Monthly Report
So, you may or may not have noticed, but I forgot to update last week. Whoops! I’m still not used to the weekly blogging thing, I guess. In any case, I write these on Sundays, so even though you will be reading this on Wednesday, February 3, today is actually the last day of January. So it feels right to return to a monthly report. On the whole, January was, as many have been before, a rather fractured month. Inspired by the hopeful energy of the New Year, I must admit I chose to start WAY TOO MANY new classes. There’s a meditation class, a health class, a WordPress class, and a Mailerlite class, and I am now behind on all of them. The meditation, despite being one of the classes without a deadline, is the one that is doing the best. On the other hand, my routines have been solid, which is a new and refreshing thing, and possibly the reason the meditation class is going so well, since it is part of my evening routine. I now have five items on my morning routine, seven on my evening (around dinner) routine, and six on my night (right before bed) routine. I have been getting most things done every day, though there is usually one of the evening or night that just doesn’t get done. I try not to let it be the same one as the day before, but since I have been doing guided meditation in the evening, I sometimes skip the unguided meditation at night. Writing and the peripheral activities (January was for the website) have also been doing well, thanks to the routines and the new streaming on Sundays. I get a story done each week during the stream, and I’ve also been able to do a blog post each week. I stream for 3 hours, so there is plenty of time. I will see at the end of this post if I managed my 10,000 word goal for the month, but if I don’t make it, I will at least be close.
Optional Monthly Question
February 3 question -Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere?
I hate to say this, but no. Actually not at all, unless you count my earliest days of online journaling when I had an Open Diary account. I made friends through that, but they have all passed on over time. Most of the friendships I have with posters on my blog have actually come from other areas, such as NaNoWriMo and Holly’s Writing Classes. I’ll give a quick shout out to those because Holly Lisle has temporarily lowered the prices to 50% off all classes over $20 due to the economic struggles we are all facing. I’ll be returning to How To Revise Your Novel in February, and I maintain that it is the very best writing class I have ever taken. Getting it for half off would be a steal. In fair disclosure, that is an affiliate link. If you prefer not to use it, you can do an internet search on Holly’s Writing Classes, and you will find all her offerings including that class. I have made a lot of friends through the forums, so even if all you get is the free flash fiction class, it comes with free, perpetual access to the forums*.
It is one of the best places on the internet, full of empathetic and compassionate people trying to help each other on the writing journey. My affiliate link to the free flash fiction course is here: How to Write Flash Fiction that Doesn’t SUCK
Of course, the lack of blog-related friendships is on me. I’m not very social. I recognize that to have good success with blogging, I need to go to other blogs and comment, and somehow, that part of the equation always gets skipped. It’s something I need to work on because when I do take the time, I am amazed by all the wonderful insights and perspectives I encounter. To link this to the previous section, it seems like, once the current routines are 100% solid rather than just mostly solid, I could add blog-reading to either the morning or evening routines (before bed would be silly!). Something I’ll have to consider!
INSECURE WRITER’S SUPPORT GROUP
FOUNDED BY
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Twitter is @TheIWSG Hashtag: #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for the February 3 posting of the IWSG are Louise – Fundy Blue , Jennifer Lane, Mary Aalgaard, Patsy Collins at Womagwriter, and Nancy Gideon!
*assuming good behavior, of course, as is true of all forums.
Your life sounds like mine did 10 years ago. I got old and consequently slowed down without much effort. I have made a lot of blogging friends, but I’ve learned one important lesson, you can be easily forgotten if you hide out. Don’t push yourself too hard. No one else suffers if you do but you. Except for maybe family. Happy IWSG day.
Yes, I completely agree! I do think I have a tendency to add a lot to my plate all at once, and then over time, the important things stick and the less important things sort of fade away. Thank you for writing!
As long as you’re forming good relationships/friendships somewhere, that’s all that matters; it doesn’t necessarily have to be through blogging..
Thank you! That said, I would like to connect with people more on my blog.
Also, meditation is really helpful. It helps us to better focus our minds in our daily lives.
Yes, I agree. I have been really enjoying the meditation.
Hi, Raven! That’s awesome you’ve found some writing classes you enjoy. Glad you’re part of the IWSG! Happy writing and meditating.
Thank you!