Ah, yes. It’s that time of year again. The time of the year where I take a look back and do some reflecting.

Quick Recap

So last year was the first time for sharing my progress. I’ve been keeping track of how I’ve been doing for a while now, so it’s also fun having it online where I can easily access it. For more details, or to see what I was up to last year, feel free to check out the blog here.

It’s been a slow year, but that’s ok. Here’s a quick peak at what I’ve been up to!

The Accomplishments from August 7th, 2022 to August 6th, 2023

Like last year’s blog, this time I’ve also broken things down into categories. It just helps me see where I should be expanding my writing and my focus. 

Blogs (18)

Compared to last year, where I had 24 (technically 28), I didn’t do so well productive wise on the blogs. Although, upon closer inspection, I actually counted two blogs I shouldn’t have in the total. So… 22 with technical 26? I’m not too terribly upset by that. It’s been difficult coming up with relevant topics.

Last Year’s Time Capsule Goal & My New Year’s Goal

Let’s see. I had hoped to write 20 blogs by this time, according to last year’s time capsule post. Just two blogs shy isn’t bad, and I did technically achieve that goal if I count two of last year’s blogs towards this year’s goal. My New Year’s Goal, however, was two blogs a month (24 blogs total), so that’s a no go, hahaha! Methinks I’ll stop doing New Year’s goals and focus instead on my time capsule event. Boom, done! 

• A Yearly Time Capsule Event 2021-2022
• More Reading Distractions
• Tales of a Ferret Owner: Ferret Shoulder Training
• Monday Writing News and Personal News
• Northeastern US Road Trip Part 1 of 6
• Northeastern US Road Trip Part 2 of 6
• Northeastern US Road Trip Part 3 of 6
• Northeastern US Road Trip Part 4 of 6
• Northeastern US Road Trip Part 5 of 6
• Northeastern US Road Trip Part 6 of 6
• Cozy Up With A New Book During The 2022 December Winter Storm
• Goals From 2022 And Goals For 2023
• Behind The Scenes Of Ryac: AITAH?
• Learning The Self-Publishing Lessons Only A Book Can Teach You
• Writing Groups Help With Brainstorming, Constructive Criticism, Mental Support, Inspiration, And Improvement Through Mimicry
• Improve Your Writing Or Other Hobbies By Joining A Group With Like-Minded People: Here’s How To Find Them
• Exploring New Things: Writing, Food, And More!
• First Five Chapters FREE

Novels (1)

Just a reminder that this section is about furthering the advancement of a novel rather than completing one. That being said… I FINISHED RYAC!!!!

Last Year’s Time Capsule Goal & My New Year’s Goal

Oh, I love this one! “It’s more about what was done to further a novel than necessarily completing it. The goal, however, is always to complete it.” How awesome is that?! Oh, and I did finish a novel. That just leaves the goal of focusing on Charm of Night, which isn’t yet finished. As for working on First Druid, I haven’t really deviated from focusing on Charm of Night.

Chapters

• Sir Ryac and the Dark Mage: no new ones, just edited 1-32
• MAD Upload: edited prologue
• Charm of Night: 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36

Published

• Sir Ryac and the Dark Mage

Short Stories (2)

I don’t ever seem to have goals regarding short stories. That’s probably because they just happen. I’d much rather focus on completing a novel rather than having an intentional focus on distracting short stories. I’m easily distracted by new and shiny projects, so it’s probably for the best that I don’t focus intentionally on this category.

• The Chosen One
• Tales of a Ferret Owner: Ferret Shoulder Training (blog)

Prompts (0)

Same as the above. They either happen, or they don’t.

Areas To Improve

Oh, there’s plenty of areas to improve. The blogs were 2-6 shy, Charm of Night is nowhere near being done (I feel like I’m barely half way through the story, if that). As I said before, the short stories and prompts aren’t my main focus. Honestly, if I had more done with novel writing, I don’t think I’d care about the blogs much, either. Still, I’d say that every category could have used some improvement.

Expectations For 2024

Well, this one is tough, but I’m going to be a bit harsher on myself since I fell behind in several categories. For starters, more blogs, finish Charm of Night, and just stay focused. I’m not saying I’ll have Charm of Night published by then, but it should be in the editing phase. So, 20 blogs, 1 novel fully written and in publishing phase, and a new novel in the works. Last year’s goal of having two books finished in one year was just too much. I think it honestly demotivated me. Looks like I’ll be going back to the basics for now.

Until next time, may your adventures be many and your inspiration be endless!