I have not been writing. I have not been writing consistently or enthusiastically when I do attempt to write. In 2019, I did not post any stories nor did I complete any projects. Writing that out sounds and reads just terrible, but perhaps I need to write it, see it and hear it in my head.

I wrote a total of 15,639 words in 2019 on a story that is still not complete with only approximately 6,000 words to go.

Looking at that, it seems ridiculous.

In reality, and this is something I haven’t wanted to admit to myself…

I have not been actually writing except in occasional fits and spurts since November 2016 when I attempted National Novel Writing Month that year to start my first original novel.

I have all the excuses… I got derailed by family issues, I’m stressed out at work, I’ve had chronic pain, I had to have a double knee replacement, I don’t have enough pre-writing work completed and don’t know what or how I’m going to write the story, I’ve been depressed, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseam.

Oh, and my cat, Harold won’t leave my laptop or me alone while I’m trying to write.

All of these excuses are true. All of these excuses don’t mean a damn thing except I’m failing if I don’t do what I really want to do, write.

So 2020 (and I’m talking to you, The Nut), no excuses, just write.

Projects 2020:

Mornings (James Bond) novella, which was for last year’s 00Q Reverse Big Bang! I feel terrible for my artist, who has been waiting for months and months for me to finish this story. It is the only story that I wrote on in 2019 and I still didn’t finish it with 6K or so to go.

00Q Reverse Big Bang! (James Bond) short story, which is for this year’s challenge and that due date is coming up soon. I’m the moderator for the 00Q RBB and this year I’ve insisted all stories must be complete to post and be part of the challenge, so I’m including myself in this as well. Nut! You better get a move on! I have a good idea of how the story will go and I have started it.

Quantum Bang (Fandom Secret), which I can’t say much about except the story must be 50K and is due March 15th. It is in a new fandom for me and I’m really excited about it. The first QB I participated as an artist, though I did sign up as a writer then completely bombed on doing the writing work for it and had to then bow out of the writing portion of the challenge.

Unknowing (James Bond/Sentinel Fusion) a novella was started during 2018’s July Rough Trade Challenge hosted by Keira Marcos. It’s the Year of the Sentinel on RT and I would love to participate, but I have to be realistic. If I get my pending projects done, perhaps I’ll be able to participate in one of the three challenges this year.

The Descendant (Stargate Atlantis) was started during 2017’s July Rough Trade Challenge, so I have bombed on RT two years in a row, which is why I didn’t even think to sign up in 2019. I’m about 5K into a 10 episode series. I have a lot of the plotting and world-building done. I love everything about what I’ve done on it.

Crescent City Boogaloo (Original Fiction) is the project I started in November 2016 with great momentum. I’m still obsessed with it and have written on it on and off the last three years, but I’ve only got 12,424 words in on a planned 80,000-word novel. I love the characters, I love the plotting I’ve done, and I love how I’ve written on it so far.

Writing Goal and Resolution:

I will write every day and get into the habit of daily writing. I know there will be some days when it will be impossible to write due to one thing or another with real life, but not because I’m getting in my own way with THE EXCUSES.

No excuses and shooting for 800 to 1,000 words per day.

This is a realistic goal for me and for my slow writing speed. I am a morning person and that is when I have the time and the energy to write. I get up at the butt-crack of dawn every day now and instead of not writing, I’m going to write.

With the projects listed above, a daily habit of 800 to 1,000 words will let me reach the goals of finishing these stories I have in my head all of the time. In total, with what word count I currently have on these projects, my goal for the year is 261,659 words. It’s completely doable and averages out to 22,000 words per month.

So, no excuses.

The Positives:

2019 hasn’t been a complete scourge for me in reality. Some really wonderful things did happen.

My knees got fixed! I am officially a Cyborg!

It’s all very Star Trek, which I can get behind. I had double knee replacement surgery in July and I am truly thrilled with the results. I have no pain in my knees and can now stand for long periods and actually walk my dog again. Though, Myrtle (aka shy dog) is never enthusiastic about going for a walk. I can only think her rescue from the wilds of Mississippi has made her a complete homebody, but I enjoy our walks around my historic New Orleans neighborhood. I also have a lot more energy than I’ve had in a very long time. It was an intense experience and painful, but I had a great network of family, friends, and work support that made the surgery and my recovery a positive experience. I still have chronic pain issues, since I have both Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia, but for the moment both conditions are managed and I’m feeling really good physically.

I moderated another successful 00Q Reverse Big Bang! art and writing challenge and with some help from MinMu; we saved all of the challenge’s art and fan fiction links 2014-2018 from the Tumblr purge. I also set up Art Galleries on the 00Q RBB WordPress for folks to enjoy.

I participated as an artist for the first-ever Quantum Bang Challenge hosted by Jilly James. I did fourteen pieces of digital art for Jilly’s brilliant Teen Wolf story, Unobstructed Views. I had a great time making the pieces and got a bit obsessed, truth be told since I loved the story so much.

I also participated as an artist for the Criminal Minds Reverse Big Bang! and got a wonderful and magical story by DarkJediQueen, By the Rise and the Set. It was really fun seeing what she was inspired to write based on the one piece of art I did for the challenge.

Lastly, and I’m still squeaking internally and occasionally externally about it, I received a gorgeous piece of original art based on my Criminal Mind series, Transference. The art, Convergence was done by hazeydazey and it is just so beautiful I have no words. My iPhone is a bad influence, but I love that I have hazeydazey’s art as the background. I get to see it every day and every day it reminds me that yes, I can write and yes, I can write stories that people enjoy.

I love Fandom.

I love Writing.

No Excuses.

Best, The Nut.

P.S. There’s no such thing as writer’s block unless you have a cat! I will work to keep the Harold (aka The Orange Menace) situation under control during my daily scheduled writing time.