GOALS, GOALS, GOALS

We’re already in the second quarter of 2014. How the frilly heck did that happen so fast?

I have to say that getting through March was the slowest, quickest, hardest, breeziest experience I’ve had this century.

The major move is over. The old place is in my rearview mirror. But now it’s time to make this place a home, my Sanctuary, and it just so happens to coincide with the Day of Fools.

Oh, boy. Bumpy roads ahead.

So much to discuss. Where to begin.

Well, my plans went wonky in March, but I got through it.

HIGHS:

THE MOVE. Sweetness and light, I thought it would never end! The next time I want to be hauling luggage out of my building is when the Sisterhood and I head off to England in July!

I completed one of my courses with flying colors. Lovely email from my instructor declaring how impressed he was with my coursework.

I completed my judging duties for the Sandy Writing Contest. There are some terrific writers out there and I’m excited to see these stories in print.

I completed all my blog posts for March Madness. I’m happy with how they turned out.

LOWS:

Aside from the contest entries and coursework, I got no substantial reading done. That makes me antsy.

Barely a dent in any of my writing goals. Because I had to prioritize the move (which took up practically every moment not focused on school) I decided to forego the screenplay contests, as well. Upside to that is I saved $100 of entry fees that would have been wasted on rushed subpar entries.

That said, I did lose money on workshops I couldn’t actually participate in due to the aforementioned busy schedule. One of them ended with the month and the other is half over. I’ll collect all the lessons and read it on my own time. I know they’ll be helpful to my writing either way.

I did NOT get a chance to play the uke, at all. I was hoping to ‘christen’ our new place with a new song, but I’ll have to settle with a lil’ ditty I already know how to play–for now.

WHAT’S IN STORE FOR APRIL

I decided not to play the fool and opted out of joining this year’s A to Z blogstravaganza. I mean, really. I didn’t even eat three meals a day in March. I don’t think I’m in the mindset to post daily for April.

So, what does that leave me?

TONS.

WRITING GOALS FOR APRIL

Today is Day One for Camp. I’m giving myself a realistic goal of editing 25,000 words for Aaralyn’s Song this month which was the intended trek for March. Any additional progress is gravy.

Speaking of… (treks, not gravy, though I am suddenly peckish). We’re in Month Two of the YA Buccaneers Bootcamp. It’s a nice overlap to continue–or in my case, go back and effectively start–my writing challenge for Aaralyn’s Song. At this point, I’m not even going to bring in any other project into consideration until my 25k minimum is met. It’s time to lace up those boots and get going!

READING GOALS FOR APRIL

With five days away until the new season begins, I need to get my read on! I left off at a spot after what was covered last season. I’m hoping to get most of the book done this week (haha, in advance, given my to do list) but I’m also considering waiting until all the shows are recorded and marathon them together. That also means, I have ten weeks to catch up on the book and jump into the next one!

I’ve got NetGalleys galore and I’ll peruse them this week and come up with a selection for the next couple weeks. I also have two on standby that I’ve been itching to read but must hold off on until I lessen that TBR pile of galleys.

NETWORKING GOALS FOR APRIL

The two writing challenges mentioned above have plenty of social media buzz to keep me networked up for April. I also have my #WIPMadness family, so networking should be easy-peasy this month.

Also, since my schedule has freed up ever so slightly, I’ll be moderating writing craft chats over at Savvy Authors again starting tomorrow night. It’ll be a change of pace to just go home after class and sit down, rather than hauling luggage back and forth from one place to the other.

LEARNING GOALS FOR APRIL

I definitely want to learn the GoT theme on the uke. Once I’ve set up my room–which currently is basically a storage area with all the unsorted stuff–I shall jam once more!

I’m also taking a compressed class for French Level 2 that squeezes an entire semester into half the time. This works out well because it won’t overlap with our travel plans and I can go straight to Level 3 in the Fall. Learning languages has been a wonderful experience for me. It’s improved my memory, my overall learning and comprehension skills across multiple languages and the speed in which I’m able to absorb and process new information. If you ever wanted to try it but weren’t sure, give it a go. Try at least one new language and you’ll be surprised at how differently your brainwaves adapt to the task.

Hmmm… I think that should do it, yeah? Realistic and not overwhelming goals are a terrific way to slap the fool right outta this day. I do NOT plan on moving again any time soon, so there’s a boatload of stress off my shoulders right there.

What are your plans for April?