May 2021 Goals

Hello. How are you? I hope you are well.

New month, new round of goals. At least for me anyway.

Quick note before we get into this. I’m presently not at home, or my parents house where I usually reside anyway. A family emergency has caused me to relocate temporarily to my sister’s place to help her out for a little while. And with her permission I’ll make another post addressing the situation a little better. Until then, I just want you to know that my family and myself are all doing okay. None of us have Covid. But for the next little while I might not be posting as frequently as I usually do, or as I usually like. Just so you’re aware.

Things I would like to get done, even if I don’t get a blog post out every week consists of:

1. I want to read 5 books this month. Seeing as on average I read more than this, and the fact I upped my reading goal to 75 books, I don’t see this being an issue.
2. I would like to write another piece for Side Quest this month. I’m hoping I can keep the roll going.
3. In an ideal world I would really like to be able to get Amilia edited from where I am now, to the end of the book. This is still the first pass of edits that I’m on, but I’m hoping to get through this sooner rather than later.
4. I finished the outline for Aithne’s Journey back in March, so I would like to go back to that outline and fix it if I feel like it needs fixing. Spoiler, it probably does. Just saying.
5. I would like to get the timeline of Crows figured out, this way when I go to do the outline I have an easier timeline of events to follow.
6. And lastly, there have been a lot of ideas for this project ‘steampunk 4’, please understand just how much of a working title that is, that I really want to get on paper. So, I’d like a good chunk of ideas that I have down for that. If I can’t then so be it. But I would really like to.

So, despite being away from home, I have a tall list of things I would like to accomplish. We’ll see what I realistically am able to get done. Especially with everything going on.

But that’s about everything from me. What are some things you want to get done this month? Something you’re excited about? I’d love to know if you’d like to share.

With that, I hope you’re 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.

April 2021 Wrap Up

Hello, how are you? I hope you are well.

This month has been something, hasn’t it? Or maybe its just been a lot for me? Who knows!

Anyway, I’ve hade a busy month. I went away for a week to spend time with my best friends, don’t worry we were all safe about it. And then a family emergency came up in the last couple days of the month that requires a lot of my attention. I will go more into that at a later time, so for the moment don’t worry.

But the real question is, how productive have I been?

Well, I read 7 books this month. Very proud of myself because of it.

I have not finished editing part 2 of Amilia in its entirety. I’m about half way through it if I’m being honest., and I’m okay with that.

I did write a Quest this month as well. I’m very happy with how this project is starting to pan out. Still a ways to go, but still happy about it.

I did a little bit of work with Crows this month. Mostly with just the character profiles that I’ve taken the habit of making.

I know at the beginning of the month I said there wasn’t another project I was working on at the time, but then Anti-Hero happened. And I’ve gotten quite far with that. I haven’t had this sporadic joy and enthusiasm for a project in a while, so I’m excited to have it back. I’m presently working on an outline and the character profiles for this project, and I like to think I’m doing a pretty god job about it.

And that’s about all I got done for the month aside from a little light gardening.

So, how was your April? What goals did you accomplish? What was something you wanted to do but couldn’t? What’s something you’re really looking forward to do in May? I’d love to know if you’d like to share.

And with that, I hope you are having a wonderful day. If it isn’t wonderful, I do hope that it gets better for you. Stay safe, and I will see you next time.

-T.R. Flynn.

Adding New Projects On The Fly

Hello. I hope you are well.

Today I wanted to talk about something that is very topical to my life. And that is new ideas coming in and taking a lot of your attention.

If you have been around for any length of time, you would be aware of my sporadic mind. I’m never in one place for very long. And while that certainly has its upsides, there are down sides because I want to do all the projects and sometimes lack the focus to finish them. Which is where self disciple comes in.

I wanted to talk about this right now because for the last two ish years I have been working on the same projects. Writing, editing, outlining, and figuring out the points and details of the stories I want to tell. There hasn’t been a lot of new ideas in my life recently, so my mind is prime, fertile soil for new ideas.

Which is exactly what I have come up with. And this idea wants a lot of my attention right now. This project, which I have been referring to as ‘Anti-hero’, has been one I wrote down in my writer’s notebooks to try and get it out of my head for later, but it’s demanding my attention right now. So what am I to do when I have everything else to take care of and this is here?

Take care of it, obviously.

I’ve always had this mind set of if something needs to get done, it should be. Which, is kinda ironic considering I do procrastinate quite a bit, but that’s beside the point.

Anti-hero is at the forefront of my mind right now. And this actually a pretty optimal time for it to be. I don’t have any proper novel to write right now. SDM is still sitting, waiting for me to be further along with Amilia before I touch it again. The outline for Aithne’s Journey is done, I’m waiting until next month to look it over and fix it again. I have very minimal taking my time right now. Just editing Amilia and working on some of the details and ideas for Crows that need work.

I’m in a fortunate position to be able to give Anti-hero the time it needs right now. Not everyone is. And this kinda makes me think, did my mind wait until this point when I had time and space to work on this, or was it a coincidence? Who’s to say.

I now would like to talk for a moment about what I would do if this happened when I had a lot to do. The short answer is, work on it. Even if it’s just a little bit every day to figure it out, or if I had it all figured out but to write a few hundred words every day. It’s something. It might not be as much as I would like to get out at any one time, but it’s something.

Long answer, the person in charge of me, is me. So, because I am in charge of myself, I will change my goals accordingly. If I really want to work on Anti-hero and nothing else. Okay. I still need to get Amilia edited, so that has to stay. I can spend less time working on this outline and more time working on Anti-hero. I can change it so I don’t work on Crows at all until Anti-hero is done.

This isn’t something I would generally encourage myself to do because then I start going down this path of just putting things off because I can do it all later. But if I am genuinely passionate about this project right now, I’m not going to stop myself.

I write, because I love writing and I’m not going to change that fact. I’m allowed to love what I do. And, yes, sometimes it does feel like work. But it’s still work I find joy and fulfillment in. And if focusing on one project instead of another for a little while is what it takes, then it’s what I deserve. I deserve to like what I write and feel excited about it. I’m not going to hold myself to some obligatory deadline when there’s a project I would much rather be doing.

I know that this would be different if I would traditionally published right now and on deadlines. But I’m pretty sure at that point I would be better off because there would be other people holding me accountable. But that is also besides the point. I’m talking about inconsequential things.

If you are in a similar position as I am, with a project just itching to get out but you’re already wrist deep in another, here’s your permission if you feel you need it. You are allowed to make your goals work for you. You can shift and change things around all you like. As long as you are happy, and you are doing what you love, that is all that matters.

Write the piece, change your goals around. Don’t feel bad for putting one project on the shelf while you work on something else. You might end up coming back to it with better ideas and a new found enthusiasm.

I just realized that this probably sounds like some long winded letter to myself, telling myself that I have permission to work on whatever I want. In a way it is, but some people need to hear this as well. So, there you go. Permission granted. Unless you work better with reverse psychology, in which case, no! Keep working on what you are and don’t think about working on that project until you’re finished! But only if that works better for you. I’m not here to judge.

So, that’s all I have for you today. What are your opinions on shelving one project for another based on your passion? 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.

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 Wrap Up

Hello. I hope you are well.

It is the end of the month, and I might be the only one who thinks this but March felt like it went by really fast, but also dragged on. I’m sure we all feel that way at some point, so I know I’m not alone. It was just one of those weird months, I guess.

On the bright side, despite this month being weird, it was incredibly productive for me. I was very happy to look back and see everything I was able to do. So I’m extra excited to share it with you today.

I finished the rough outline of Aithne’s Journey. And I’m pretty sure this outline is one of the cleanest ones I’ve done. Granted I’ve only been outlining for like three years now, not very good at them still, but I’m very happy with this one. I do know that I’m probably going to have to go through and fix some things, change some things, you know. But I’m over all very happy with it.

I only got to the end of Part 1 in Amilia. So I’m about a third of the way through the first pass of editing right now. It is a slow process, but it’s a necessary one.

I didn’t make a map or anything for Crows yet. But I figured out a rough number of named characters, named most of them. I have some points I need to expand upon before I get too deep into outlining or anything. It’s still slow going with this project for right now. But now that I have the outline for Aithne’s Journey done I can start spending more time on this. So I’m very excited.

Even more exciting, I finally wrote a thing for Side Quest! I know, I was surprised too! It’s good though. And now that I have that done, the rest should be easier. ‘Should’ being the key word, I genuinely don’t know at the moment.

And over the course of this month, I read a total of 9 books. Granted five of them were short. And four of those five short books were audio books. So, I’m not going to give myself too much credit there. But I am going to be proud of myself, and you can’t take that from me.

So, yeah. It was a really productive month for me. I’m very happy with what I was able to get done. I am a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish the sewing project that I set out to make at the beginning of the month, but seeing everything else I was able to get done it’s really just one creative outlet for another. At least in my opinion. I’ll finish it next month… yeah, next month. I can’t be the only one who is screwy with days right now.

And while I was able to get a few herbs to start off my garden for the year, just the other day it snowed. So, needless to say, I haven’t been outside to garden recently. I haven’t planted anything. It’s been cold and miserable. This is the first time today I’m seeing the sun from my window, so that tells you how the weather here has been. I am a little disappointed in that because I would have liked to get out and get my hands dirty, but there isn’t much I can actually do in that regard. I’m as much a slave to mother nature as the rest of us.

That’s all I have for you today. What was something that happened this month that made you smile? I’d love to know if you’d like to share. Something that really made me smile this month was a friend came to visit and we got frozen yoghurt.

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.