.

I will say it has been really nice to not have to stress out so much about trying to figure out what to post every week. It’s just sitting down for a minute and thinking, what have I done? What have I learned? What is something I’m struggling with? What do I want to share?

But I still want to know what you think.

Anyway, that’s all I have for you right now. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see next week. Or anything you’d like me to discuss.

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

-T.R. Flynn.