December – October

I saw you guys posting this morning and I was like, HEY, I have May goals! Perhaps I should share them!

I'm even going to cheat and include the one I finished yesterday. Allowed, right?

- write dedication and acknowledgments for SCARLET
- LAUNCH marissameyer.com {scheduled for May 14, FINALLY!}
- plan and prep to send first newsletter on June 1
- short story/promo ideas to editor
- read 6 books {2 done}
- And the big one: complete this draft of CRESS {appr 1/5 done}

I can't believe it's May! And the second month I am posting to this comm! Oh, my goodness. My brain literally cannot handle it. To recap April's goals:

- Write Arabic presentation and paper. Have it done at least a week before it's due. Ahahahaha. Written it was, a week before... not so much. Half a week before? I'll take it.
- Memorize 4 suras and the full page of Sura Yusuf and be able to recite it, at least two days before due da The four suras were memorized two days prior to being due, Sura Yusuf took so much longer than I anticipated. Luckily the professor was flexible and I recited it a day after it was due. But I did it well enough that I got a perfect grade. Can't ask for more than that.
- Make vocabulary list of new Arabic words in rest of Quran reading. This was never done. The professor cut the exam down so I didn't need to do it.
- Have outlines completed for all International Relations readings by April 30th, no later This never happened,either. I had too much going on to worry about outlines. Instead I focused on doing the actual reading. 
- Schedule adequate prep time for finals. 'Adequate prep time' was basically all my time. I think it was adequate.
- Redo resume and submit draft to career coach No time for this. Moved to May's to-dos.
- Continue applying for internships/jobs, especially ones abroad No time for this either. I was way too ambitious!
- Get at least one reply off to RP partner daily to keep up with creative writing bare minimum practice The only non-school thing I allowed myself to do.
- Continue mining news for future article/story ideas and growing file Done. I have piles of Financial Times and NY Times scattered around the apartment.
- Prep for graduation in early May. Oh God, oh God, oh God. I graduated! It's over!! I can't believe it! Now what???

Now, May's goals:
- Redo resume and submit draft to career coach
- Continue applying for internships/jobs, especially ones abroad
- Clean the apartment and pack everything up by Memorial day weekend.
- Hang out with friends as much as possible.
- Give away things I no longer use/love/don't particularly want to drag across two states.
- Continue RPing
- Begin blog-launch prep
- Begin outlining for a new fanfic, since I haven't had time to write one in forever!

Thank you everyone for being so welcoming into this community and supportive.

My April goals were rather modest... well, not really. They were few, which doesn't mean that they weren't difficult.

- Finish Pieta. Not sure if I can do it, but I will push myself as far as I can go. May is my exam period, after all. Actually managed that one. Hurrah! Now pestering betas to read it.
- Study my pretty patootie off. I have to attain a certain grade if I want to get in the PhD programme without doing a Masters. Ugh, my coursework mark... suffice to say, I had a sad.
- Read? Yes, I do believe I squeezed in a few books.

May is exam period, which means, of course:

- Study, study, study!
- Decide what I'm gonna do next year. There's really no time left, and I need to find a flat, which is kind of hard if I don't know which city I'll be stationed in.
- Did I mention study?
- Catch up on the reading.
- STUDY!

Worst part is that my brain keeps churning book ideas. Shut up, brain. I'm tired and sick. I can't suffer through that on top of everything else.

So, March... yeah, bit of an emotional month for me. Hopefully, April will be better, but suffice to say, it was difficult.

My March goals:

- Don't fall back on uni stuff, I meant it! More or less. Nothing got handed in late, at any rate.
- Start The Angel Project, now known as Pieta. Hell to the yeah! Of course, Daisy, my muse, doesn't like to be thrown in the deep end, and is currently making me very insecure.
- Keep up with the internships. Something will pop up.  Tears and meetings with the Director of Studies, as it turned out. When someone tells you they want to help, what they actually mean is that they will make you someone else's problem. I'm not giving up, though.
- Keep reading. I'm currently halfway through Robin Wasserman's "The Book of Blood and Shadow" and it's very, very good. Um, yeah. Lots of ARCs need my attention, though.

So, in April:

- Finish Pieta. Not sure if I can do it, but I will push myself as far as I can go. May is my exam period, after all.
- Study my pretty patootie off. I have to attain a certain grade if I want to get in the PhD programme without doing a Masters.
- Read?

So I was going to send out a tweet about this community, encouraging people to join in on the goal-making fun, but I thought I should check with you guys first. Though this community has always been open to the public, it's mostly stayed our small group over time. Do you guys like the private-ness of it, or do you think The More, The Merrier?

I have to applaud everyone who's kept up with this community. I literally forgot all about it! How terrible is that? But it's nice to see that some of you continued to make your goals happen. I'm so proud. ;;_;;

I'm going to attempt to get back in the swing of PUBLIC goal-making, because I always did enjoy those end-of-month posts with all the glorious strikethroughs in them. <3

And because I have BIG PLANS for 2012 and will need all the support I can get to make them happen!

My Goals for March

WRITING
- Final read through of Book 2: SCARLET, send to editor
- Import CRESS and WINTER into Scrivener
- Restructure CRESS and WINTER outlines
- Make monthly/weekly revision plan for CRESS

PROMO
- Get back on regular (2-3 times/week) blogging schedule
- Launch my web site!
- Look into CafePress merchandising for CINDER

MISC.
- Go to the Bologna Book Fair in Italy!! Charm the socks off all my foreign publishers while I'm there. Also, gain 5 pounds in pasta and gelato.

How does your March look?

Miss you guys!

Okay, so February's been a busy month for me, and a little frustrating too. I won't get into details, because it's just too depressing, but I'm hoping fervently that March will be better. Considering I'm already behind on a thousand things and I just got my exam results, I won't dream too fervently.

So, my February goals were:

- Do not lay back on Uni stuff. Um, yeah, that one didn't go too well.
- Apply for internships. Nobody wants me so far. I'm so emo tonight!
- Finish Draft No 2 of "Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die". Oh, yeah!!!!
- Polish said draft and send it off to betas. If by polish you think redone and hastily clipped together, sure! My betas are busy with novels of their own, but once they're done, we're swapping. If there's anyone interested, I'm pretty sure the third draft is readable.
- Finish books I have at home. (The Space Between and The Fault in Our Stars are the most recent additions). Didn't happen, although I did finish TFIOS.

For my March goals:

- Don't fall back on uni stuff, I meant it!
- Start The Angel Project, now known as Pieta.
- Keep up with the internships. Something will pop up.
- Keep reading. I'm currently halfway through Robin Wasserman's "The Book of Blood and Shadow" and it's very, very good.

All right! After my previous undoubtedly stressed post, a leisurely bath and a cup of tea on the brew, I'm now ready to get back on track for the LOVEly start to my February~ <3

( Spread the love! )

Here's to a February filled with both love AND passion~ <3

x-posted to dsanti_queza, mission101 and mission1012012.

Queza De Santi
Spread the love~

So, January has passed, and with it, exam period is gone too. Can I get a Hellz Yeah!

Anyways, my writing had to be put on hold while I dealt with sociology and marketing and history of the EU, but in January, I did finish draft one of Orpheus. I also formed a little critique group with two of my GR friends in an attempt to advance each other's writing. So far, so good. There is something incredibly fulfilling in talking to other people in detail about writing projects - they make you feel validated and enthusiastic about what you do. Added plus - they hold you up on your word count promises because by the end of it, they're as invested in your characters as you are.

So, February goals:

- Do not lay back on Uni stuff.
- Apply for internships.
- Finish Draft No 2 of "Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die".
- Polish said draft and send it off to betas.
- Finish books I have at home. (The Space Between and The Fault in Our Stars are the most recent additions).

What about you?

Okay, so I totally fell off the face of the earth for quite a while there -coughsinceAPRIL!?!?!cough- But I'm hoping this makes up for it? (Yeah right. XP)

In any case, anyone willing to join me in the crazies? XDD

-----

A fan of lists, especially of the to-do variety, I stumbled on this inspiring idea (see: Mission 101 or Day Zero Project) and couldn't help jumping on the bandwagon.

Oftentimes, I get sidetracked. Procrastinate. Make excuses about not making excuses. Only to end up wondering, where'd all that time go?

Hopefully - no, determinedly, I will get to the end, and I will make me proud.

Check my list at my Day Zero Project. (Currently still in progress until it's beginning date, Jan. 01, 2012.)

x-posted to mission101 and mission1012012.

Queza De Santi
Changing my ways; keeping my dreams.