Tag Archives: resolutions

The 2023 Goal Post

Posted on by CM Schofield
Two tall, slim glasses of champagne surrounded by shiny gold confetti.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Another year, another list of goals. I knew at the start of last year that I wasn’t getting much done. This year though I am hoping to be able to get a bit more done because I should have less big life events going on. So, what are my goals for this year? 

Writing Goals:

  1. The Halfway House first draft completed – This one is quite close to being done to be honest but, with other stuff going on, I need to make sure I don’t lose momentum and stop when I’m so close to the end. I have a track record of doing this if I don’t intentionally set myself goals (see Goal 2).
  2. The Fairy Godfather with betas – Now that I’ve finally admitted to myself that traditional publishing isn’t for me, my original beloved trilogy The Twyned Earth is back on the rails. Book 2 was so close to being beta ready but I became disillusioned and stopped working on it. It’s time I fixed that! 
  3. Self publishing fund – Self publishing can be as cheap or expensive as you decide for it to be. My books are a complete labour of love and I want them to go out into the world in the best possible state they can be, which unfortunately can be pretty expensive! Thanks to the current cost of living crisis, I’m not giving myself a specific numerical goal but instead committing to setting aside at least a little bit every single month. 
  4. Website overhaul – I want to go over and refresh every page on the site and, in addition to that, I want to delete or unpublish old posts that I either don’t feel are necessary anymore or that I would like to rewrite and republish to be better. I’d also like to update the appearance if I can find a layout that I like!
  5. Turn my Twyned Earth encyclopaedia digital – This was a really fun project I started ages ago. Basically a world building bible for Twyned Earth to help me keep consistency throughout the books and series, and keep track of all the fun world details that either never made it into books or had to get cut. It’s currently on paper in a binder and I want to get it typed up so that it’s both easier to change and add things to and also so I have a copy if something happens to it.

General Life Goals:

  1. Consistent Duolingo – I don’t want to say “keep a streak for the whole year” because, while that would be great, if I failed at any point I’d be demotivated to keep going. Instead I’m going to aim to get the 1000 xp badge for every month. That way at least if I fail one then I can redeem myself the next month. 
  2. Health targets – There’s a few things that I want to get back on track with that help my physical and (especially) mental health.
  3. Talk on Discord again (again) – Last time I set voice therapy with the end goal of talking on Discord to my online friends, I actually managed it. I want to get back into doing that and be more consistent this time!

That’s me for this year! All in, I think it’s a realistic amount of stuff to do while also giving me a few solid things to show at the end, which are both good for motivation. As I mentioned in my last post, I’m done with “hoping next year will be better” and instead just aiming to get more stuff done. 

I hope everyone had a lovely new year and that you’re all looking forward to whatever challenges you have set yourselves (if any)!

The 2022 Round Up

Posted on by CM Schofield

It should come as no surprise that this year has not been good for the goals I set out earlier in the year. However, while I’ve missed the mark on almost all of them, I’ve been very successful on some other stuff which was arguably quite a bit more important. For example, I no longer live in a country I hate and I own a home. I also have a lovely little cat and have passed my probation to make my new job permanent. All very successful! We’ve also had a few additional disasters this year which, while sorted now, certainly set me back. Still, let’s have a look at those goals.

A white and grey cat, curled up asleep on a keyboard, with two angry looking plushie octopus on her.
  1. The Halfway House – The goal was to get this to beta ready and we never made it to the finish line, however, I am pretty happy with the progress I did get. On the printed out line edits stage so not too far from being done. 
  2. NaNoWriMo – This was the big one for me this year and fortunately I delivered! Ten years and ten wins. Huzzah!
  3. Reading – I didn’t get through as many books as I would have liked but I did get through a fair number and I’m pleased with how diverse my selection of authors was. Not technically a win as I didn’t hit my arbitrary number but still happy with how I did and hoping to keep it up into the new year.
  4. Health stuff – Very early into October this changed to “just keep yourself together” because even that was a tall order thanks to some illegal work being done outside my home and completely knackering our water and boiler. I did keep myself together just about, even if I went backwards on a lot of the progress I’d made. Hugely disappointing but sometimes life is like that.

I think only one win out of my yearly goal list is a new personal low for me but I’m trying to look on the bright side. I got a lot of very tiring, time consuming, and essential things out of the way this year and while I’ve thoroughly had the “next year will be better” attitude beaten out of me slowly but surely since 2016, I am hopeful that next year I will at least be able to focus on writing a little more.

The Halfway Mark 2021

Posted on by CM Schofield

Well. Halfway through the year already. My goodness.

This year has certainly been a strange one. I didn’t think there could be much more upheaval for me personally than Brexit drama and a global pandemic but life likes to keep things spicy. Who knew that going into lockdown would be a lot easier than coming out again? I mean I, as many introverts did, liked to joke about that a lot at the start but I truly wasn’t prepared for the emotional and mental toll it’s been taking. It turns out as well that there may be another issue contributing to that but I need to get to a doctor first before I’d feel comfortable talking about it (it’s nothing to worry about, just something that might explain a few a lot of things). It’s not been the easiest environment to focus on my writing goals.

So, in the middle of everything that has been going on, how have those 2021 goals been progressing?

  1. Write 1 short story per month – This has completely flopped. I managed two and then it all went wrong. Oh well. I tried! And I’ve not (totally) given up. The “per month” part might be dead and buried but I can still bash some out before the end of the year. There are a few old short stories that I’m planning on refurbishing and posting up here for your viewing pleasure and there are a few that I’ve got ideas for that I may eventually get around to scrawling somewhere. 
  2. Get something beta ready – Actually going well! No one would have expected at the start of the year (especially not me) that I’d stick working on one project for 8 months straight but here we are. Looks like The Halfway House just really speaks to me. I’m about three quarters through what is for me the slowest and least enjoyable part of editing, and then I’m on what normally feels like the downhill. I don’t want to jinx it but this one is currently ahead of schedule.
  3. Read new books – I’ve not kept up with my goal (and I’ve given up on hitting it) but I’ve managed to chalk up a few on this one. Hopefully without any big beta reading obligations for the rest of the year I might increase pace a little but I’m not holding my breath just yet.
  4. Keep Through the Black on submission – Technically yes. A few months I’ve left it a bit longer than was probably reasonable to hear back before sending it out again but I have kept up with sending it out, even if I’ve dragged my feet for a couple of weeks here and there. I’m still classing this one as on track, considering, well… everything.
  5. Keep up blog posts – Whoops. You haven’t heard from me since mid-May, so I think we know how this one’s going. That aside, I haven’t been doing too bad for me and I’ve got a backlog of ideas I just need to get on paper. Then hopefully I can post weekly for a while to catch up. So shaky, but I have hope on this one.

Moving on to some non writing related ones:

  1. Draw 1 piece of art per month – Failed this one too. Currently at four months out of six. However, some of the pieces I’ve made I’m really proud of and I can see a marked improvement on where my art was last year. A fail on paper but not one I’m too broken up about. Again, I’m hoping to ramp this one up again once things become a little more normal again. Just…  just don’t watch the news, okay?
  2. Weight goal – It’s gone in the right direction? That counts. Not enough yet to help with dysphoria but I’m taking that as a win for where we are in the year.
  3. Voice Therapy – I started it, just need to get consistent and then get the courage. I was even relatively consistent for a bit but fell off the wagon. Still, it’s a starting place and I’m building up my skills again. Gonna mark this one down as on course. 

Not the most hopeful midpoint of a year I’ve ever had but I like to think that I’m doing pretty well, considering. It’s been a rough year and I hope you’re all doing well. We’ll get there together.

The 2020 Goal Post

Posted on by CM Schofield

Shocked

I hope you were sat down for this one popping up on your feed. Even by my standards, that was a long absence.

A lot has happened, non-writing wise. Relatively, not much on the writing front but life threw a lot at me over the last year and a half. I’ve still been writing but not seriously. I’ve had to focus everything I had at my life circumstances and my day job just to keep my head above the water. I’ve been through a few rough patches but coming out of the other side I’ve grown professionally (just not in the writing department unfortunately) and personally. I finally feel ready to turn back to the things I love. To return to my creativity. It’s time to move on again from just small, sporadic pieces of writing for fun and go back to pursuing my dream of becoming a published writer. 

What better way to do that than to return to the annual resolutions post? Though I’ve changed the name to “goals” partly because it makes them seem like friendly ticky boxes that are less scary and also because of that sweet pun in the title.

 

1.) Start doing blog posts again lol – We all know how good I am at this one. However, I need writing accountability and the old “building the author brand” chestnut that I’m so terrible at. I kept up fortnightly posts for quite a while in the past, so I’ll be trying to return to that schedule.

2.) Finish TE1 synopsis (by 28 Feb) and keep on submission – This is something that I should have done a really long time ago. Honestly though, I haven’t had the time physical or mental strength to get it done. So this goal is to get a query packet complete for Through the Black (which is just the full story synopsis left now) and then get it on submission, and keep it there. 

3.) Get Fishperer beta ready – This is another one that is so close that it’s actually quite frustrating that it isn’t finished by now. Time to put it in writing that this is a focus, and not check it off as “done” until it’s in the hands of some beta readers. Volunteers welcome!

4.) Complete a Goodreads challenge – Over the past few years I’ve fallen into the easy habit of re-reading old favourites. When everything in life just feels difficult, sometimes the brain can try and make everything it can that little bit easier. If I ever want to be a good writer though, I’ve gotta read wide. I’ve already started that by picking up a book I apparently bought and put on my TBR list in 2015. Whoops.

A couple of non-writing ones to finish up with:-

5.) Do enough art to do the end of year meme – If you follow any artists on Twitter, you’re probably familiar with the meme, or at least a similar one. To fulfill this goal, I would need to produce at least one piece I’m happy to post per month, to form them all into a collage in December. Makes me practice and gives a tangible goal I can complete to keep focused. 

6.) Hit weight goal – Not much to say about this one, I just want an accountability record of it. Hit and maintain chosen goal.

 

So that’s it from me – for now. It’s good to be back. Happy New Year!

The Resolutions Post, 2018

Posted on by CM Schofield

So after last year’s clown fiesta I’m back with a list of resolutions for 2018! This year is all set to be a bit of a mess as well but hey, I’m going in swinging. I’ve had two Bad YearsTM, will 2018 make it three in a row? I dunno but I’m going to try and go with no. As such, here’s some stuff I want to achieve! Let’s go!

 

New Year

 

1.) Submit short stories – Guess who’s back? This year’s resolutions are going to be a bit déjà vu thanks to last year. THIS year submissions are going to be happening. For one thing, I’m going to need to practice, for reasons you will see below.

 

2.) Put all relevant info from Through the Black into my Twyned Earth World Building encyclopedia – Not much more to be said about this one aside from I still haven’t done it and really, really should.

 

3.) Keep arting – now with more tutorials – I was actually impressed with myself and how much I managed to draw last year. Now, this year is again going to be a turbulent one so I’m not going to set a goal to beat last year’s twenty posted pictures. What I will aim for is one a month and to start looking up tutorials to try and get technically better at stuff instead of bumbling along by myself as I did last year.

 

4.) Get back on the FitBit thing – For a good year and a bit, since I got my FitBit, I was really good at keeping up with step goals. It was wonderful for my health and general wellbeing. However, last summer I got a foot injury (I was just playing Diablo dammit) and then with the latter half of the year being a puddle of despair everything went to pot. Now I intend to get back to hitting those goals every day. For one thing, it did wonders for my mood which helps with the writing.

 

5.) Read more – This year was a terrible one for reading. There are so many books I’ve wanted to read and just haven’t. I’m hoping to be in a much better place for reading this year and start hacking through that To Be Read pile again. Even ignoring the fact that reading is the best way to improve your writing, I just love it and miss it.

 

And finally, the big one…

 

6.) Start querying Through the Black – Yes, I know I already mentioned this one a couple of posts ago but this is big for me! It’s what I’ve been working towards for the last five-and-a-bit years. I’m aiming for the MS to be ready by March 31st and then to have the query packet sorted by April 30th. Then, after I’ve had a few people look over the packet and whatnot, it’s query time. Hopefully by the end of May depending on how long it takes for people to get back to me. Then I’m hoping the rest of the year will just be a steady stream of me bothering agents with it and sobbing into desserts.

 

Whatever you’re aiming to do this year, I wish you the best of luck and I hope things work out. If not, don’t worry. Just keep on pushing. That’s how I got through last year and I already know this year is going to be tough but I’m not giving up before it’s started. Let’s get out there and show 2018 who’s boss.

Resolutions 2016 – Half Time

Posted on by CM Schofield

We are already—terrifyingly—halfway through the year so here is a half time update on those resolutions I made back in January. Now, I commonly use the phrase “going to sort my life out” when I’m exiting a conversation, normally to mean I’ve got something to get ready for or something important I’ve been putting off that I finally am going to do. This year so far has been a pretty special one for me personally as it is the year where I have finally, actually, sorted my life out. Big, big things are happening in the next few weeks, as you will read below.

 

1.) Diversify my reading – As I’m a slow reader, I set my goal for this at ten books (half of my Goodreads challenge). I have currently read 6 out of 10 of those and am finding some amazing books I might not have found if I hadn’t specifically gone looking for them. If anyone has any recommendations for great diverse sci-fi, horror or fantasy novels I would love to hear about them in the comments below!

Diverse Books

If a book has the phrase “giant penguin apocalypse” in the blurb I’m probably gonna read it.

 

2.) Start leaving short reviews on Goodreads again – I set my goal for this at one a month and I’ve managed to keep that up, which means I’m currently 50% of my way to completing this goal. My reviews are still short and fairly pants but I’m writing them and making myself look more critically at a book than I normally would do. This in turn is helping me think about my own writing, even seeing the same issues in my own writing when I really sit and think about it.

 

3.) Submit more short stories – Submitting stuff is scary and between working on novels and a pretty hectic life at present, I set my goal for this at submitting three times. This is to allow for the time it actually takes to write a story and the time it takes to hear back. So far I’ve submitted one but I have another that’s almost ready to be submitted and the first is due back on the 5th of July at the latest, which will be getting sent elsewhere if rejected.

 

4.) Finish next draft of Through the Black – I am currently 27.8 % through this draft! That number might not look great but I’m actually really on track with Through the Black work. I’m 81.6 % through the first sweep which is by far the longest part of my revision process. Thanks to an influx of time (see below) I’m a couple of chapters ahead of where I was expecting to be and have even moved up deadlines so that step two and three have more time for perfecting!

 

5.) Lose more weight – BAM! Mission accomplished. I have hit the number that I was after. The new goal here is to still be at that number or below come the end of the year. Maintenance is tough so I’m going to be working hard to make sure I don’t slip.

 

6.) Get a tattoo – The same tattoo I’ve wanted ever since I first saw Dragonheart when I was seven. Yes, that was 20 years ago and I have been putting it off and off and off. Observe below! Tah daaaaah!

Tattoo

Not Draco but a dragon all my own.

 

7.) Move in with partner – Now this is where things get really exciting (and terrifying). The 17th of June was my last day at my previous job. That’s right – I’ve finally found work down south. Less than a week from today, I am moving. The next couple of months are going to be turbulent as I juggle with a new home, a new city and a new job. It’s going to be scary and stressful but I welcome it with open arms because finally—finally—I will be living with my partner.

 

How is your year and resolutions going? Tell me all about it below!

Resolutions 2016

Posted on by CM Schofield

Happy New Year’s everyone! Hope you all had a lovely holiday season! I certainly did and as of tomorrow will be back to business as usual. Hopefully this will do a lot for my productivity. It’s picked up in the last few days but aside from that has been pretty much nonexistent since the end of November. That’s December for you. Now, for the first post of the year, I give you my new New Year’s resolutions! Wooo!

 

1.) Diversify my reading – After a long hiatus of reading at uni, I had a lot of books to catch up on. Most of them were recommendations and have resulted in not very diverse reading! Now that I have mostly caught up on most of the big series I want to branch out and read some of these awesome diverse authors I’ve been hearing about.

WP_20160104_19_01_18_Pro

Don’t panic – this isn’t my only shelf. It’s just too amusing to not use as an example.

2.) Start leaving short reviews on Goodreads again – I’m not very good at writing reviews but they’re good for both me and the author I’m writing one for. Writing reviews makes people look at stories: the good points, the bad points, what works, and what doesn’t. As a writer, drawing my attention to these things helps highlights issues in my own writing. Improving my own work and helping other writers out at the same time can only be a good thing. So, I want to leave at least ONE review a month. Hopefully more but I’m expecting a busy year so I want a realistic goal.

3.) Submit more short stories – I won’t bore you by waffling EVEN MORE about the positives of trying to submit stuff. If you visit regularly, you’ll know how I feel about this so it should be no surprise that I want to make submitting a more regular occurrence!

4.) Finish next draft of Through the Black – Again, no big surprises here! Twyned Earth, my main project, will be getting a lot of love this year and I am aiming to have a shiny new draft ready for beta readers by the end of the year. Eeeeep! And eventually hopefully an actually decent title…

5.) Lose more weight – After last year, I have a numerical value I’m aiming for and this one isn’t a stepping stone like the last but the endgame. Woo!

6.) Get a tattoo – The same one I’ve been saying I want for years but have never got.

7.) Move in with partner – It has been a long time coming and hopefully now in the near future!

 

Phew. Got a busy year ahead of me, I think! Reach for the stars, right? Who else has exciting resolutions for 2016?

Resolutions 2015 Roundup

Posted on by CM Schofield

Uh oh all, here we are, it’s the end of the year! Ahhhh! Let’s have a look back at my original list of resolutions and see how I did.

 

1.) Start maintaining this blog again.

Looking back, I posted 24 posts this year (not including this one) which works out at one post every two weeks. Which is surprising to me, because that’s really not bad at all! Okay, so they weren’t posted that way and we still got some preeeetty big gaps but it’s a vast improvement. Also, aside from one missing side project, everything is looking pretty up-to-date elsewhere on the blog too. I’m hoping to keep this up next year and might deliberately try to aim for a two weekly posting instead of weekly as that feels much more manageable to me.

2.) Send Twyned Earth Book 1 to beta readers.

Mission accomplished! Okay, so this was done ages ago but not only did I send it but I got loads of feedback and have a plan for tackling the next draft next year. Woo!

3.) Lose some weight.

This went pretty well actually. I didn’t start the year with a numerical value to reach for so I’m counting this one as a win. I eventually settled on a number, which I didn’t hit, but I got 91% of the way there which has set me up pretty well to carry on losing next year to hit my final weight goal.

4.) Keep up with blogs.

Argh, this was a total flop. Started out okay, then got a little bit more ropey, then it all just kinda went to pot. I could make excuses and say that I had a lot on this year but everyone has a lot on every year so it feels like cheating. This one will have to go back on the list next year because it really is something that I want to do. I still have my list of blogs but there are only a few that I’ve managed to keep on top of which means I’ve been missing a wealth of good advice! The horror! Hopefully next year I’ll make a better stab at this one.

 

There we have it. Not perfection but I’m pleased with how I’ve done this year. There’s been a lot of other somewhat massive stuff that’s happened which helps make this year feel pretty successful so despite some minor failings I’m okay with this list. If you’re the resolutions type, how did yours go?

The Resolution Update

Posted on by CM Schofield

So, about six months ago you might remember me making THIS blog post about new year’s resolutions! Well, since we’re half way through the year and I don’t have a whole lot else to say at present, here’s an update to keep myself accountable.

1.) Start maintaining this blog again.

It’s not been perfect, and there hasn’t been posts every week,  but a total of fourteen posts so far this year (not including this one) means I’ve been doing a much better job than I did last year! I’m hoping to try and pick things up again as I’ve been slowing down, but as of next week I should have a short story ready to go up in three instalments to keep you all (hopefully) entertained!

2.) Send Twyned Earth Book 1 to beta readers.

Mission accomplished! Not only accomplished but I also have almost ALL of my beta feedback now! Huzzah! There will be a full post about this, hopefully by the end of the month, but for now I will simply say a massive thank you to all my beta readers. Current work has moved onto the editing of Book 2 and the plotting of this year’s stand alone NaNoWriMo project.

3.) Lose some weight.

Due to lots of sickness at the start of the year this one started pretty late but now that it has it’s actually going very well! I’ve lost 43 % of the weight I’m currently aiming to drop. If I hit my target, I might lower it after spending some time there, depending on how I feel.

4.) Keep up with blogs.

Getting better, even if that has devolved into binge reading a whole month’s worth of posts at once. That still counts, right? This is one I need a bit of a kick up the backside with, just so that I don’t lose whole evenings where I’m supposed to be working or playing Xenoblade Chronicles. What?

Now what about you guys? How are your resolutions/goals going?