2022 Goals – the expurgated version (the one without the gannet).  Third Quarter Edition.

For the full version see my January 16^th, 2022 blog, https://dennisamadorcherry.com/writing/2022-goals/

1. POLISH OFF MY FIRST STEAMPUNK NOVEL: I plan to have this done by Presidents’ Day.  I did it!  I finished it.  Kris and I went through the whole thing line by line.  I got it as ready as I could.  But then… I spoke to a literary agent at a writer’s conference.  He was looking over my query letter and noticed that my novel was 72,000 words long.  I had heard several times that a first-time sci fi or fantasy novel should be between 70,000 to 100,000 words long.  But he said mine was a bit on the short side and he would prefer it to be about 80,000 words long.   So now I have to add about 8,000 meaningful words.
2. MAKE CHANGES TO MY FIRST STEAMPUNK SCRIPT: I’m also still trying to shave down the 143 pages. Optimally, a script should be about 120 pages.  I expect to be able to do this by the end of February.  Nope, not yet.  Especially now that I have to lengthen my novel.
3. SAVE UP FOR A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR: If I can do this by the end of the year, I’ll be happy.  Still working on it, but some financial things have changed that will make this easier.
4. SUBMIT MY NOVEL TO A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR: Again, if I can do it by the end of the year, I’ll be happy.  If the process goes faster, I can always add new goals.  It all depends on the above.  At least I’m not behind schedule.
5. OUTLINE MY THIRD STEAMPUNK SCRIPT: I’m thinking maybe an outline will help me write the script faster.  That doesn’t mean that I won’t stop and write a scene that really catches me, though.  I’ll set this goal for the end of March.  Nope, still working on script two.
6. WRITE MY THIRD STEAMPUNK SCRIPT: I’ll break this down further once I start doing it.  Something like, “if I can write ten pages a week, and I assume my first draft will be 180 pages, then I should be able to write it in eighteen weeks”.  Still in the future.  Haven’t gotten there yet.  This will probably be a goal for next year.
7. EDIT MY THIRD STEAMPUNK SCRIPT AND SUBMIT IT TO ONE OF MY CRITIQUE GROUPS: Which will lead to more edits.  I’ll break this down as I get closer.  Same as above.
8. WRITE MY SECOND STEAMPUNK NOVEL: So, let’s break this down into manageable sub-goals:  Still working on the second script.  The first draft was 166 pages long, but that’s okay for a first draft – also known as a “vomit draft”.  My critique group has gone through it, now I’m whittling it down.
9. Read twelve books this year.

A:  Read a book in January:  1/28/22 finished. “What Jane Auston Ate and Charles Dickens Knew”.

B:  Read a book in February:  3/3/33, three days late, finished, “Art for God’s Sake”.

C:  Read a book in March:  No book finished, but I am reading Brandy June’s, “Gold Spun”.  As if didn’t already have enough to read this year, I also bought Steve Kaplan’s, “The Comic Hero’s Journey”, serious story structure for fabulously funny films.  Sci-Fi comedies are hard to find.  I want to write one someday.

D:  Read a book in April:  Nope.

E:  Read a book in May:  Still not another one.

F:  Read a book in June:   I haven’t even kept up with my comic books.

G:  Read a book in June:  Forgetaboutit!

H:  Read a book in August: Nope.

I:  Read a book in September: Nope.

J:  Read a book in October:

K:  Read a book in November:

L:  Read a book in December:

10. READ MY BIBLE: Every year my church, Calvary Bible Church in Burbank, has a plan to read the entire Bible in a year.  This year I’m dedicating myself to keeping up and writing this down as a goal as a part of my accountability.

A:  Keep up with January’s reading:  I’m about a week behind.

B:  Keep up with February’s reading:  I’m about three weeks behind.  Don’t want to make excuses, but having kidney stones, Covid and a writer’s conference didn’t help.

C:  Keep up with March’s reading: I’m now four weeks behind.

D:  Keep up with April’s reading:  I don’t even know how far behind I am now.

E:  Keep up with May’s reading:  NEW GOAL:  GET HALF WAY THROUGH THE BIBLE.

F:  Keep up with June’s reading:

G:  Keep up with July’s reading:

H:  Keep up with August’s reading:

I:  Keep up with September’s reading:

J:  Keep up with October’s reading:

K:  Keep up with November’s Reading:

L:  Keep up with December’s reading:

11. TRY A NEW RECIPE EACH MONTH: This was a goal of mine last year and it worked out very well.  I ended up trying out fifteen new recipes.  So let’s do it again:  Now here is where I’m doing good.

A:  New recipe for January:  On 01/30/22 made:  https://getpocket.com/explore/item/brioche-bread?utm_source=pocket-newtab

B:  New recipe for February:

On 2/26/22 made:  https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/mango-habanero-bbq-chicken/

C:  New recipe for March:  On 3/13/22 made:  https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/279239/deep-fried-tilapia/  And on 3/14/22 made:  https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16311/simple-beef-stroganoff/  At least here I’m way ahead of my goals.
D:  New recipe for April:  On 4/30/22, Crock Pot Honey Bourbon Chicken   https://www.persnicketyplates.com/crock-pot-honey-bourbon-chicken/?fbclid=IwAR3Jvpbj2CvepWb8q8aulOODbQAR-Sf53daf2tpUiM6CECFvZAchJ0OcSgY
E:  New recipe for May:  None this month, but made up for it in June.

F:  New recipe for June:  On 6/25/22 made Habanero and Goat Cheese Meat Loaf  https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/187799/habanero-and-goat-cheese-meat-loaf/ and as a side dish, Pepperoni Pizza Macaroni and Cheese  https://happyhomeschoolnest.com/pepperoni-pizza-macaroni-and-cheese /?fbclid=IwAR3gNhXRltoNi2IPnqLWv00_5yIZITTSiFBX6jyLppJQN9O1v4TnL4jaUzk

G:  New recipe for July:  Tried three new recipes on 7/31/22.  Silver Dollar pancakes  https://www.cookist.com/silver-dollar-pancakes/  Then later that day, Chunky Chocolate Cheesecake Dip  https://happyhomeschoolnest.com/chunky-chocolate-cheesecake-dip/?fbclid=IwAR3o6CudN4mnXazXgBvzFrLGsy-pX8ax-QPXdxvYPid8gxK2BKHrb2u1AWs   and  Sweet Bread Amish Style Recipe.  https://happyhomeschoolnest.com/sweet-bread-amish-style-recipe/?fbclid=IwAR1da7wWZSaoxxoo0gzxEzuwAGopDv0td3TddK7n51hb4qQu8KeOy_Cn-Kg

H:  New recipe for August:  Tried a new recipe on 8/20:  Mom’s Goulash    https://www.readowding.com/moms-goulash/?fbclid=IwAR3QOXN4UB9SVnvuXIv6YYzBG1Qqn9-Q7p7L8eGbmMnVOkCPAzbEJJlFnwY

I:  New recipe for September:  Tries a new recipe on 9/4/22 – Impossible Cheeseburger Pie https://www.readowding.com/impossible-cheeseburger-pie/?fbclid=IwAR0iApKr17ZNVlAqNR8zrMcolDkAfCWEwwhHpoqKIJ1YOoAdS18ZYfGC3AE  And on 9/25 tried a new cookie dip  Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip  https://www.foodtalkdaily.com/recipes/dips–sauces-dressings/dip/peanut-butter-cookie-dough-dip-44487978

J:  New recipe for October:  Tried two new recipes on 10/1/22 – Stove Top Stuffing Meatloaf    https://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/stove-top-stuffing-meatloaf/?fbclid=IwAR0kzBeNAReABLCQ_eiGzGQikjYw-Rww0oG2vYbhS1NhLTCIWE653y94nsw  and Good Old Fashioned Mac and Cheese  https://www.readowding.com/good-old-fashioned-mac-and-cheese/?fbclid=IwAR0QVwhD2EIs1vbo3nPMTCeioe3FB9h2ejt28v2Yky2Z7z3i1GNKfh63094              K:  New recipe for November:
L:  New recipe for December:

12. Ever since my company moved its offices, my job has been more sedentary. I know I can lose      two pounds a month if I stick to it, so here’s me making myself accountable:

A:  Down to 208 by end of January:  On 1/31/22 weighed 208.  Right on schedule.

B:  Down to 206 by end of February:  On 2/25/22 weighed 202.  That’s three times as much as I expected to lose in February.  And all it took was a kidney stone and Covid…I’m not sure I can recommend that diet plan.

C:  Down to 204 by end of March.  On 3/31/22 weighed 200.  That’s halfway to my goal for the year!

D:  Down to 202 by end of April.  On 4/30/22 weighed 198.  Four pounds ahead of schedual!

E:  Down to 200 by end of May.  On 5/31/22 weighed 202.  Oops, I back slid four pounds.

F:  Down to 198 by end of June.  On 6/30/22 weighed 199.  Okay, back on track.  I can still lose nine more pounds and reach my year-end goal of 190.

G: Down to 196 by end of July.  On 7/29 weighed 203.  I’m backtracking.  I can still reach my goal for the year, but I’ll have to really work at it.

H:  Down to 194 by end of August.  On 8/31 weighed 200.  Back down 3 pounds.

I:  Down to 193 by end of September. On 9/30 weighed 202.  I keep bounding around 200, +/- a couple of pounds.

J:  Down to 192 by end of October.

K:  Down to 191 by end of November.

L:  Down to 190 by end of December.

13:  Finally, I want to keep up my blood donations with the American Red Cross.  Either six whole blood donations or three power reds – that’s where they take out twice the red blood cells, but give you back half of your plasma.  Up until now, I have been giving whole blood because I’m CMV negative, which means my blood can be given to infants.  But with my last donation, they found I have rare antigens and asked me to consider power red donations.  At Loscon, at the blood drive Kris and I run, I will give my third power red donation AND Kris will be able to sit with me as the “no visitors holding hands of chicken writers” has been rescinded.

 

131st blog completed.

First Steampunk novel:  72,193 words.  Need to expand to about 80,000 words.

First Steampunk screenplay:  Need to update with notes from the novelization.

Second Steampunk screenplay:  162 pages.  ß Holding steady.

Second Steampunk novel: 0 words.

Third Steampunk screenplay:  38 pages.

As I said above, last week I tried a new cookie dip, Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Dip.  https://www.foodtalkdaily.com/recipes/dips–sauces-dressings/dip/peanut-butter-cookie-dough-dip-44487978 “Oh, my!  Oh, My!  This is even better than the first cookie dip!  You could spread this on cupcakes as frosting and it would be great!  I can’t stop eating this stuff.   My blood sugar is going higher than a Space-X rocket!” – Vincent Reinheart

“Hey, Reinheart, you stole my cupcake frosting idea. THIEF!!!” – Gaylord Robinson, the green-with-envy next-door neighbor.

And for dinner yesterday, two new recipes; Stove Top Stuffing Meatloaf  https://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/stove-top-stuffing-meatloaf/?fbclid=IwAR0kzBeNAReABLCQ_eiGzGQikjYw-Rww0oG2vYbhS1NhLTCIWE653y94nsw  and Good old fashioned Mac and Cheese  https://www.readowding.com/good-old-fashioned-mac-and-cheese/?fbclid=IwAR0QVwhD2EIs1vbo3nPMTCeioe3FB9h2ejt28v2Yky2Z7z3i1GNKfh63094 “Both these together made an excellent meal.  The meatloaf didn’t even need additional ketchup.  And how can you go wrong with mac and cheese?  Dennis did half the recipe.  He also adjusted the cooking time from 30 minutes at 375 degrees to 55 minutes at 350 degrees to cook it with the meatloaf.  It worked that way.” – Vincent Reinheart