2023 GOALS

New year, time for new goals.  Taking from what I learned last year, I’m trying to make more realistic goals, breaking them down into smaller sub-goals, and keeping in mind that discipline will be a key to some of these.

1. SECOND STEAMPUNK SCREENPLAY:
   1. Finish editing through it: It stands at 163 pages at the moment.  I’d like to get it down to at least 143 pages, the length of the first screenplay.
   2. Submit it to my screenplay critique group.
   3. Make changes based on the feedback from my screenplay critique group.
2. UPDATE FRIST STEAMPUNK SCREENPLAY BASED ON CHANGES TO FIRST NOVEL: This actually shouldn’t take that long.  I’ll do it while my screenplay critique group goes through my second screenplay.
3. START WRITING SECOND STEAMPUNK NOVEL: This I can do once I finish going through the second screenplay after my critique group reviews it.
   1. Break down screenplay into chapters.
   2. Write Chapter One.
   3. Write Chapter Two.
   4. … This will go on after I figure out how many chapters the novel is going to be.
   5. Start submitting novel chapters to my novel critique group.
4. SAVE UP FOR A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR FOR MY FIRST NOVEL: I hope it will go better than last year.
5. SUBMIT MY NOVEL TO A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR: I already have one in mind, but it will depend on the above.
6. START WRITING MY THIRD STEAMPUNK SCREENPLAY: Actually, I already have the first 36 pages done.
   1. Start on my “String of Pearls” – that’s a whole other blog – and I have covered it.
   2. Put those pearls in an outline.
   3. Start filling out the screenplay.
   4. Finish the first draft. This may sound obvious, but it’s a big deal to actually finish a project, even if it is the first (vomit) draft.
7. READ BOOKS: Twelve books in a year didn’t work out so well last year.  I only read three.  That also didn’t include keeping up with comic books.  So, let’s try something different.  I have a stack of books on my nightstand that is 17.5” tall.  Let’s try to get it down to 5.5” by the end of the year.  That’s an inch a month.  And that means I’ve got to keep up with any new books and comic books I buy.  And I just ordered two books from Amazon.
   16. End of January, 16.5”:
   17. End of February, 15.5”:
   18. End of March, 14.5”:
   19. End of April, 13.5”:
   20. End of May, 12.5”:
   21. End of June, 11.5”
   22. End of July, 10.5”
   23. End of August, 9.5”
   24. End of September, 8.8”:
   25. End of October, 7.5”:
   26. End of November, 6.5”:
   27. End of December, 5.5”:
8. READ MY BIBLE: Picking up from where I left off last year, so I’m starting almost three months ahead.
   1. Keeping up with January’s reading: DONE.
   2. Keeping up with February’s reading: DONE
   3. Keeping up with March’s reading: MORE THAN HALF WAY THERE.
   4. Keeping up with April’s reading:
   5. Keeping up with May’s reading:
   6. Keeping up with June’s reading:
   7. Keeping up with July’s reading:
   8. Keeping up with August’s reading:
   9. Keeping up with September’s reading:
   10. Keeping up with October’s reading:
   11. Keeping up with November’s reading:
   12. Keeping up with December’s reading:
9. TRY TWELVE NEW RECIPES: Last year there were some months I missed, but overall, I tried eighteen new recipes.  So, I’m not going to do them by months, I’m just going to number them out.
   1. First new recipe:
   2. Second new recipe:
   3. Third new recipe:
   4. Fourth new recipe:
   5. Fifth new recipe:
   6. Sixth new recipe:
   7. Seventh new recipe:
   8. Eighth new recipe:
   9. Ninth new recipe:
   10. Tenth new recipe:
   11. Eleventh new recipe:
   12. Twelfth new recipe:
10. GET DOWN TO 190 POUNDS: Let’s try that weight loss thing again.  I know I can do it if I stay on top of it.  Using the scale at the warehouse at work, I’m down to 205.  I had been down to 199 in June.   Now I have a home scale, which means I can weigh myself au natural – which was frowned upon at work.  This should be more accurate.  Right now, it’s showing that I weigh 202.8 pounds.
    1. Down to 201 by end of January:
    2. Down to 200 by end of February:
    3. Down to 199 by end of March:
    4. Down to 198 by end of April:
    5. Down to 197 by end of May:
    6. Down to 196 by end of June:
    7. Down to 195 by end of July:
    8. Down to 194 by end of August:
    9. Down to 193 by end of September:
    10. Down to 192 by end of October:
    11. Down to 191 by end of November:
    12. Down to 190 by end of December:
11. MAKE SIX BLOOD DONATIONS: This could be whole blood donations or double reds, which count as two.
    1. First blood donation:
    2. Second blood donation:
    3. Third blood donation:
    4. Fourth blood donation:
    5. Fifth blood donation:
    6. Sixth blood donation:
12. RUN THE BLOOD DRIVE AT WESTERCON THIS YEAR:  Kris and I have been running the blood drive at Loscon for 32 years.  We also ran three blood drives at Gallifrey, until they got too big and couldn’t afford to give us a panel room for an entire day.  We’ve also done two Worldcons, a Westercon and Phil and Ed’s Excellent Convention.  Now we have an opportunity to run a blood drive at this year’s Westercon in Anaheim in July.
    1. Attend first con committee on January 14^th:
    2. Initiate contact with the American Red Cross in Anaheim:
    3. Attend second con committee meeting:
    4. Whatever other con committee meetings:
13. UPDATE MY WEBSITE: Actually, my IT Department (Kris) is already working on this.  This includes checking backdoor WordPress thingies, link thingies, background thingies and other technical thingies.  (This is why I need Kris as my IT Department.)
14. CREATE AND PRINT BUSINESS CARDS: I want to have them by the August writers’ conference.

Dennis

145th blog completed.

First Steampunk novel:  73643 words.  ß Short of 80,000 words, but the best I can to right now.

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

Second Steampunk screenplay:  162 pages.  ß now need to work on shorting this.

Second Steampunk novel: 0 words.

Third Steampunk screenplay:  38 pages.

This is what 17.5” of reading looks like: