07 November 2018

End of the Year Push

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How is it November already???? I think I say pretty much the same thing every month. Time just seems to fly by and I never feel like I get as much done as I'd like. So, with less than two months left in the year, I want to see how much I can push myself to get done before making brand new goals (probably just the same ones over again...) in the new year. 

So the goals that I still care about are:

1. Finish the third draft of Uneven Lines. 

How have I not finished this???? I really hope every book I plan on writing doesn't take me as long as this one has. In my defense, it's SUPER complicated and it's been difficult to write, but I still refuse to give up somehow. The good news! I think the end of the book is going to be a lot shorter than I anticipated. As I try to conceptualize the ending and how it needs to be different from the first two drafts, I'm realizing that things need to move a lot faster. I think the end of the book used to drag but now I feel like things will happen very fast and hopefully be exciting. So...it could happen before the year is over? Maybe?

2. Read 100 books

Oh, this one. I make it every year and never come close. My monthly themes idea hasn't been as easy as I'd planned, but I could probably spend an entire post talking about that. Honestly, this goal is probably the one that I'm least likely to accomplish. I'm currently at 67 books (see my Goodreads challenge), which is 17 behind schedule. I think the only way to salvage this is to read a lot of shorter books. I've still got a lot of blogger buddy books on my Kindle and a lot of them are short. But I'm also trying to stick to my monthly themes, and I'm on Anne Rice right now, which (you guessed it), is going slower than I'd thought. But this is the closest I've ever come to my 100 goal so I guess either way I've read more books this year than any other year, even if I don't make it there.

3. Watch 100 new movies

This is another one I make every year but never seem to get. You'd think since I have HBO and Netflix and Amazon Prime AND I live above a freakin' movie theater (I'm not kidding), it would be easy. I think it's just a time thing. I get way too restless to just sit there for two hours (especially in a theater). I like to multitask. But! I think this goal is doable. I'm currently at 78 movies (see my IMDb list!). 

Do I think I can get all three goals done? Uhhh...probably not. I think if I really tried to get the reading goal done, I wouldn't have time to finish the writing goal. But if I come up short on the reading goal because I was too busy finishing my third draft, well, I wouldn't exactly be disappointed. But I would be very disappointed if I didn't get either of them. So I'll just keep trying and see what happens. 

Do you have any end of the year goals? Would you rather get writing or reading done?

21 comments:

  1. I never get as much done as I'd like, either. Never stops me from setting big crazy goals every year, though.

    Between the two, I'd personally rather get writing done than reading, which is why I'm focused on just getting as much done in my terrible romance novel and my poetry book as possible before the end of the year.

    The year I had a 100-Book goal, I managed to get across the finish line because the library had a bunch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels.

    I'm glad you're not giving up on Uneven Lines. I really can't wait to read it someday...

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  2. My end of the year goal is to finish my first draft of my NaNo project I just started. IF I could write as fast as I read... :) Good luck finishing your project. Try outlining again. It might help you finish!

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  3. I did the read 100 books goal twice, but it was a push both times. Now I set it for like 80 books. It gives me wiggle room so if I want to try to push it to 100, I can but no pressure.

    Good luck on all of your goals!

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  4. A faster ending means you might hit that goal.
    Congratulations on the most books read.
    A hundred movies? I think I would scare you with how many I've seen this year...

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  5. There's almost two months left. You can and will finish that story.

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  6. I wish I had the attention span to do those goals. Sheesh.

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  7. Maybe you can lowered your reading goal to just 5 books more than you are capable of, and then add another 5 books to that each year. :)

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  8. Hmm...I wonder how many new movies I watch a year. I've set myself a 100 book challenge as well. It will be close, but hopefully I'll make it this year.

    Cheers - Ellen

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  9. Yes, time is really flying by. I used to read 100 books a year, but didn't watch any TV. Now I like to balance things out more and not pressure myself to read so much. You've already a lot. I don't keep count.

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  10. Heck, I'd be happy if I could finish another chapter by the end of the year.

    I used to read more at night before I go to bed, but now I find myself falling asleep too quickly, so there's no way I'd ever hit 100 books in a year. Good luck with that.

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  11. This seems to be the time of year when I start thinking more about what I'll get done next year than on my previous goals. I had hoped to finish my latest WIP (finish, as in have a complete draft of) by the end of 2018. That's still possible, but I'm not holding my breath. @mirymom1 from
    Balancing Act

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  12. I'm a bit stumped as to how we're almost to the end of the year myself.

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  13. Forget the last two goals and focus on your book: that's what's really important, right?

    Ronel visiting on IWSG day Lessons in Writing from Sewing

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  14. You've set a high bar with all those books and movies. If you give up sleeping, you'll do it hands down. That's what it would take for me to accomplish your goals. Tell us what happens.

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  15. Finishing the darn book frustrates me. The characters are not cooperating. I set 100 books this year. I'm close but not sure if I will, esp. because I'm reading a long anthology. Never thought about the movie challenge. I may try that next year. I set goals every Jan. and never complete all of them. Oh, well. I look at what I have accomplished so far in 2018, and I'm happy with my progress.

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  16. I totally feel you on trying to accomplish goals. Woot on figuring out how to move the story along faster, though! That's great!

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  17. I set an unreasonable goal for books to read last year, so this year I cut it in half. Ended up surpassing that half. It feels way better to set a goal I have a chance of accomplishing! Good luck on your goals.

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  18. You still read a lot of books and a lot of movies! More than me, anyway. I'd call that a win. And prioritising the writing is definitely OK. I have faith you'll finish your draft this year!

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  19. You're farther along than you would be if you haven't made those goals, so that's awesome. :)

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  20. You're correct. There just isn't enough time. Ever. I try to live in the 'moment', which is really cool when I can do it. But there needs to be more moments. LOL Every time I get something done on my list I have to add something else to it. I try to view my unaccomplished to-do list as a measure that - as I keep plugging away at it - grow me into who I'm supposed to be. Do we ever get there or do we only get there upon our death? Who knows, but we've got to keep forging ahead.

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  21. I'd rather get writing done. I always read while I eat, so that happens daily and probably too much come to think of it. Hmm...

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