2016 Goals

On By BekkiIn Musings & Ramblings1 Comment

I’ve had this post sitting in my draft folder since I first started writing it on January 2nd.  Some posts are like that. They sit, because I’m not sure what to say, or I don’t make time to write them, or I forget they’re there.  About two-thirds of them stop feeling relevant after a bit, and end up in the trash. This post has stuck with me, nagging me quietly to go ahead and finish it already.

This isn’t a list of resolutions. It’s a list of goals I want to achieve, with milestones I can track. There’s an important difference between the two. A resolution is something you promise to do. A goal is a measurable, trackable, specific achievement. A resolution is nebulous; a goal is focused.

I’m posting these publicly to help keep me honest.  My plan is to do a recap post once a month showing my progress in meeting them for that month, with a final post at the end of the year. If I’m feeling ambitious, I might even figure out how to put this information into Excel to spit out some pretty charts.

Apply Ass to Chair

1. Write for at least 5 hours each week.

January: 8.68 hours over 8 days.

2. Finish Bronwyn’s story and shop draft to agents.

January: On Chapter 5 of draft 2.0

3. Continue writing the Monday blogs.

January: 4 blog posts total; 2 of 4 Monday Review posts

Reading

4. Finish 2 books and 1 audio book each month.

January: Finished two books and 1 audio book.

5. Read 2 non-fiction books this year.

January: None.

6. Read 2 books that I wouldn’t normally consider reading, and 6 books written by someone who is fundamentally different than me this year.

January: None.

Get Moving

7. Get moving for 5 hours a week.

January: Not quite. According to the Up app on my phone, I walked 21.1 miles but was only active for 3 hours and 17 minutes.  I don’t think the active time is entirely right – I need to get better at logging activities – but it definitely wasn’t 5 hours/week.

8. Get to Yoga once a month.

January: Didn’t happen.

9. Go hiking once a month.

January: Didn’t happen.

See the World

11. Go to one country and one state I haven’t been to yet.

January: None; I’ve been to Mexico once before.

12. Go on two camping trip, with toddler.

January: None. California may be warmer than the East coast, but not that much warmer!

Get a Life

13. Go on one date a month with the hubby.

January: We went on two dates, one to see the new Star Wars movie and one to a 60’s mod costume party. We even dressed up for the second!

14. Go on three photo shoots or other adult type activities this year.

January: None.

And there you have it. Considering how January went down, I think 2 out of 14 – especially since 5 of the 14 are year goals rather than month goals.  Things are looking a little better for February – but you’ll have to wait until the end of month post to see how much.

The Monday Review

On By BekkiIn The Weekly Review3 Comments

1. This.

2. 2106 5, A&B 0.  So far, 2016 has pretty much kicked our asses.  A’s mystery bug was finally diagnosed as post-infectious gastritis, which is a fancy way of saying he got food poisoning so bad it seriously messed up his GI tract.  We’ve had the plumber out twice so far, once for a leak that had water cascading into the basement and once because the garbage disposal backed up into the bathtub. The roof needs to be replaced when the rain stops. The garage door broke, and because there’s no other entrance we had to call a repair company to get us in. So if I’m not managing to blog as regularly as usual, it’s probably because we’ve had another crazy week.

3. I’m making the Facebook hiatus semi-permanent. About a month ago, I uninstalled the app from my phone. I’ll admit, it made me a little twitchy at first. I’d gotten used to having those dopamine pings, in the form  of the constantly scrolling news feed. But when it comes down to it, there’s very little of substance in my feed. Back in the days of the 140 character limit, people posted less, and posted more meaningfully.  Now, it’s largely click-bait and life events.  So I log on every couple of days, to catch up on photos and announcements – and thanks to Facebook’s algorithms, they’re almost always at the top – make a few comments, like a few photos, and log off.

4. Austerity month. After seeing the credit card spend for December and January, A and I decided to make February “austerity month.” Our goal is not to go crazy with not spending money, but to hold off on the impulse buys that always end up adding up at the end of the month. Like the Target runs that somehow top $100, or the never-ending Amazon cart. Of course, given the spend on house repair and maintenance this month, it’s looking like we may be trying for an austerity quarter. What I’ve found interesting is that this has made me very aware of all the things I want but don’t really need, like new shades for the ceiling fixture in the office, or a laptop/camera bag, or another pair of sunglasses.

5. This is what Valentine’s Day looks like when you have a toddler. A and I dropped Z with the sister after her nap on Saturday and went to go see Zoolander. In a theatre. With actual other people. Then we came home and promptly fell into bed. Sunday morning we slept in. Until 7 am! We went to IHOP for breakfast, looked at the calorie count next to all the dishes, and split a breakfast sampler. Then we yard-worked for a few hours. The rest of the day was pretty much spent sitting on the couch.

Closing Tabs

An exploration of the rise and fall of waterbeds.

OK Go’s new video takes place in an S7 airplane, in zero-g, and it is every bit as cool as it sounds.

I bookmarked this article on parenting a toddler awhile ago, and recently found it while cleaning out my bookmarks. The advice in here is spot on, at least for my kid, and I’ve found that turning things into games or “contests” has made life easier for both of us.

I’m seriously thinking about going to this writer’s retreat. It’s short, it’s nearby, and it’s fairly affordable.  Bay Area writer friends, any interest?

The Tuesday Review

On By BekkiIn The Weekly ReviewLeave a comment

1. My report went into the Department of Justice yesterday, and it totally involved a paralegal running down the streets of Washington D.C., documents in hand, and delivering them at 4:59 pm.  It’s a huge relief to have this over and done with.  I figure I’ve got about two weeks of downtime before we start back up with the 2016 review and report cycle. Continue reading “The Tuesday Review” →

An Open Letter to Brian White and Fireside Fiction

On By BekkiIn The Weekly ReviewLeave a comment

Hey Brian,

I’ve got your emails sitting in my inbox.  The ones asking for my support.  The ones saying that Fireside has been sliding backwards, that people drop off the Patreon from month to month, that without another funding drive you’re not going to make it another year.

And I’m torn.

I believe in what you’re doing. I think writers should be able to make a living wage selling their work. I think the current market rate of 6 cents a word is crap. I think short stories are as valid an art form as novels, and that writers shouldn’t have to be forced to write long form if they want to eat.

I also believe that the only way this experiment can be a success – the only way you can move the needle on the “pro” rate – is if Fireside is self-sustaining. If you have enough of a subscriber base who believe in what you’re doing, who like the work you’re putting out, and who keep paying you every month to cover your expenses.

***

I’m giving you $5 a month.  That’s more than I pay for any other magazine subscription, and I pay it happily, gladly, because I believe in you. But you keep coming back and asking for more, and at the end of the day I’m not sure what that means.

Is writing a losing proposition? Do we simply not value stories enough to pay authors for the time it takes to create them?

Is the market saturated with similar magazines, such that people are finding similar reading material for less? Or is it the “Amazon effect” – we’ve been conditioned that magazines should be 2.99 an issue and we’re not willing to pay more?

Are you doing something wrong? Picking stories people don’t want to read, publishing authors whose voices are tired and stale? Do readers feel they’re not getting their money’s worth?

You’ve probably thought about these questions, and a dozen more besides. You’d probably tell me there aren’t any easy answers. Which, at the end of the day, is why I’m torn.

***

Do I look at this like an investment? Like a stock purchased in hopes of greater returns down the line?

Do I look at this like an act of love? Like a gift, freely given, with no expectations or strings attached?

Do I look at this like an act of defiance? Like a voice raised in protest saying loudly and for all to hear, this, this is what I believe?

Do I look at this like a leap of faith? Like a single spark dropping onto a log, waiting for the right moment to burst into flame?

***

You’ve proven that there are enough people out there who believe in what you’re doing to keep you going for another year. As I’m typing this, the subscription drive is sitting right at $13,500 – the bare minimum to keep the doors open.

You’ve said Fireside is your dream. Let’s dream big.  $19,000 is your ultimate stretch goal. 10,000 words a month, longer submission limits, and a submissions period guest-edited by Daniel José Older.

You get the drive to $18,000 by Feb 5, and I’ll take it the rest of the way. No strings, no expectations, just love, and defiance, and faith that we’re doing the right thing.

***

Interested in seeing what Fireside is all about?  Check out Brian’s response to my letter, subscribe to Fireside, or join the Patreon.

The Monday Review

On By BekkiIn The Weekly Review1 Comment

1.   The mystery bug.  A’s doing better than he was a week or two ago, but this thing just doesn’t want to quit. The official diagnosis from the doctor was “I’m stumped” – he suggested it may be a 7-10 day virus. Rare, but not unheard of. It’s now been 16. I’m not sure what’s next… More tests maybe, or more time. It would be nice to have a diagnosis, a neatly labeled way to understand what’s going on.
Continue reading “The Monday Review” →