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Progress Report 2023 Week 31

Some of my Real Life Family Events (RLFEs) have started to pack quite a wallop. Was it enough to up-end my writing plans? Are my writing plans even still relevant in a world with so many RLFEs? Or does writing have an important role to play? Let’s take a look at the numbers first!

Progress Report 2023 Week 31 By the Numbers

This week was a tough one to get through. But it didn’t seem to hurt the word count!

I’m not going to go into the details of the two separate events this week. I’ll just say that if you have family who’s dear to you, make sure they know how dear. Treasure whatever seconds you have with them. I’m still fortunate. What I went through wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, catastrophic. But it was a clear warning — and one I intend to listen to.

When I sat down to write this post, I felt like it was frivolous to even talk about writing in this context. Thinking about it more, I’ve realized that writing is anything but frivolous. I could only get through those two events — I could only maintain my calm and be supportive — because I could maintain my mental equilibrium. I can only do that because of my writing.

Remember how I talked about finding ways to keep writing sessions going — even if I was plotting? Writing keeps me grounded. It is rejuvenating. If I’m writing, I’m as mentally healthy at I get. That tells me if I want to be at my best during an emergency, I need to keep writing.

And no, I don’t think that’s just a convenient excuse!

Progress against Last Week’s Goals

Here’s how I did as measured against last week’s goals:

  1. Finish Magali Suarez’ Hook: Done!
  2. Finish Noam Katz’ Hook: Done!
  3. Finish Melchizedek Conrad’s Pinch 1: Deferred! I realized that I needed another chapter between his Plot Turn 1 and his Pinch 1. I completed that additional chapter, though!
  4. Start Matsushita Sachi’s Pinch 1: Deferred! I thought I needed some more time with the B Plot action, so I invested some time there. Specifically, I finished Plot Turn 1 for both Catalina Ojeda and Magali Suarez.
  5. Tweak the Amazon blurbs for Evolution’s Hand Book 1: Executive Action, Book 2: Dying Breath, and Book 3: Primary Target. Done! I haven’t finished analysis, but I think it improved sales by a measurable amount.

I really like how Plottr’s UI gives me a sense of progress. Solid colors mark the finished chapters. Gray is the chapter I’m working on. The colored outlines are the chapters yet to be written.

Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2023 Week 31

Here are my goals for the week:

  1. Evaluate the results of a new potential addition to my marketing efforts: a Kindle speciality niche promotion
  2. Finish Noman Katz’ Plot Turn 1
  3. Finish Melchizedek Conrad’s Pinch 1
  4. Finish Matsushita Sachi’s Pinch 1
  5. Finish Catalina Ojeda’s Pinch 1
  6. Start Magali Suarez’ Pinch 1 (stretch objective)

What Do You Think?

Is writing more than a profession to you? It is maybe a vocation — or even a therapy? I’d love to know your thoughts! Please feel free to share in the comments!

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