Heyyyy! Okay, I’m a couple of weeks late for Round 3 of A Round of Words in 80 Days, but I finally made it. Anyone have a cool drink to share? I need something to keep me cool during these unexpectedly warm summer days. 😛
It’s been a crazy few months, as most of you have been able to tell. But I’m happy to report that I’ve managed to wrangle at least few things in my life into some semblance of order. As far as the dissertation is concerned, I’ve completed almost all of my archival research, and my committee has approved my proposal. I wrote my very first academic journal article (whoo-hoo!) and while it still needs to undergo the review process, I got an early thumbs-up that eases a lot of my anxiety. And as far as my creative writing goes, I’ve finally been able to dig into TELL ME NO LIES, my steampunk romance/murder mystery/thriller that I’ve been trying to finish for two years now.
Things are definitely coming together.
With that, here’s my list of things to accomplish during Round 3:
WRITING:
- Complete edits for Act I of TELL ME NO LIES, and create a detailed outline for Act II
- Participate in July’s Camp NaNoWriMo, and write 15k towards SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST
DAY JOB:
- Finish archival research
- Complete dissertation proposal edits
- Start analyzing all the data that’s already been collected
- Draft dissertation chapters 1 and 2
BLOGGING:
- Aim for 1 ROW80 check-in and 1 regular blog post each week
- Visit and comment on at least 5 blogs each week
- Brainstorm changes for my blog, to put into action during Round 4
My biggest goal for this round, I think, is to ease back into things without crippling myself with anxiety or fear or any of the other things that have been holding me back this year. I’m feeling a lot more positive and excited about the work I have before, so hopefully that’ll translate into getting lots done!
