Owning May

For the past few months I have been in an epic funk. I think that I've mentioned it a few times, but I'm really spinning wheels at this point. It's an unlucky confluence of things that are really darkening my mood, attitude, teaching and writing. I'd get into the specifics, but what would be the point? I'd be reminded of my failures and dredging up all the negativity that initiated the funk in the first place.

Instead of dwelling on this funk, I've decided to give it a go and grab the bull by the horns.. I'm setting clear goals and I'm going to really try and crank. I'm cutting way back on social media so I can use that time more constructively to read and write. So, here's my plan:

1. Finish THE SEVEN LABORS OF NICK JABLONSKY. I've been toiling on this since last Summer and made negligible progress. It'll take a NANOWRIMO-esque effort to finish it, but I think I can manage it. I've read some books that have similar concepts/themes and I think I have my mind set on how to tackle it. And even if I don't, it's a first draft! 
2. Do an editorial pass and rewrite on SISTERS OF KHODA. This isn't as much heavy lifting as I thought it might be. I have some ideas of how to fix this and it shouldn't be backbreaking to do it, so I should be able to work concurrently with LABORS. This will probably take a little longer than just May if I'm serious about finishing LABORS, but that's fine by me. It's the what I'm doing with it that is the mystery. (That's for a later blog post and part of the negativity that I spoke, so that's all I'll mention for now.)
3. Plan A TOURNAMENT OF PRINCES. I've written about this before and think I have a good grasp of how to do this, but I'm an architect and I need to sort of build the "universe" and plot out the story. It's really kind of become "TAMING OF THE SHREW in space." I hope to have a solid plan in place so I can dive into this by June 1.
4. While I've sworn to cut back on my Facebooking and tweeting, I want to increase my blogging. I've started a sports blog that I want to update regularly. Go check it out for the first entry if you are so inclined. I'd like to update that at least once a week. I've got some ideas for my "essays," so we'll see how it plays out. I also want to post more here. Get back to my "Trope of the Week" and do more movie reviews. I also have an idea, that I talked about in my Godzilla post about my "99 Inspirations."
5. Read more. I'm definitely going to ramp up my reading. I've just started the ponderously long LORD OF CHAOS in the mythic WHEEL OF TIME series and I'm enjoying it. But I'm reading several books at once too. I've rediscovered the library and I'm taking books out as quickly as they come in. (Presently, I' have GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE and it's outstanding...like questioning my own ability as a writer good!) I'd love to be able to read 12 books this month, but that's a high goal. 
6. Get my house in order. Yes, I know it's not writing related, but I need to do something. It's distracting at this point. We're not talking Horders level, but it's getting there. If I can get some order to my home, I'll have more time for all the other things on this list.
7. Keep on top of school work. Nuff said there.

 The hope is that I'll get on a roll and as the calendar turns to the "Summer season" I can concentrate on TOURNAMENT and maybe transition into something else as the summer moves forward.

So that's my plan. We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you updated.