Tag: kids

November Write Day: Autumn Swing

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Fantasy, On LifeLeave a comment

After a warm spell in Maryland, autumn returned just in time for Halloween, and we were able to really celebrate for the first time with our kids. Our new street put on an impressive display of Halloween decorations, and we joined in the fun. I also got to take the boys trick-or-treating for real for the first time. Our previous neighborhood never had many trick-or-treaters, and both boys were likely too young to really get into it. At five and two, they were excited to get candy, and we saw plenty of other families out and about.

October was a very strange month, but we had some fun at the Renaissance Festival, saw some family, and bought some much-needed furniture for our house.

Last Month’s Goals

  1. Read three books.
  2. Exercise every day.
  3. Write long-form at least 10 days.

Read three books?

Nope, and right after I said this was automatic for me. I finished one book in October, and I’ve made good progress on another. I decided to read another nonfiction book, and these always go more slowly for me. So, I definitely need to make more progress on my two current nonfiction reads:

I’m enjoying both books, I just tend to read/listen to them in smaller snatches, and it takes a bit more of my focus to follow along.

I’ll likely pick up at least one fiction story in November, although I haven’t decided whether I’m going to start another ambitious series yet.

Exercise every day?

More or less. My yoga flow made it fairly easy to exercise most days. I also finally signed up for a membership with the gym five minutes up the road. In two-plus weeks, I’ve gone three times, which isn’t bad. I’m currently aiming to go to the gym twice per week until I figure out my routine a bit more. What I know is that I want yoga to remain a part of my routine week in and week out, especially as a way to spell weight-lifting or more intense workouts.

Write long-form at least 10 days?

Nine days! I was so close, but we’ve had some busy weekends. I feel like I’ve made some good progress on my current work-in-progress, and I feel less stressed about what comes next. After deciding not too worry too much about Publishing and Marketing (capitals intended) my fantasy duology, I’m able to just focus on the revisions.

The good news is that, halfway through revising the second of these two novellas, I really like both stories. They need some work, but I’m enjoying re-reading them.

Goals for November

  1. Read three books. I should be able to do this once I’ve figured out my next reads.
  2. Exercise every day and go to the gym twice per week. I’m forming a loose routine at the gym, knowing that I’ll eventually need to go three or four times per week to make it impactful. For now, I just want to get back in the habit of going after a four-year hiatus.
  3. Write long-form at least 10 days. Again, this includes long-form blogs and my revisions, or anything else I end up writing that is not a haiku. I feel good about making this goal this month, and I’m not concerned with trying to increase it, what with Thanksgiving around the corner.

Steve D

September Write Day: Busy-ness

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Fantasy, On LifeLeave a comment

It’s hard to believe it’s September already. August really passed me by in a hurry. We managed to do a lot of family activities outside: theme parks, hiking, swimming. That helped the month fly by, and it also kept us very busy.

Last Month’s Goals

  1. Read three books.
  2. Exercise every day.
  3. Write at least every other day.
  4. Move to the next stage for my duology.

Read three books?

Yes! Aaaaand… I finally finished A Memory of Light. You can read my thoughts on that here. I actually read four books in August, which felt great, including a couple that had been sitting in my Audible library for ages.

With one epic fantasy series out of the way, I’m on the lookout for my next one. At the moment, however, I’m trying to work through some nonfiction books — actual print books — that have been sitting unread on my actual shelves for years. So, I’m in no rush to find my next fantasy series, but I am in the market if you have suggestions.

Exercise every day?

No, but I was generally more active, I think than in previous months. We’ve started using Sunday afternoons to spend time outside with our boys, and that has helped my own activity levels and keeps the boys interested in being outside. I like this little tradition, and I intend to continue it in all weather, as much as we can.

Otherwise, I leaned pretty heavily on a very basic yoga stretch routine to keep myself loose. I have not yet gotten gym membership at our local spot. Frankly, I’m having difficulty seeing where I can fit the gym into my weekly routine at the moment.

That’s definitely one theme from this month: we were so busy that a lot of routine things fell through the cracks. September isn’t looking any more open, and then, oops it’s the holidays. We’ll see how this goes, but I might be relying on Sunday afternoon activities with the kids for exercise for a while.

Write at least every other day?

No, but I fared much better than in July. I wrote nine days in August, including longer-form blog posts, and I made some strides in my duology.

Move to the next stage for my duology?

Yes! I finished reading through Uprooted and began a read-through of New Earth, the part two. I had completed this draft of New Earth sometime last year, and I hadn’t looked at it since, so it has been really exciting to dive back in. I’m about twenty pages into my read-through, and I’ll be aiming to finish it this month.

Goals for September

This seems to be the place where I’ve developed a solid routine, which is a good start.

  1. Read three books. I already have one down. The trick will be finishing my current nonfiction read-in-progress.
  2. Exercise every day. I’m playing loose with this for now. The goal is to do something every day, even if it’s just a basic yoga stretching routine. I have many things on my to-do list this month, and finding a way to incorporate more exercise into my day is one of them.
  3. Write long-form at least every other day. Focusing on long-form, again. I think this is a good way to focus my energy on the writing that takes the most time and effort. I just need to do it at least fifteen days in a month.

Steve D