September Goals Recap

A Little Background:

Hello hello! We’re doing something a little different this week. Normally at the end of each month, I share a recap of my monthly goals list on my studyblr, but since I have this website now, I’d like to share some of my writing goals on here too! In 2018, I started keeping a list of 20-30 items that I wanted/needed to accomplish in the next month. These aren’t obligations like “Do my homework” but extra things that help me take tangible steps towards my dreams of “Graduating from College” or “Publishing Storge” and include a variety of goals to keep me well rounded and healthy. I always add more than I could reasonably accomplish in the period, so I count the month as a “Win” if I mark off more than half of them. This method was borrowed and adapted from Jenna Moreci’s quarterly writing goals, so I highly recommend checking her out if you want to learn more about the process!

September was a busy month. If you didn’t know, I’m currently a 2nd year chemical engineering student, so I started my fall semester at zoom university. I was also working a summer internship at an international adhesives company, and asked them if they would let me stay on for the school year, since I could do all my homework remotely. They agreed, and I moved to a new division, which included new training and new projects, so I’ve been working ~18 hours a week there besides being a full-time student. You’re probably thinking “Etta! That’s a lot!” and you’d be right! But it didn’t stop me from adding 8 writing goals to my list because I have 0 chill at any time ever, apparently.

So Here’s the Breakdown:

• Outline 1 chapter of Laoche – I’ll share a re-formatted version of my outlining process post on this blog at some point but this is an exhaustive and very thorough process and so it takes a long time for me to outline my stories, especially as something as exciting as the first chapter to kick off the trilogy so I’m glad I could do this!
• Post character bios to IG alongside my website – I have an author’s Instagram! It’s @ettagraceauthor and you can go follow that for some progress pics and other updates!
• Outline 3 logs of AI-Lia Antares – I ran out of time to do this unfortunately, but I’ve got sheets full of notes so I have material to work with for whenever I have the chance to sit down and do some fun formatting! If you’re unfamiliar with this story, you can read the WIP Intro Here!
• Make 1 character bio for Laoche – I mostly outlined Madelyn! I’ve still got to flesh out some world-building aspects, but the bulk of the outline is done, so this gets to be checked.
• Schedule character intro posts for the main 5 characters – You can find the links to all of them on the Storge WIP page of this blog!
• Publish my Newsies fanfic, Lost and Found (Again) once a week – I think I published one chapter in this entire month, ouch. I miss this story and I’m looking forward to going back to it, but unfortunately, fanfic falls a little lower on my priority list, so I didn’t have the time to work on it this month.
• Edit 1 chapter of Storge – I’m honestly kind of bitter I didn’t do this. I’m really excited to share this story with all of you but I can’t do that until it’s edited, and unfortunately that’s a process that takes a lot more time/energy than organizing preexisting notes – energy I rarely have at 1am once I’ve finished my schoolwork. Maybe next month.
• Do one collaborative event – Hey, if you want to hear more about my outlining process and how it’s affected my writing over the years, you can read This Interview I did with Max Gray! And if you want to learn about developing an author’s platform, you can read the interview Max did with me, right here on this blog!

Besides these goals, I had another 18 personal/professional/life themed goals, and overall I accomplished 16/26, which made the month a win by 3 points! Looking back, I’m honestly surprised I got as much as I did accomplished with all the other demands on my time, though I probably should have taken more time to rest and sleep because I’m also exhausted. In October, I’m planning to include more self-care goals, for sure. Next week’s post is going to talk about burnout and creativity when life gets crazy – a topic that I deeply care about, and while I’m clearly not an expert at keeping a balanced schedule, I hope I’ll have a few interesting insights that you may find useful. 🙂

QOTD: Do you set goals? If so, how do you structure them, and how have you found they help you? What’s something exciting you’ve done this month?

If you feel so generously inclined, you can support my writing by leaving me a tip on my Kofi or donating using the secure box below. Until next time, thanks for reading! 🙂