Hitting Pause

I'm still going to write daily - just not here. I know, I know - you are devastated.

My daily writing streak is currently on #163. Provided I keep writing every day, I'm going to consider it intact when December rolls around. It'll be here before any of us know it!

I have four hundred berjillion other projects I am working on, so I'll be focusing my energy elsewhere this month. I'll still pop up here with the odd short story now and then. Not forgetting wanky poems, challenge entries, recipes, reviews, or other musings. So... you won't get rid of me completely.

I've had to have a serious look at what I need to do in any given day, and figure out if it's sustainable. It's not, and I'll be heading into burnout territory soon if I don't have a re-think. Here at the start of a new month seems to be a prime opportunity to do that.

Before I skedaddle, I thought I'd have a little look back. Last year I did a reflective piece each month, and I enjoyed that a lot. I haven't been doing that this year. So here goes:

The Look Back

First of all, a wee shufti at my Vocal stats:

920 published stories - Mostly twaddle, of course, but I did say when I first landed here on Vocal that my goal was to flex the muscle. That's what I'm doing. That makes my thank you even more humble, because you, look, you keep showing up and reading.

Twenty thousand reads - When, exactly, did I hit 20k reads?? Today, I have 22,600. THANK YOU to every silly soul supporting my scribbling.

My reads are down overall, which is interesting. I mean, they are slightly up on last month, but last year I was hitting ~1k reads a month fairly consistently, and they are definitely not at that level now. I don't know if this is because I am boring you silly, I'm struggling to reciprocate, or usage is generally down on the platform.

Last month - I did a rough count, and I managed 26k words last month, fiction-wise. Not counting non-fiction, poems, and long WhatsApp messages.

What else is on the horizon

Short term writing goal - My goal for this month is 50k. I'm aiming for 2-3k on weekends, 1-1.5k most weekdays, and I'm giving myself one day off during the week where I'll only hold myself to 100 words.

Another book release - My third short story collection is coming soon. It will be called (drumroll please...)

...

PAPER CUTS

There is a little section dedicated to my daily story project last year. I have twelve thousand little bits of paper which I am shuffling about incessantly, and the cover is being designed as we speak.

It was going to be called Flash in the Pan (because flash fiction, see), and it was going to have a picture of a toilet on the front. I decided to stay consistent with the previous collections, though:

Glass Dolls

Summer Leaves

Paper Cuts

The toilet thing was barely funny, and only for about five minutes, if that.

Let me tell you, naming these suckers is harder than naming a baby!

If you have purchased either, THANK YOU. If you have reviewed your purchase, THANK YOU! If you have not reviewed it, I would appreciate it. <insert prayer hands emoji here>

A tiny note about reviews - It doesn't have to be that good even. Just a line or two is fine. It's best to pick something specific to comment on so that it doesn't look like a generic review. If you give less than 4 stars, mention why. What did you dislike?

What else?

I have two novellas ready to release, and a some bigger projects rumbling away in the background. I've also been polishing my first collection ready for a second edition.

With all this going on, plus my day job, plus, you know, making meals, showering, and digging out the hoover once in a while, I have barely had opportunity to enter any of the Vocal challenges lately. Shame!

A last word before I go...

If you are currently writing, keep going!

If you are new to it - you are in for a treat!

If you are coming back after a hiatus, I know what that's like. Stick at it!

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Thank you, as always, for reading!

My new dollar challenge is up!