February is the shortest month of the year, and with that comes its own difficulties. My goals list, which stays roughly the same for each month, is suddenly compressed by 3 days which makes everything that little bit harder to achieve. Plus, my day job ramps up its intensity to the end of the financial year, which puts even more pressure on my little writing time.
I’ve found myself putting myself under rather too much pressure this month. Too many goals, too many deadlines. I was trying to achieve a lifetime of work in one year (never a good idea) and then cram everything into each month accordingly.
But now, at the end of the month, I’ve had a re-adjust. I’ve pushed some of my goals out until Q2, my querying goals into Q4/Q1 of next year, and tried to put less pressure on myself. Yes, goals are important, and yes, you have to dedicate time to getting there. But you also have to enjoy the journey too. Numerous time I’ve had to recite the first ideal of the Knights Radiant “Journey Before Destination” in an attempt to pull my focus back to the now.
I am going to go into March with that ideal as my focus, to enjoy the journey of creating and writing a book as much as I am desperate to reach my end goal. Because the satisfaction in the goal is in the journey and the struggle it takes for you to get there. And even if your journey takes a little bit longer than you intended, it doesn’t mean your goal will never be achieved.
WIP Updates
I’ve done some good progress on my WIP this month, managed to re-structure a few more scenes and line them up nicely for a completed Draft 1!
I talk more about my WIP updates in my next newsletter, so I’m going to leave my comments there! If you haven’t already signed up for my newsletter, type your email in the box below and get ready for some writerly goodness and updates coming your way in March!
Newsletter Story
For those of you who did not receive my Winter Newsletter at the end of December, you now can read “The Curse of the Silver” on my website! Check out the story now by clicking on the picture and leave a comment with your thoughts!
I’m going to be changing up my Newsletter stories for my next Spring Newsletter – when you sign up for my Newsletter after the next Spring 2020 you will get a free download of my next story The Gateway of Arieum a continuation of my flash fiction story Fortunes Path.
For those of you who sign up for the next Spring Newsletter, you’ll get a sneak peak at the first part of the Story!
Brick Books
This month on IG I had a post talking about Brick Books. You know, the ones that could literally be used to build a house?
Yeh, those ones.
I’ve seen a number of posts from different authors trying to persuade readers to read their story despite it being so long. But for me (especially as someone whose WIP is sitting at 130k+ words), I love the idea of longer books. Done properly, they are not only engaging, but they allow you to stay with the world and with the characters for such a long time that you forge a connection with them. Plus, ending a “Brick Book” is immensely satisfying.
What’s your views on “Brick Books”? Do you like them or lothe them? Why?
Other fun things Alex has been up to this month.
My husband and I are currently binging our way through Brooklyn 99 on Netflix in preparation for the next Series being released in March. If you haven’t watched it, I’d definitely recommend!
Talking of Netflix, Taylor Swift’s new documentary Miss Americana was released on Netflix at the end of January. I’m rather partial to Taylor Swift’s music (especially when I need some uplifting tunes on my commute) and it was a really interesting documentation detailing the highs and lows of living such a high profile life. I will admit, I might have cried (multiple times)
And finally, as March eeks closer, so does April. And you know what happens in April? That’s right, we get a new Bond film and this time it’s got a Lady 00 (a fact which I constantly remind my Husband about because It Is Exciting). I am super excited for No Time To Die, and even more pumped since hearing Billie Eilish’ Theme Tune for it:
And that’s all from me this month! Don’t forget to sign up to my Newsletter before March to make sure you’re on the list before I hit send!
Photo by Mark Autumns on Unsplash
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Alex.J.Cobalt 