resolutions

Required New Year Post

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

I hope everyone had a lovely evening welcoming in the new year. I spent it with friends (which is the best way to spend it–and I’m counting family as friends, since your family should be your friends).

The new year means resolutions, right? I like to aim for a whole bunch of resolutions in the hopes of hitting one or two 🙂 And this year, instead of doing monthly resolutions, I’m going to aim for more general ones:

– Read ONE non-work book a month

This one should hopefully be easy, or at least not a stressor. I really just want to read more outside my genre so that I can get exposed to different writing and thoughts.

– Write 5,000 words a month

This might be tough, but it’s a low enough number that I should be able to do it. I would like to put all these words toward one project and by the end of the year have a finished 60K novel, but…

Yeah.

– Focus more on the craft of writing

I don’t just mean the craft of stringing words together. I feel like in my frenzy of writingwritingwriting, I’ve forgotten about things like plot and character development. Need to return to the livelihood of writing rather than the taskmaster I’ve made myself.

And yes, I see the irony that my previous goal is a word count. I don’t think the act of writing should stop me from improving in other ways.

– Waste less time online

I waste tons of time online and it needs to stop. Tumblr is a big one, but it’s also often my de-stressor, so I’m trying to tweak how I can keep a good balance here. This one is going to need to be a slow work in in progress, I know already 🙂

– Live my life honestly

This will be the toughest. Not that I live a lie currently, but I want to slowly start being able to be myself in all avenues of my life. Mostly in being openly genderqueer. Getting everyone to use “they” pronouns. I hate change and I hate changing how people view me, so this is a tough one. I’m going to need to be a lot braver than I generally feel I’ve been.

Along those lines I’ve also been thinking more about having certain surgeries, and while that’s going to take A LOT of contemplation, it’s something that’s on my radar.

That’s it!

Mostly. I do want to get into better shape, but I’m not making that a resolution, because…I’m pretty sure I’ll fail to reach certain goals. But I do want to start afresh. Eat less crap, exercise a little more each day, that sort of thing. If anyone wants to be competitively fit with me, let me know 🙂

May your year get progressively more awesome!

February’s out, March is in

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

February’s Goals1. Get in a good exercise at least 3 days a week.
2. Write 6,000 words this month.
3. Tie up a lot of loose ends for random things.
4. Find at least one place to submit something to (whether or not that story is finished for submitting).

So we survived February.

1. Not really. I tried to exercise, but some weeks I was super busy, some weeks I was just tired, and some weeks I had no excuse. I need to get back on this wagon.

2. 8,966. So I ended up almost 3,000 over my goal. I want to celebrate, but part of the success was writing over my lunch breaks, which will only work until spring, when I go on walks. However, it did give me a nice push on my shift story (which is only a few thousand from finished, I’d guess). And now I have a few stories fighting for next. It’s a lovely feeling.

3. Pretty much tied up things I needed to. I have on last item on my long-term to-do list. It’s not really a loose end, but it is on the check list. But otherwise cleaning this up helped a ton.

4. As I said before, this is on hiatus, I think. When I wrote the goal, I was in a different place in my head. I’m fine with having not done this. Focusing on #2 was more important.

So February went pretty well. It was super busy, but I still hit half my goals (more than, really). In fact, considering how much time I spent working, I’m surprised I did half as well as I planned. But now it’s March!

March Goals

1. Write 6,000 words. I’m not upping the count yet. I want to see if I can get more than one month with goods word counts.

2. Do some level of physical activity every day (even if it’s just a 5-minute routine).

3. Do that final loose end that I need to do.

I think that’s it for March. I have busy weekends, #3 will take a good chunk, and the other two will involve a level of daily focus. Whew.

Out with Jan, In with Feb

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

So January started strong but…kind of failed

January’s Goals
1. Keep on exercise routine.

I sort of kept with my exercising. As in, I kept exercising. But it dropped from 4 days a week to 2 for some weeks. 

2. Write for three hours every week (doesn’t have to be at once).

I had decided to not do this yet and instead just track my word count for the month and try to increase on it every month. Which worked at the beginning of the month, but I’ve written nothing for the last two weeks. Total word count: 5,255
3. Finish current knitting project.

This one I did! I finished my mobius scarf and a pair of mitts. Yay for one success!

February’s Goals
1. Get in a good exercise at least 3 days a week.

2. Write 6,000 words this month.

3. Tie up a lot of loose ends for random things.

4. Find at least one place to submit something to (whether or not that story is finished for submitting).

So here’s hoping.

Goals and Aims

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

Happy New Year!

As the new year comes, people across the country make resolutions that (most likely) won’t last. And for the past year or so, I’ve decided making forgettable resolutions aren’t my thing. So once again I’ll be doing monthly lists with goals for that month. January’s are below.

However, I do have ONE aim for the entire year: Get down to my pre-injury weight of 125 lbs. As of writing this, I weigh 135 lbs. It’s not a huge jump, so it shouldn’t be unreasonable, but I LOVE food and being tired and in pain so much of the time has diminished my workout ethic. But the new workout schedule is going pretty well, so I’m optimistic.

January’s Goals
1. Keep on exercise routine.

2. Write for three hours every week (doesn’t have to be at once).

3. Finish current knitting project.

Resolutions and plans

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

Life doesn’t go according to plans, but I’m the ultimate planner, so in time of unrest, I plan.

This year, due to the events at the end of 2012, I didn’t make any resolutions. So my plan isn’t to do any big ones for the whole year but, much like last year, do smaller goals for each month (which can be found on the sidebar).

My three current focuses, aside from some odd jobs here and there, are: to edit FIW and get it to my beta, if she still wants to read it; to write the shifter story I’m working on currently; and to post at least a review a week.

Unfortunately, at the time of my accident I had no reviews stored up, so I have to do a ton of reading to get reviews up! I have a large backlog and I’d like to have that diminished by half by the time I return to work. I waste a ton of time just refreshing Twitter, so hopefully I can cut that back and read instead!

Editing is actually nice, because it helps me get ready for work while not having the pressure of screwing up major if I miss something. It lets me stay fit, so to speak 🙂 I’m terrified the story is no good now, but I know sending it to a beta who can tell me what is wrong with it, etc, will be good for my writing overall. Tough as it is!

As for the writing… After my injury I wanted to keep writing but didn’t want to work on something I’d started or one of my “better” ideas, so I went hunting for an idea in submission calls. I started a few different things, but eventually began writing the shifter story (which is going to be way too long for an anthology submission, but that is beside the point). I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s shifters, a threesome with an established pair, and I have no idea where it’s going. I’m only 8,000 words in.

And that’s where I am now. Once again, for more updates/ramblings/posts, you can check out my tumblr.

It’s 2012, you know what this means.

/ Alex Whitehall / 2 Comments

New year means new resolutions. Considering last year’s attempt lasted 5 or 6 months (maybe), I’m hoping this year will be better. I’m hoping vaguer will help.

1. Send a novel manuscript to a publisher. This mainly means taking the leap and reading what my beta3 has written and seeing what I can do to help the damned thing.
2. I’ve put on some weight since my accident and I need to get it off again. This is an on going challenge, since I was just starting to work out when my previously injured arm started hurting again, then I got a cold (which made doing more than lying there like a beached whale hard to do).
3. Prepare more short stories to be sent to a publisher. There are several special submissions I’m interested in writing something for, and I have some stories that are lying around wondering what I’ll do with them. Even if they get turned down, it’s better than them being lame ducks, right?
4. Be awesome at new part-time job.
[ETA: I’d also like to make monthly resolutions that may or may not be related to the yearly one. The idea that small goals are more achievable.]
What are your resolutions for the new year?

Resolutions…what are those?

/ Alex Whitehall / 1 Comment

Not only have my resolutions been nearly forgotten, but I haven’t even done monthly updates. Blech. So here’s the mid-year review.

Sitting up straight? Nope, I much prefer to look like a question mark. I’m trying to amend this…so it hasn’t completely been forgotten. Just waylaid. Via Timbuktu.

Meditation. Sure, I do that in 5 second increments. I take a deep breath, hold it, and then I’m off doing something else. I have been taking walks and sort of meditating there. So. Yeah.

Reading non-romance book. Er…okay, sorta? Many of the books I’ve read have a queer theme, a bit of romance, but a good portion of them aren’t strictly romance. And some not at all. Let’s be honest Rachel Haimowitz’s Anchored is not a romance, no matter what it’s sold as. In balance I hope to do a month of completely nonromance reading (in August or September it looks like), with the only romances being those I do for reviews (whether I ask for a review copy or I’m given one).

Right.

Now back to work.

Not too late, am I?

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

Resolution update 4.7:

Sitting up straight comes and goes. It’s easier on days I have energy, which didn’t include most of March. I still slouch like I’m gunning for a hunchback when I’m 50, though. I’m trying though, so there’s that. It helps that I’m trying to exercise more, which builds muscles and helps me sit up straight (I’d like to think).

I’ve begun doing stretching meditations, which at least work to get me doing it, although my focus on meditating is less. Although I’m focused on stretching, so it is sort of a meditation. Trying to work out what’s best for me and my noisy brain.

I may not have been reading as many non-romance books as I intended, but I am reading more of them, although they often still have a queer angle. I’ve also been reading more quality m/m romance novels instead of just trash. My to-read list of books I own/can access at the library is still over 60 items long. I’m working hard to not keep putting books on my birthday/xmas lists, but people keep coming out with new ones that are delicious sounding.

This was supposed to go up Monday..

/ Alex Whitehall / 1 Comment

We’re heading into the third month of the year, which means it’s time for a resolution update:

Reading more than romance novels: Err..I could probably be doing better with this one. I have read other books, and though they tend to have queer angles, they haven’t been romance in the traditional sense. But my reading has definitely been mostly romance, partially because I have a back log of those books, and partially because I get free copies to review. Free=good. After I finish my latest book, I’m going to try to get back on track with this!

Slouching: This is the hardest! When I’m tired, I slouch. When I’m focused, I slouch. I have reminders at work to not slouch, but it’s still a challenge. I’m trying though, which is all I can ask for!

Meditation: I’ve been meditating every Monday for at least a little. I’m probably cheating a little here, so I could probably work harder and doing it longer, but I’m sticking to it at least!

Out of Season

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment


I just finished baking pumpkin custard, thus the title of this blog.

But really, it’s meant to be an update on my new year’s resolutions:

Meditation: I do it every Monday. How successful that is can be argued, but I sit down and don’t do anything for 10 minutes. So I’m working toward meditation.

Sitting up straight: I’m trying. Not doing so well, but I’m trying, so I’m sure I’m making small improvements.

Reading: I am reading other books outside of the usual genre…though I tend to read 8 billion books at once now (okay, 5).

I’m scheduled to get my tattoo on Feb 12. I just sent out the rough draft of my book to my beta readers. I’m going to put off my taxes until tomorrow I think and reward myself with writing and/or reading.

Happy Monday!