Working Through the Muck: ROW80 Goals Check-In

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world
And the seven seas–
Everybody’s looking for something.
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused.

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” Eurythmics

Image source: Dospaz via Flickr.com

This was a bit of a rocky and rough week.  The abrupt turn of the weather from sixty degrees to the thirties was paired with snow, rain, sleet, and hail all in less than a twelve-hour span.  Such a shift is a definite for triggering my migraines.  I’ve been fighting off a slow-moving stomach flu since Wednesday.  It isn’t anything drastic–just general queasiness, moments of clamminess, and a distinct urge for the basics of popcorn.  The work week ended with a day gig frenzy that allowed Friday the thirteenth to stand in all the bad omen glory it has deserved.  Thankfully, I had a scheduled massage Friday evening to wash away the “mucky vibe.”

ROW80 Goals Progress

Writing/Craft

• At least one hour of WIP writing time five days a week. – Not at 100%.  More like 60%.  I’m improved from last week since I got in three sessions.  I was supposed to write Saturday and Sunday, but got sucked into reading (see below).  I know that making this shift to more daily writing will be something I’ll need to work on to make it a habit.
• Complete one craft book via reading at least one chapter a week. – Done. I started “First Draft in 30 Days: A Novel Writer’s System for Building a Complete and Cohesive Manuscript.”  The goal is to teach people a technique for outlining a novel in one month versus having the full first draft done.  I plan on using it as a tip guide against my current novel WIP as I continue writing.  As a pantser, I’m still having paranoid feelings that I did my first outline “wrong.”
• Complete two novels and one book of short stories via reading at least one chapter a week. – Done for week and one-third done with entire goal.  Squee!  I finished “Catching Fire” and have about a third left of “Mockingjay.”  Yes, “The Hunger Games” trilogy has addicted me.  Once free done, I’ll put my full focus onto “2oth Century Ghosts,” the short story collection by Joe Hill.  Then it will be time for a new goal.  🙂
• Complete assignments for From Plot to Finish master class with Laurie Schnebly Campbell (first two weeks of April). – Almost done.  The class is now over and, since I was playing catch-up from the end of last week, I wasn’t able to participate as much.  I’m finishing the last assignments (seven and eight) now.

Social Media

• Complete ROW80 sponsor duties via reading and commenting on assigned blogs each week. – Done.
  
• Share contents of other bloggers via link backs from each of my posts. – Partially done.  I forgot to link in the entertainment/pop culture to my Idol post.  Ack.
  
• Check Triberr at least once daily. – Partially done.  I did much better this week checking in several times and retweeting. There are still some irritating gremlins that make it more time-consuming than it needs to be.
  
• Join and learn Pinterest. – Pending.
  

Healthy Happy Living

• Cardio exercise three times a week. – Two thirds done.  I got in two sessions and get brownie points for sticking to one scheduled on Wednesday when I felt a little green.
  
• Look for yoga/meditation course option each week. – I found one for yesterday, but the trilogy reading got in the way.  Heh.
• Complete neck exercises every day. – Done.  I take breaks to do these at work since sitting at a desk all day wonks my alignment.
  

How did you do this week?  Are there any goals that you are rocking on already?  Any that you have found will need more of a focused effort?  Be sure to check out the ROW80 updates of others via the blog hop.

Other Related Tidbits:

• Speaking of Pinterest, August McLaughlin’s Pinterest & Blogging: 7 Keys to Success furthered my thoughts on how to use the site once I’m active and on best practices for linking with others.
• With How Do We Find Beta Readers, Jami Gold answered some future questions I’ve had about my book.  While I am sharing pieces of the story with my local writing group, I do know I’ll need to have a few full story readers as part of the process.
•  Cheryl Reif’s 10 Ways to Spark Creative Connection spurs some great “what if” questions for story and character development.