Tag: Goals

September Reading Wrap-Up

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

Throttlepenny Murder Book CoverOver the summer I read the entire Harry Potter series. (Previously, I’d just read the first book, and watched all the movies.) I also read some fan fiction (quite a lot of fanfic, actually), and some non-fiction books on the craft of writing. I’m not going to talk about either of those two things any more in this blog post, but I will be making a separate post about the Writing Guides, later in the week.

I just thought maybe people would be interested to know what novels I’ve been reading. Because I certainly like to know what everyone else has got their teeth into. (Do leave me a comment telling me, won’t you?)

Currently, I’m 83% through my personal Goodreads writing challenge for the year. That’s four books ahead of where I should be (33 out of 40 books down), and I’m quite impressed with that. I’ve said before that I only really started reading when I went to university (2007). I’m dyslexic, and I take my time, but my time has been paying off.

In 2012 I set myself the goal of reading 25 books, and I smashed it, reading a total of 32 that year.
2013, I set my target for 30 books, and I ended up reading 34.
Then, in 2014, my goal was 35, and I finished 39 books. So, it’s all going well.

But let’s get back to this year. I’m currently halfway through The Trottlepenny Murder, a YA book set in 1885 about a thirteen year old girl set to hang for supposedly killing her miserly employer. It’s one my boyfriend gave me, from his school days, and I’m enjoying it.

I also read a few poetry books, My Sister’s Keeper by Jody Picoult, and a book of short stories by Edgar Allen Poe. My plan is to read P.S. I Love You, next, but we’ll see how that goes.

I’ll make another reading update, next month.
In the meantime, you can follow me on Goodreads, here.

Positivity, Possibilities, and Pushing Myself

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

Following up on my last blog post, I can now tell you that not only will my work be in the exhibition, starting Thursday, but I’ve been asked to read at the event, too. And, if that’s not enough, I’ve also been told there’ll be a photo-op with the Mayor. Exciting times!

This has really come out of knowing the organizers. In previous years I considered entering a poem but, in the end, I shied away. This year, however, I was greatly encouraged, and it’s made all the difference.

On that note: I went to the local poetry recital I blogged about, as planned, and I’ve decided to enter the FSNI competition after all.

My partner has been telling me I need to push myself/self promote more, and I have to admit that I think he’s right. Even if I don’t come anywhere near winning either of the competitions, I’m already glad I entered. Even if my artwork doesn’t sell, I’ll have still made it, and I’ll be able to keep it and show people.

This week, and going forward, I’m feeling positive. If there’s something I want to do, I’m going to go for it. Who knows where it will lead me?

Priorities

Posted on by Ellie Rose McKee

Recently I read ‘Finish Your Damn Book’ and ‘Are You Finished Yet?’ – both great blog posts which I really recommend everyone else check out. Even for those who haven’t clicked the links, it should be pretty obvious from the titles what they’re about, namely: actually achieving your big goals instead of just thinking about it.

Trying to do everything and failing to get anything done is a pretty big hole to fall into. So, I’m aware it’s February and no longer New Year, but my writing goals for twenty fifteen are these:

  1. Toss out the tiny ideas that don’t matter, and clear the recesses of my mind of projects that are lurking back there that I know are nothing more than a fanciful waste of time.
  2. Actually sit down and force myself to finish the big projects.

Sounds simple, right? Well, simplicity is what I’m aiming for. We’ll see how it goes.