I’m going to stop posting my goals, at least for the next couple of weeks. I’ll still check in, but that will be the extent of it.

So: this past week I did pretty well with my goals. I worked on both novels. I entered something in a competition. I worked on my finances, and I took on less paid work. I’m going to carry on in this vein as much as I can over the next couple of weeks.

That’s all for this week.

Last week’s goals:

1. Work on SWMF for 30 minutes on 5/7 days. Done on, um, 2/5 days.
2. Work on the YA novel for 30 minutes on 5/7 days. Done on 2/5 days.
3. Start editing the YA novel. Done.
4. Keep thinking about a writing plan/writing goals for June and July. Done.
5. Spend 15 minutes a day on admin and finances. Done.
6. Submit some writing somewhere. Not done.

Mmm, I’ve had a bit of a lazy week – or rather, I took on too much freelance work, which meant I was too concerned with paid deadlines to squeeze in some writing first on most days. I’ve still made a bit of progress, but not as much as I’d like (is it EVER as much as one would like?). I’m disappointed with myself for not submitting anything, especially after the boost of seeing my writing in print for the first time.

This week I think I need to start protecting my writing time better. I’ve done loads of paid work, and have also hopefully sorted out some invoicing issues with one of my clients, so I have less to worry about on that score. I still have too much work to do in the early part of this week, but after that, it’s up to me to only take on work I can manage within reasonable hours.

Onto this week’s goals:

1. Work on SWMF for at least 30 minutes on 5/7 days.
2. Work on the YA novel for at least 30 minutes on 5/7 days.
3. Post a review or some sort of reaction post about the Remember Oluwale anthology while it’s still fresh in my mind.
4. Restrict my paid work to reasonable hours (I have a number in mind here, but don’t feel like going into it publicly).
5. Submit something somewhere.
6. Spend 15 minutes a day on admin and finances.

Quick goals update:

1. Work on SWMF for 30 minutes on 5/7 days. DONE
2. Work on the YA novel for 30 mins on 5/7 days. DONE (6/7 days)
3. Start editing the YA novel. I haven’t quite started yet, but I have been using the set of blog posts I mentioned last time to prepare for it.
4. Figure out a writing plan for June. Haven’t really done this. Possibly I need a writing plan for July instead.
5. Spend 15 minutes a day working on admin and finances. DONE.
6. Enter a competition or submit some writing. DONE.

Remembering Oluwale, a book featuring responses to the story of David Oluwale in the form of short stories and poems, was published on Friday. It features my story, Touch, along with lots of other great short stories and poems – I think I’ll have to post a review at some point, because it looks to be filled with interesting and emotive takes on matters of social justice, racism, homelessness, mental ill-health, as relevant today as they were during David Oluwale’s lifetime. I’m really proud to have been a part of this project, and am looking forward to delving into the rest of the contributions.

I also attended the launch party, which was exciting if a little terrifying – there are some photos here. So much fun to meet other writers who’d been involved in the project. I also got some lovely feedback on my story, which was hugely encouraging.

OK, onto goals for this week:

1. Work on SWMF for 30 minutes on 5/7 days.
2. Work on the YA novel for 30 minutes on 5/7 days.
3. Start editing the YA novel.
4. Keep thinking about a writing plan/writing goals for June and July.
5. Spend 15 minutes a day on admin and finances.
6. Submit some writing somewhere.