A good book and a good to-to list. Both hugely important for a couple different reasons.
A good book has always been one of my favorite things and a good series that much more so. I love a series where I connect with the characters and enjoy jumping into the different books to experience each part of their journey. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is one of my favorites, and I was very excited when I heard she was writing a story within that same universe. My husband ordered The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for me for my birthday and I’ve been able to read about three-quarters of it. It is so, darn, good. It tells the story of some of the ancestors of more than a few of the characters we know from the original series. It’s adding layers to not just the characters but to the events that took place in those original stories. I am very excited to finish it and know what it fully means. I know a good book is powerful when it swallows me whole and deposits me different than when I entered it.
A good to-do list is what can power an engine running on fumes, and lately, that feels true more often than I like. Writing a to-do list helps me morph my motivations into productivity. My ideas don’t move into physical projects on motivation alone. There’s something about writing those tasks that are required to move a project forward down on paper and then crossing it off when it’s accomplished that is SO satisfying. I’ve taken to writing to-do lists each time I sit down to work to hold myself accountable for the time I’m taking to get things done. I don’t make it an overwhelming list. Each time I work, I set out to accomplish about three to five tasks. If I find that those tasks are accomplished quickly, I’ll add to my list. I try to write that orginial list of three to five things ahead of time too, so when I get to the next time I’m ready to work, the list is there for me in case I’m tired or my motivation doesn’t arrive at my workspace with me. Often I’ll write the new to-do list on the tail end of my last working session. That also helps because each sessions feels like an extension of the last, which is a really effective way to carry momentum. These to-do lists have been even more powerful the past few months and I intend to carry-on with the practice.
This coming week I’m hoping to (finally) get those revisions from paper into my Scrivener document. I did start writing out the next chapter in my new project and I printed out the next chapters of my Nanowrimo 2018 manuscript to revise. Though the most important task this week will be to sit down and both reflect on my 2019-2020 writing goals and then create my 2020-2021 writing goals. I run my writing goals year from June of one year to May of the next (Goal Planning- Part One ) I’m excited to make goals for this next year. I already have an idea of what I’m going to do for Nanowrimo 2020 and I am so freaking excited for it! And yes, those things are written on my to-do list for my next working session. 😬
What is one of your very favorite books/book series? Is there something you’re excited about in your writing goals? Remember, you are doing a great job!
Happy Writing!
Nikole Breault 
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