Checking in on goals

 Each year I write myself a letter outlining my goals for the new year.  Ahead of writing my letter to myself for 2025, let's check in on how I did in 2024...

 Dear Me,

I really didn’t do well with my goals last year, so my goal this year is to be better at meeting my goals!  Which means I need to be realistic about what I can actually achieve.  My “new” job is pretty time-consuming and looking at the year ahead, there is not much in the way of breaks between events.  Which means a lot of cross-over as we try and wrap up and report on one, while setting up and producing the next.  It’s going to be intense.

That was 100% true.  There were very few breaks between events this year.

 

With that in mind, my writing goals are going to be limited this year. I want to query Guide Us as I think it is probably more mainstream/commercial than most of my books and more likely to get me a new agent than some of my other stories.  I think it’s really close to being ready. I just need a day or two to read through the whole thing to see if the changes to the timeline and new scenes I added have bedded in properly.  You don’t want someone talking about something in the past that hasn’t actually happened yet!  It would be nice to get another set of eyes over it too, but I think I’ve exhausted my beta-readers for this one already, so I may need to trust my own judgement this time.

I was very wrong about this one.  I queried Guide Us throughout the year, tweaking and changing the query periodically, but so far, I haven't had a single request for more pages.  This has never happened to me with any previous book, so I'm a little baffled. Publishing has changed a lot in the last ten yers or so.

 

In terms of new writing, I’d love to be able to put some real work into A Stranger to Kindness.  I really love my mute foster-kid and want to tell his story. It’s a goodie! Once I’ve got Guide Us out the door, I would like to put energy into that one. I’m just not sure I’ll have the time.  But even 500-1000 words a day would help get it finished and I’m sure I can find the 40 minutes or so a day I need to do that much.  I just find it hard to write like that.  I like to fall into the story and live there while I’m writing, and writing in scraps like that doesn’t get you into that space.  But if scraps of time are all I have, I’ll use them.

I actually did this.  I finished A Stranger to Kindness a couple of weeks ago. It's still a first draft and needs some editing and polishing, but I feel like I told the story I wanted to tell and gave my characters the journey they needed.  I'm going to leave it alone until after I get back from the beach and then read the whole thing to start figuring out where the glitches are.

 

In the rest of my life, that part that’s not writing or work, I intend to keep reading as much as I can.  I haven’t hit my Goodreads goal the last two years, so I’m aiming a little lower for 2024. Not a huge amount, but a little.  Under 120 books for the first time in many years.  Hopefully I’ll manage to actually hit that goal this year.

Nope.  Not looking like it at this stage.  I'm 26 books behind.  But I have read some good stuff this year.  I'm just reading more adult books than I usually do, and they tend to be longer and more difficult reads.  

 

And like every year, I will keep up my exercising and go to the gym at least four times a week and do as much exercise as I can outside of that too.  I never seem to lose any weight, but at least I feel reasonably fit and healthy.  I’m getting older and I probably need to do more to try and keep myself from getting those dreadful issues that older people seem prone to.

I kind of upped the stakes on this one by becoming a fitness instructor at the gym. So staying fit is kind of a must!  I'm hoping to pick up a few more regular classes in the new year.

 

I will also keep gong to the movies as often as I can.  Even though I don’t work in film anymore, it’s still one of the things I’m most passionate about and I am all for keeping the theatrical experience alive and thriving.  I know I can watch films at home, and I do,  but it just isn’t the same as sitting in the dark experiencing the story with a roomful of other people.  I’m re-joining the Film Society for 2024, which means I will get to see something interesting every Monday night again.  And I got a 10-trip pass for the Film Festival for Xmas, so that’s me sorted for July.  Almost…  I probably will go to more than just ten films, but it’s a start!

I did this too.  I didn't go to the movies every week (apart from the Film Society), but I went fairly often.  There just isn't always something on that I want to see.

 

Looking back at this, I feel like I make mostly the same goals every year. So for something new in 2024, I want to stop biting my fingernails.  I’ve done it all my life and I think it’s time to stop.  Before Christmas I experimented with some stick-on nails and they were good, except I kept losing them.  But my nails grew a lot in the 10 days or so I used them.  I even managed to keep them long for about two weeks after I took the falsies off.  Then I was reading at the beach one afternoon and bit them all off without realising.  D’oh!  So when I got home, I went and got my nails done at a salon for the first time in my life and now I have lovely long (half-fake) shiny pink nails.  I’m hoping my real nails will grow underneath while I genuinely can’t bite them (the tips are plastic right now), and by the time the fake ends have grown out, I’ll have nice long natural nails to get manicured and polished with something that will make them too hard to bite. That’s the plan, anyway.  Not sure if it will work.  I suspect my real nails might have been wrecked after all the grinding and buffing and stuff they did.  But it was an experience I’ve never had before, so worth it even if I means I only have nice nails for a few weeks…

I actually did this.  I have nails for the first time in my life! I'm not sure I've entirely broken the habit of biting them, but if I keep them looking pretty, I don't tend to bite them so much.  I just need to be vigilant about keeping them filed.  The smallest snag or rough spot will have me tearing them up again.

And that's me for 2024, I think.  We'll check in mid-year to see how we're doing.  And I'll actually try to remember to do it this time!

So, it looks like I actually did pretty well with my goals in 2024.  I'm surprised.  When I get back from the beach I'll write up my 2025 letter.  I'll have to think about what I want to achieve in the new year while I'm away.

Happy New Year!

Celebrate the Small Things 27-12-24

 

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small Things...

What am I celebrating this week?

I'm going away tomorrow.  To the beach house where I go every summer.  I need to get myself packed and organized today which means heading to the library to make sure I have enough to read to keep me going for 10 days.

The blog will be dark until I get back on the 6th - there is little to no internet at the beach house so I can only check in on online stuff if I head into town.  I'm not even going to take my laptop with me this year.  I sometimes do, thinking I'll write, but I rarely do.  So this year I'm not even going to pretend to.

See you on the 6th!

This week's story is a wintery one.

Happy Christmas!

 

I hope you have a wonderful day with people you love.

X Kate

Weekly Goals 23-12-24

I'm on holiday this week, so not much in the way of goals...  Just getting ready for Christmas and maybe getting some weeds out of my garden if the weather is okay.

I realized I have a small timeline issue in the new book, so I'm trying to address that.  I thought I had, then remembered another small detail that throws all that out the window.  Agh!  Hate these things. But I'm sure it's going to be relatively easy to fix.

What are your goals this week? 

Celebrate the Small Things 20-12-24

 

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small Things...

What am I celebrating this week?

It's the holidays!

I've had my last day at work now and I'm not going back until 13 January.  That's three whole weeks off!  I'm still working at the gym over some of that time, but my regular day job is over for 2024.

I haven't done anything for Christmas yet, so this weekend is all about getting ready for that.  I have presents to make...

I'm going away for about 10 days of that, to the beach house in the South Island, but the rest of the time I'm here and plan to do lots of cleaning and gardening and to go and see a lot of movies.  I'm not going to write except maybe the odd short story here or there.  I've been trying to do that more.

A Stranger to Kindness is with my critique group and I'm trying to leave it entirely alone until February or so now.  It's hard, especially since Harley's voice is still very much in my head.  But I know from past experience, he'll quiet down soon.  

So for now I'll be focusing on short stuff while I wait for edits to come in for Standing Too Close.  And I might send out a handful more queries for Guide Us, even though that's starting to feel a little like a fruitless exercise.  Such a shame.  I really like that book.  It just doesn't seem to be interesting to anyone else.

This week's story on Medium is a little supernatural romance.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've read: Ride or Die

 

I kind of loved this book.  The main character is just the kind of impulsive, badass, troublemaker I aspired to be when I was a teen.  Luckily for me, I had far fewer resources available to me, so my troublemaking tended to be on a limited scale.

Loli in this book doesn't have that limitation.  Her family are wealthy enough (and clearly give her way too much money) that she can throw elaborate parties at the drop of a hat.  Which is where this book begins.  With Loli throwing an elaborate party just because she needs to retrieve a necklace that has gotten into the wrong girl's hands.  While on her mission, she meets a mysterious stranger is a coat closet and is pulled into  an elaborate game that will challenge even her sense of danger.

She and X are soon on a mission to outdo each other with their increasingly challenging and perilous tasks for each other.  And of course, because she has a group of loyal friends around her, those who are closest to Loli also get pulled into the game.  Including Loli's long-suffering partner in crime, best friend Ryan.

But as the games become increasingly dangerous, Loli and Ryan's relationship becomes strained in a way it has never been before.  In testing how far she might actually go to win, Loli might lose the most important thing in her world.

This was a fun, thrilling ride of a book.  Loli is a fantastic character and so very, very teenaged.  She has very little thought of consequences to any of her actions and as such, is thoughtless with people's feelings.  I ached for poor Ryan whose devotion to her was crystal clear, even while she seemed completely oblivious to it.  And by the climax, I wanted to scream at the stupid child to wake up and stop putting herself into situations that were endangering herself and everyone around her.

So I'd recommend this one to anyone who likes a fast-paced thrill with larger-than-life characters.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

This adrenaline-packed joyride of a debut is an ode to Gen Z and teens who love chaos—perfect for fans of Grace D. Li, Ebony Ladelle, and Baby Driver.

Best friends Loli Crawford and Ryan Pope have earned their nickname, the “Bonnie and Clyde of Woolridge High.” From illegal snack swapping in kindergarten to reckless car surfing in high school, they have been causing trouble in their uptight California town forever. Everyone knows that the mischief starts with Loli. When it comes to chasing thrills, drama, and adventure, no one is on her level.

At least until Loli throws the wildest party Woolridge High has ever seen just to steal a necklace and meets X, a strange, unidentified boy in a coat closet, who challenges her to a game she can’t refuse—one that promises to put her love of danger to the ultimate test.

Loli and X begin an anonymous correspondence, exchanging increasingly risky missions. Loli’s fun has always been free and easy, but things spin out of control as she attempts to one-up X’s every move. As Loli risks losing everything—including her oldest friend—she’ll face the most dangerous thing of all: falling for someone she shouldn’t.

Weekly Goals 16-12-24

Since I finished my draft on Friday, writing isn't my goal this week.  For the first time in I don't know how long.  Instead, my goal is to actually do something to get ready for Christmas.  I have done absolutely nothing so far and I should get on it.  I only have just over a week.

It's my last week at work, so I have a few last things to wrap up and a couple of things I need to do to make the start of the year better.

And then it's all about holidays...

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 13-12-24

 

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small Things...

What am I celebrating this week?

I finished my book!  

Well, okay... I finished the first draft of my book.  There's going to be a lot of editing and polishing and refining in my future, but for now, it's done.  I think there are places where things don't quite work, but there will be time to fix those things in the future.  

This has been a journey, I tell you!   But I love these characters so much and they deserve to have their story told right.

So for now, I'm going to get all my chapters ready for my critique group and leave it with them for a few weeks while I let the story rest and refresh over the holidays.  Then I'll dive back in early next year with fresher eyes and fix all the terrible things I find about it.

This week's story on Medium is a silly little piece about a sentient hot dog...  If you're looking for something fun.

What are you celebrating this week?

Books I've read: How to Pack for the End of the World

I picked this one up because of the title.  It's pretty compelling, right?  The book though.... okay, but not amazing.

Amina gets accepted to an exclusive boarding school as a scholarship student.  At home, she's been obsessing about the violence and discord in the world, to the point where she has horrific nightmares almost every night and her parents think getting her away from home and the site of their temple's arson will help.

They probably weren't expecting Amina to gravitate immediately to a group of kids with many of the same obsessions, yet that's what happens.  Within this odd group of environmentalists, preppers and general odd-bods, Amina finds some real friends and learns some valuable survival skills along the way.

But being prepared for the apocalypse doesn't prepare her for the usual high school drama, from crushes to friendship blow ups and more.  And as things start getting trickier to navigate, Amina must decide if preparing for the future is really worth it if it makes the present so difficult to live in.

There were parts of this book I very much enjoyed, but I feel like the way things were going to play out was telegraphed way too early.  I knew from the very first incident of discord who was behind it, so it was no surprise when I reached the end of the book and discovered I was right.

The characters were interesting for the most part, but weren't that layered - each of them seemed to be there because they were a specific "type" rather than being fully rounded humans with a wide range of interests and experiences.

But as a quick and entertaining enough read, this ticks the right boxes, so I'd recommend it.  especially if you're someone who catastrophizes about the end of the world!

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

If you knew the world was going to end tomorrow, what would you do?

This is the question that haunts Amina as she watches new and horrible stories of discord and crisis flash across the news every day.

But when she starts at prestigious Gardner Academy, Amina finds a group of like-minded peers to join forces with—fast friends who dedicate their year to learning survival skills from each other, before it’s too late.

Still, as their prepper knowledge multiplies, so do their regular high school problems, from relationship drama to family issues to friend blow-ups. Juggling the two parts of their lives forces Amina to ask another vital question: Is it worth living in the hypothetical future if it’s at the expense of your actual present?

Weekly Goals 9-12-24

 I did a lot of writing over the weekend and have almost finished all the changes I wanted to make to the ending.  Unfortunately, I still haven't figured out the hole that will get us there.  I know what needs to happen, I just can't figure out how, using my story's logic, it would happen.  I keep hoping it will come to me.

So this week, my goal is to keep going.  I'm so close to finishing!  I almost feel like maybe my brain isn't figuring out the problem I'm having because I love these characters so much, I'm going to be grief-stricken when I have to leave them behind and do something else.

I have a busy week ahead, so I think I'm going to need to take a day off work to write to make any progress at all - the weekend is already looking pretty packed.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 6-12-24

It's the end of the week, so it's time to Celebrate the Small Things...

What am I celebrating this week?

I think, or maybe just hope, I've figured out a way to plug the hole in A Stranger to Kindness.  We shall see.  I will get some writing time over the weekend to figure it out, just probably not as much as I'd like.  But If I can't figure it out 100%, I have some other changes I want to make in other places, so I can work on those while my brain works in the background on filling that gap.  

I'm still fairly confident I can finish the draft before the holidays, but not quite as confident as I was a few weeks back when everything was going so well.

I kind of love this week's story I published on Medium.  It's a little nasty, but kind of fun.  Check it out here.  Publishing these little flash fiction pieces has really ignited my joy in writing them again.  I've been using a daily prompt and just going with whatever spills out from that prompt.  Some days it's better than others, but I feel like it's a good way to exercise my writing muscles outside a large project.

What are you celebrating this week?

 

Insecure Writers Support group - December

 It's the first Wednesday in December, so it's time for the Insecure Writers' Support Group!

The awesome co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG are Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia, Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!

This month's question is very much something that is on my mind at the moment:

Do you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer and/or a reader?

My critique group have been talking a lot about this very thing, not so much at the end of stories, but at the end of chapters. Leaving a cliff hanger or at least an intriguing moment at the end of the chapter encourages the reader to keep going, to turn the page and get immersed in the next chapter. Done well, you can sometimes get readers to stay up half the night to finish your book.

The way I write doesn't really lend itself to doing this except occasionally by accident. Because I write out of order and don't usually create chapters out of my text until the book's pretty much finished (or I'm putting up chapters for my critique group and need to divide it into relatively equal chunks for them to read), but it's definitely something I aim to do with the finished product.

In terms of short fiction, I prefer to end my stories with a twist that leaves the reader surprised or to end with something for them to think about. I love a story that leaves the reader with questions about either what happened in the story, or what might happen next. That's where discussion comes from... Like when you go to a film and everyone you went with has a slightly different idea what it was about and you have a lively dinner conversation about it.

When it comes to novels, I hate a cliffhanger ending. It usually means a book is part of a series and I can't stand reading a series unless the whole thing has been written. Far too often I get within a few pages of the end of a book and realise there's far too much to wrap up for the number of pages left, and get the hideous feeling that I'm reading the first part of a series. I loathe that. I don't want to wait a year or two to read the rest of the story. By then I will have forgotten the detail of the first one and I may not even care. Or the first book won't sell well and the next books in the series never get published.

So, while I'm not entirely pro-cliffhanger, they do have their place.

What are your feelings about cliffhangers?

Weekly Goals 2-12-24

 I have had a frustrating writing weekend.  In fact, a frustrating last few weeks of writing.  I have such a small amount left to write to get the draft finished, yet I can't seem to get anything to work.  I just don't know what needs to happen in that section to get from  A to B.

I think I've written 10K that I'll end up throwing out.

But we'll see.  I think I may have figured something out.  I'll try again when I write next.

What are your goals this week?