To start the year, I set myself some goals for the year ahead. I plan to check periodically during the year on how well I am keeping on track. If you set yourself goals it is important to check on yourself to make sure you are on target and to re-focus yourself.

If you want to view my last check in on myself, click here.

Achievements

If you only focus on what wasn’t achieved then you lose sight of what you did achieve and feel like giving up. By making time to reflect on my wins, I see, I did better than I originally thought:

Participated in NaNoWriMo (July) and made progress on my WIP
My article on Orangutans was published by Ginger Parrot
I took part in several twitter events!

On Reflection

Here are the highlights from this quarte:

Summary: This has been a very challenging period as I was very tired towards the end of my pregnancy and having a newborn has been demanding. It would have been very easy to give up (or take a break) but somehow I have managed to keep at it and I am proud of myself for my tenacious spirit.

Blogging: My posting has slowed down but I am keeping to the new schedule – some posts have gone live later in the day than originally planned but I am keeping up. I have more ideas than time to write but that is always better than writers block!

Writing: My goal for NaNo was rather ambitious but I a still very proud of what I did manage to accomplish in July (almost 15k). I have also been brave and finally took part in Twitter events (#Pitchwars, #PitMad, #AskAnna). I also had a great time at Felixstowe Book Festival.

Blogging Goals Review

ACHIEVED: I have created a new schedule that include one to two posts per week and I am managing to keep up with it.
NOT ACHIEVED: I have not had time to look at LoCal. I got as far as making a spreadsheet with the links but didn’t get as far as coming up with a scheduling plan.
ACHIEVED: If you have been following me you will have noticed that there has been more personal posts as I have shared days out with my son, my pregnancy and the arrival of my baby girl.
NOT ACHIEVED: I am not ready to vlog. I have lots of ideas but at the moment it can take me almost all day to get a chance to wash my face! The last thing I want to do is be in front of the camera.
ACHIEVED: I am using a spreadsheet in Google to see my content plan. I also keep track of ideas I have for posts and colour the cell – I then can copy this into the schedule where it best fits. This method is working really well for me.

Writing Goals Review

ACHIEVED: Taking part in NaNo gave me the motivation to keep adding to my word count and I made progress almost every day. My goal was 25k which I didn’t reach but I am so pleased with what I did achieve and hope to finish the first draft by the end of the year.
ALMOST ACHIEVED: My son started school this month and I got to make a start on Who Runs The World by Virginia Bergin. I bought this book at Felixstowe Book Festival after her event (click here to read about Lunch with Virginia)
ACHIEVED: I submitted to #PitchWars to hopefully get a mentor *fingers crossed*. But, I didn’t stop there! I also took part in #PitMad and #AskAnna.
ACHIEVED: During #AskAnna I was able to identify the best course for me by CB Creative. I also still have my online courses by “Write Story Books” to complete.

View this post on Instagram

Yesterday, I was so busy I missed out on #readabookday but I made up for it today. I'm really enjoying #virginiabergin voice in #whorunstheworld. The story starts with action and is set in a world where a virus has made human men an endangered species. Most people (women) have never seen a male before so when the MC finds one, she doesn't know what to do. This alternate world is brought to life vividly. I can't wait to keep reading. I picked up this book from this years #felixstowebookfestival

A post shared by Author Ally Aldridge (@redfae) on Sep 7, 2018 at 1:20pm PDT

New goals

For the months ahead, I have updated the table:

My highest priorities are to continue to be consistent with my blog posting and to finish my novel. I also would really love to be published on Ginger Parrot again so will attempt to write another article for them.

I have my heart set on working with a mentor but the competition for #PitchWars was strong. However, during #AskAnna I was informed of The Literacy Consultancy who have a private mentor service. It is not cheap but sounds like what I want. What do you think of a writing mentor?

The events helped me to connect with other writers which I hadn’t expected. It was lovely to see how other writers were so supportive of each other. I would encourage others to take part in Twitter events and would be interested in doing more. Do you do Twitter events or know of any you would recommend?