I returned to the office yesterday morning and discovered a power outage had killed my computer. Now I’m starting with a fresh image (computer image, not a new physical appearance) for the new year. Yay. We’re supposed to get new work computers this year, so that means I get to set up all my tools from scratch in preparation to do it again a few month from now.
But who wants to talk about work on Insecure Writer’s Support Group day? Not this squirrel!
I only accomplished one goal last year, and that was to finish writing something–anything. I reached The End on a short story, so I’m calling it good, even though that story needs a bit of help (namely a plot). My other goals, which were far grander in scale, didn’t happen. I didn’t stick to fasting, I didn’t refrain from Red Bull, and I didn’t do any of my Blender tutorials or the anatomy class I bought on Udemy.
This year, I’ve taken the steps to actually put a checklist widget on my phone so I can remember what my goals are rather than rediscovering I made the goals in the final month of the year. These goals are as follows:
- Finish Book 2
- Do the Udemy Art Courses I bought
- Do the Blender Tutorials
- Lose 20 lbs
That’s right, I put Book 2 on my goal list. I’ve got 6 more chapters to revise in the current POV rewrite, and 3 marked for adjustment in a different POV. I feel it’s reasonable to hope I’ll finish it this year.
The art goals I’m not so sure about, Blender especially. We got a 3D printer for Christmas, but for some reason, it’s not working. Hopefully my husband can figure it out, then the Blender skills will really be put to use. But I’m always looking to improve my character rendering skills.
Speaking of, hey, would you like to see my cast of characters for book 2?
The upload quality wasn’t great, since I limit my website to a low upload size, and I shrank it quite a bit to make it meet. But the original file is 28″ wide, so there’s that. Yeah, I know there are a lot of characters. There are also some minor characters missing. But I wanted a lineup to see the height differences between my characters. Didn’t realize MaTisha was so tiny, did you?
As far as losing 20lbs… That’s ambitious, I admit. I found a dance workout I enjoy, with a new online class every day, so I’m gonna give waking up 15 minutes early to squeeze it in a try and see if it helps. I’m also going to try adding yoga to my evenings before I pester my kids into the bedtime routine. That’ll require I sacrifice some of my lazy time, but my back has been begging me to strengthen my core and improve my posture, so I better listen to my body.
IWSG Question of the Month – Do you have a word of the year? Is there one word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? … What is your word for 2023? Why
Ha! My squirrely mind never settles on a single thing for long, so to expect myself to have one word to summarize what I want in a year?? Nope, not a challenge I want to undertake, especially when my focus will change two seconds from now.
Do you have a word for this year? Do you have any goals? Are you looking forward to the rest of 2023?
About Insecure Writer’s Support Group
You can find the sign up for the IWSG here. We owe Alex J Cavanaugh a huge thank you for thinking this blog hop up.
You are so talented. Love the lineup!
I’m dieting and trying to work in some exercise, too.
I’m trying to lose pounds, too. Not sure how well it will go, but I have all year to find out. 🙂
Good luck with everything, Loni!
That’s a cool cast of characters.
And no surprise you can’t pick one word!
What an amazing cast of characters – absolutely love ’em 🙂 All the very best for your goals in 2023 – may you achieve them with ease!
Debs posting today from Fiction Can Be Fun
Also found at Debs Despatches
I wrote out my 2023 goals on a to-do list the other day so I wouldn’t forget what I hope to accomplish this year. Good luck with yours.
Love the characters. Just love them. I noticed that doing more artwork is not on your list. Add it and success will follow. I wish I had your skill. If you ever do a how-to’s on YouTube make sure I hear about it.
And I can see you completely the rest as well. Have a great year.
Anna from elements of emaginette
I love the line up! What a fun idea and the art is fantastic! I set my goals for the year too. 😱
The lineup is cute. I love the big cat.
Those extra 30 minutes of exercise will make a difference. I’m going to try Yoga as I need something low impact.
Sounds like you have a lot of good goals for 2023. I hope you accomplish all of them!
Happy New Year!
As you know, I am a huge fan of your art, and I always love to see your characters and how they evolve when you learn new techniques and try other tools. I am wishing you all the success on your goals for 2023.
I always love getting to see your art!! I definitely did not realize MaTisha was so tiny.
Best of luck with all of your goals this year!!
Good luck with your checklist. Getting in the habit is the hardest part. I found that having daily goals that track with the bigger goals can help, so if you have a spot to check off “did yoga” every day, you might be more likely to accomplish it. Or not. Everyone finds different things that work for them.
Good luck with your goals! I stopped making resolutions in general. I’ll be happy if I can even make some progress toward something. The big overall goal wasn’t working.
Sounds like you’ve got quite the year ahead. I know mine is going to be hectic. I’ve been debating finding an accountability partner, but I’m worried I’d fail them within the first week.
Love to see your characters!
I love having checklists with goals. I have a planner for this year that has daily, weekly, monthly, 3-month, and yearly goals. I’ve barely gotten started with it but I hope it helps me.
Oh, I want to see your characters’ portraits, one by one, so I could look and admire. Those are too small. Are they anywhere?
Artists are my favorite people in the world. I wish I could draw.
I’m hoping to do all new portraits for them as I complete my Udemy courses. I don’t have portraits for the majority of them, but you can find variations of the 4 POVs (Derek, Cameron, MaTisha, and LaTonya) on instagram or deviant art.
I have lost 20 pounds over and over again. The same 20 pounds. LOL I hope you do better. Wishing you the best in 2023.
If I had a snippet of your talent… wow, I’d fly to the moon, lasso it and stick it outside my door for inspiration. Nope, don’t have to. I’ll just read your blog more often. Happy New Year and Happy New Day 5, Loni. Best to you.
Glad to see you have book 2 on your list of things to do this year.
Good luck with those ambitious goals. One step at a time.
Finishing anything is quite an achievement! Applause here! I love those characters, BTW. What a lineup you’ve created.
You are an amazing artist! I’m so impressed.
When you have children in the house, if you maintain good personal hygiene and sanity, you’ve accomplished more than you know! Give yourself credit.