Working for Free

In the Creative Community, there are many creatives who work on projects for free. This can be for many reasons and at different points of the creatives career can be beneficial or detrimental. Knowing when to accept a low-paying or free gig can be difficult to determine that may require forethought and experience to navigate.

For creatives, one of the major hurdles of getting paid gigs is having projects on the resume. Many companies and employers looking to hire a creative want someone to have some experience. Dabbling in a field is never enough for them.

To do this, the creative will take a free gig. This is a valid strategy. By doing a free gig, this allows them to gain valuable experience and to have something to call upon for later. Especially when the next employer wants some experience.

But there is a limit to doing free gigs. There will always be employers who want a free handout. There will always be people who want to pay in exposure. After the first few free gigs, this is crap. Don’t do the free gig. Exposure doesn’t pay the rent.

To paraphrase the Joker: If you are good at something, you should be paid to do it.

The older I get, the more I identify with him. The free gig helps to get the foot in the door. Then it’s time to ask for money. And not a little money. If your work is as good as your mother says it is, then it should be professional rates.

You should get paid properly. This might mean you may have to turn people down. But be upfront with the cost. If you want to be paid, tell them. Have the customer sign a contract and get half upfront. This is to protect both parties. So both will trust the other.

There are some exceptions to this. Don’t charge so much for a product or service no one will pay. If you are making book covers, don’t charge two grand for one as no one pay for that. Find the market rate and if you cannot do it for that, then don’t make the product. Finds something else to sell.

There is a market for creative works, whether it is art, books, audio, visual, etc. You just need to find a way to monetize it. Just like I am.

This journey is not something I can do alone. It takes support from many people for it to become a reality. The easiest way is to visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. They are available in all countries and for free in Kindle Unlimited. I have a tip jar set up at Ko-Fe, where you can buy me a coffee. Or you can also visit me on Facebook. Your help and support are much appreciated.

How to keep going when you don’t want to?

All this week, I have been down with what had started as a cold and now is bronchitis. It sucks.

But. I don’t get sick days. I have to produce every single day, or I won’t get things finished. There’s no one else to do this work for me. There is only me.

How to do it? How to keep going?

Motivation doesn’t do it. If I was only motivated, this post wouldn’t be getting written. I would go back to bed and not worry about it.

Motivation only lasts so long and will fold when confronted with real obstruction. Motivation is like eating pasta; it only lasts so long.

Discipline

Discipline will carry you forward through the hard times when the only option motivation tells you is that it’s okay to take a day off.

Discipline is like eating a hearty, filling meal with meat, vegetables and carbs. It is where someone feels full hours later and doesn’t want seconds or thirds.

Being Sick. Or what to do when you don’t feel like it.

When sick, many smart people tell me that it is okay to take a sick day. It is suitable for mental health, physical health and all of that. You will remember that a month ago, I had burnt out.

For me, I have a minimum daily word goal. For 2019, that number is 150 words. (That number will be increased for 2020 and will be discussed in another post.) No matter how I am feeling on any particular day, I will get at least that much. This won’t allow me to make my monthly or yearly goal, but it gives me the chance to recharge.

Which is also why I count my goal monthly. This gives me a day (or week) to freak out and write to make the yearly goal.

I do this for two reasons.

One.

I have yet to take a day off since the last week of December 2018. I don’t want to lose the streak. Some days, it is the sole reason I turn on the computer and hammer on the keyboard.

Two.

I have this fear: despite almost a full year of writing every day, that if I let a day go, then I will come up with an excuse for tomorrow. Then the next day, and the next.

I did this before. I have been successful for NaNoWriMo before, and I have never capitalized on the momentum. I have always taken a break, which turned into a leave of absence.

What does this mean for me?

Despite being sick and wanting to go to bed, and as soon as I hit the publish button, I will be looking at the story and will be writing. There will be some honey tea, some pain killers, and some butt in my chair.

What does this mean for you?

Call this “a push.” If there is something, you want to get done. Whether it is writing, getting in shape, drawing, working on small business, or whatever it is. Stop making excuses. They are all bullocks. Set a minimum daily goal, and preferred goal. If life gets in your way, and you can’t make the preferred, then get your minimum goal. Make up for it another day.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up for my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

 

Fighting Procrastination and Finding “Motivation”

“You’ve got to be the hardest worker in the room.”- Dwayne Johnson

I find it hard to do all of the things I need to do. I have the awards in the prestigious field of procrastination. I’m an expert on getting things done at the last minute. Usually to my detriment.

This is a problem. A big problem.

By putting things off for later, tasks are compounded into more giant monsters of tasks that will pummel those in its path. Procrastination is the food; the very essence of the task-monster’s life.

To those he works for themselves, procrastination is the enemy. As someone who primarily works for himself, I set my own goals and deadline. I decide what I want to get done each day, and when a project is to get done. There is no one out there dictating when I get something done.

This means I must first understand myself in how do I get things done. This is essential for everyone and forgotten when people give advise. I work every day; I don’t take a day each week, I don’t take days off on my birthday, and Christmas is a workday for me. For me, this is essential because I’m a procrastinator.

I put things off until tomorrow what should be done today. During the month, I sometimes work less than I should cause “I’m tired,” or that “I’ve been working hard.” I am very good at talking myself into an excuse to be lazy and to put things off. Which is why at the end of the month, I get into a panic cause “I’m not going to make my month.”

This month is an example of this. I’m behind on my words, and I will need to write 1900 words today, the 29th, and tomorrow, the 30th. Why am I in this situation? Cause this month I have twelve days where I have written under 1500 words and many of them in the 500-word range. My one great day of 4300 did not make up for the other lacking days. In short, cause I procrastinated.

I find it easy to talk myself into working less or none at all. I find it easy to do less cause I can. This is not beneficial to me in the long run. It only hurts me.

At the start of this post, I quoted Dwayne Johnson. I found this post from a motivational speech he gave to a group of athletes, encouraging them to do better. It is only thirteen minutes long, and I encourage you to go watch it.

“You’ve got to be the hardest worker in the room.”- Dwayne Johnson

For me, this is what I have been doing all year. I’ve been working hard, getting things done cause in my circles of friends, I’m one of the most prolific writers in the group. In the groups at school, I don’t know anyone else that pushes themselves to do as much as I do. I tell them my yearly word count (382k as of today) and either they don’t believe me or think that I’m lying. Which is fine, I honestly don’t care they think of me.

But for the question of procrastination. I’ve managed to get to that goal acknowledging my problem, then combating it with hard work and no excuses. But in many ways, there is more room for improvement. There are many days where I said, “Fuck it.” There are many days where I let procrastination gain the upper hand and win.

I know that I can do better. I know that I will do better.

Knowing the problem is step one. Planing a set of goals is step two. Getting off the couch is step three.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

 

 

End of August 2019 Report

As is now tradition, this is the post of the end of August. I’m still putting my money where my mouth is.

RECAP OF THE UPDATED 2019 GOALS

1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
   1. Complete and Publish VRMMORPG
3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
4. Write four blog posts per month
5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
   1. Added goal: complete and submit to market, JSS Leda (New title: From Planet Everdark), secret short #2 (New Title: Rise of the Ghids) and secret short #3 (New Title: Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery).
7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
9. Get 1 client for editing services.
10. NEW GOAL: Lose 90 lbs and get healthier.
11. NEW GOAL: Write for 365 Days in a row of at least 100 words per day.

AUGUST ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote 49,346 words.
2. I have written for 243 days in a row.
3. I spent most of this month working on my VR story and have started the first draft of Des O’Neal #3.
4. I nearing the 350k mark in total yearly words at 345k.
5. For Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery, Rise of the Ghids and From Planet Everdark, I have received some good news.
6. Working with a local cover artist for a bunch of covers for books.
7. Working on the edit for Mechwarrior #1.
8. Wrote 4 blog posts during June.
9. Starting weight 286lbs, weight today, 274lbs. No change.

EXAMINATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote just over 49k words in August. Total word-wise, it is the best that I have done this year. And once I split it into per day averages, it is one the best word counts that I have done. I managed to write a few good days of 3k words and 4k words that made up for the few bad days.
2. This is still the longest days in a row I have written by far as well as the longest yearly word count. I count that as a win. My goal is to write 365 days in a row.
3. For Sailing Vessel Wanderlust: the Delivery, Rise of the Ghids and From Planet Everdark, I have heard back from the three markets with some good news. Nothing that I talk about yet. I expect that I should be able to release information on it soon.
4. I am working on editing Mech Warrior #1. It is taking longer to get it done than I’d like. Due to plot holes, I had been forced to draw a diagram of the starship. Lesson learned.
5. A local cover artist, not my wife, is working on what I am calling “art assets.” These are so my wife can turn them into beautiful covers. They will be works of art on there own but will have no titling, which is why I need my wife.
6. My blog posts are still happening.
7. Mt diet had ended. Counting calories had become too difficult to do. I haven’t gone up back to my old weigh, and my habit of overeating has not come back. I’m that habit down to keep my weight in check. I’m looking for a better plan to help with my weight loss.

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

This month was hard but good. The burnt-out feeling is still there, but I’m taking my time to read books and relax. Even though I have managed to get the words done, I have not been able to get my editing done. I find it easy to put it off. I will have to correct this in the future.

My goal is to get Mechwarrior #1 edited by September 12th. I have many other I need to get done. It is going to be more difficult as school starts up in four days as I’m taking five classes.

I did get a lot of other stuff done. However, nothing published. The hold up is covers and editing at the moment. I had one book, Missed Drop Zone, ready to go. Yet, I have decided to give it another draft as there are some minor worldbuilding holes in the story. Better to correct it now than later.

I have started to edit other works, the short stories as they come up. They are a good distraction in some ways, a poor one in others. I have the feeling that I am not going to get my goal of getting all of those stories published. I’m going to run out of time and word count. But there is always next year, as long as I have manuscripts done.

The VRMMORPG story is done. It clocked in at 108k. I didn’t go over the mark by much. I expected I would have to go over by 20k, but I only did by 8k. There are plot holes in it, but that is why second drafts and editing is for.

So the plan, work on Des O’Neal #3, edit Mechwarrior #1. Get covers complete. Get books ready to publish.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Spinning the Wheels or Trying very Hard to go Nowhere.

In my honest opinion, I have the belief that having a plan for the future is essential in living the life one is given.

Having a plan, no matter how big or how small gives me direction. It allows us to have a focus that helps me dictate my efforts. This factor is important.

The most significant hamper of accomplishing goals is the feeling that you are spinning your wheels and going nowhere. This feeling is as disastrous as failing and I have heard some say that spinning your wheels is failing.

Spinning your Wheels.

Spinning your wheels doesn’t mean you are failing, however. It means a few things.

It could mean that your goals aren’t detailed enough. You have a plan and a purpose, but no daily task to do with no discernible results from that task. Let’s say that your goal is to buy a house. So you are working day in and day out in the hopes that one day you can buy said house. Three months later, it still feels like you are in the same place, or near to it at any rate.

This means that your goal may be too big, or there is no way to accomplish anything. That’s why many financial professionals say to place a small debt down first. Cause the likely hood of getting it cleared out is easier than a larger one. This victory fuels the longer harder goals.

The other thing that the feeling of spinning your wheels could be is that while you have a specific goal, there is some other force that is hampering your ability to get other tasks done.

This is what is happening to me. I’m accomplishing my daily task. I’m writing my 1500 words a day and getting editing done. So for this year, I have written for 236 days in a row for a total of 336k words. This is a great accomplishment, even if I don’t get much else done on my yearly goal. I am proud of myself that I have gotten this far.  

However, I haven’t published anything new since April. That factor hurts my self-confidence. It makes me think that I’m a failure despite the stated accomplishment above. The factors that are keeping me from ticking some of the other boxes aren’t all on me; like getting my work proofread, or a cover made up. Those factors rely on other people, and they don’t always operate on my illogical timeline. Some of the factors are on me; I haven’t been editing very fast, and I’m easily distracted by other things like video games and my family.

The biggest reason people feel like they are spinning their wheels is that they don’t have a dream or a plan. There thinking doesn’t go beyond next paycheque. They spend there time thinking about the ‘now.’ Not how to turn the ‘now’ into a better ‘tomorrow.’ This I will talk about in the next blog post.

Until then, if you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Defining Success

After talking to many different people, especially young adults in college and university, I have found a common thread that connects them all. The thread is that none of them think they are successful no matter where they are in life.

The thing is they all have a similar view on what it means to be “successful.” Young adults think they need millions of dollars, a hot looking spouse, and a private jet. They think they need to be Mark Zuckerburg, J.K. Rowling, or Bill Gates; young adults believe they need to be filthy rich to be a “success.”

This mentality is brought out by the press and by Holywood among others. Turn on the TV or pick up a paper, and it is filled with stories about the rich and famous. They are bombarded by people who have fancy degrees and make seven figures. Young adults are told they aren’t anything unless they have those things.

It’s no wonder that large portions of young adults are on anti-depressants. Their definition of success and what is plausible are skewed.

But what is “Success?” What’s its definition?

According to Webster’s dictionary, success is the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence. In other words: fame and fortune.

Young adults are also told that to be happy, they need fame and fortune.

Which leads us to the problem.

Young adults are told they need to be filthy rich to be successful and as such, to be happy. Which means when they discover that obtaining that fame and fortune is harder than expected that they get depressed. How can they be successful when the game is rigged?

I move that the definition of success is incomplete and reject Holywood’s ideals on what success means.

For one, I don’t think that money equals happiness. There are stories across the board of CEOs of corporations making seven figures on anti-depressants and ending up taking their own lives. I also don’t think that money necessarily makes life easier. It just makes things different.

I know many people making 70,000 dollars per year who still stress the same way about money that a friend who makes 35,000 dollars does. Their worries are different, they both make similar bad monetary decisions.

To Me.

To me, “Success” is a personal definition. The base is still the same as Webster’s Dictionary. But the precise meaning of how much wealth, favor, or eminence is a decision that each person needs to make on their own without influence by the rich and whiny.

Money is the means to an end and not “the end.” Cause money doesn’t equal happiness, and being successful doesn’t mean that you are rolling in fame and fortune.

My definition of “Success” is that I have enough money coming in that pays my bills and puts something away for retirement. That’s it. To me, that is “success.” My ultimate goal is that I make my income from writing and selling my books; by what my wife calls “wordsmithing.”

I don’t need to be as rich as J.K. Rowling or Steven King. Part of me doesn’t want that type of wealth. But that is a topic of another blog post.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I’m not talking down on the depressed. Depression is a big problem in society and not to be looked down upon.

End of July 2019 Report

As is now tradition, this is the post of the end of July. I am still putting my money where my mouth is.

RECAP OF THE UPDATED 2019 GOALS

1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
   1. Complete and Publish VRMMORPG
3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
4. Write four blog posts per month
5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
   1. Added goal: complete and submit to market, JSS Leda (New title From Planet Everdark), secret short #2 and secret short #3.
7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
9. Get 1 client for editing services.
10. NEW GOAL: Lose 90 lbs and get healthier.
11. NEW GOAL: Write for 365 Days in a row of at least 100 words per day.

JULY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote 42,192 words.
2. I have written for 213 days in a row.
3. I spent most of this month working on my VR story but also worked on the Secret Short #2
4. I nearing the 300k mark in total yearly words at 295k.
5. Submitted Secret Short #2 and Secret Short #3 to the market, waiting to hear back if it’s accepted or not.
6. Working with a local cover artist for a bunch of covers for books.
7. Edited Secret short #3, reading it for submission.
8. Working on the edit for Mechwarrior #1.
9. Wrote 4 blog posts during June.
10. Starting weight 286lbs, weight today, 274lbs.

EXAMINATION OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. I wrote just over 42k words in July. Total word-wise, it is in the top half of the months. However, once you split it up into per day averages, it is one of the worse word counts that I have done. I managed to write a good second half of the month to bring up my average to a better number.
2. This is still the longest days in a row I have written by far as well as the longest yearly word count. I count that as a win. My goal is to write 365 days in a row.
3. I have finished editing my two short stories. I had come across a short turn-around and I had put my VR story aside to work on it.
4. I am working on editing Mech Warrior #1. It is taking longer to get it done than I’d like.
5. A local cover artist, not my wife is working on what I am calling “art assets.” These are so my wife can turn them into beautiful covers. They will be works of art on there own but will have no titling, which is why I need my wife.
6. My blog posts are still happening.
7. Mt diet had ended. Counting calories had become too difficult to do. I haven’t gone up back to my old weigh and my habit of overeating has not come back. I’m that habit down to keep my weight in check. I’m looking for a better plan to help with my weight loss.

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

This month was harder than most. I’m feeling burnt out. I need to ramp up my efforts and get more stuff done. Things are slipping away. Once this summer semester is over, the plan is to ramp up my efforts to write more and edit more. But, I need to take time for myself. Keep this burn out away before I start the new fall semester.

I did get a lot of other stuff done. However, nothing published. The hold up is covers and editing at the moment. I have the one book, Missed Drop Zone, ready to go. But there is no real rush. I want to do things right and not make mistakes.

I have started to edit other works, the short stories as they come up. They are a good distraction in some ways, a poor one in others. I have the feeling that I am not going to get my goal of getting all of those stories published. I’m going to run out of time and word count. But there is always next year, as long as I have manuscripts done.

The VRMMORPG story is going well. I’m at 90k out of a target of 100k. I’m going to be going over that mark. My best guess is 20k over the mark, perhaps more. This changes the ultimate goal of how many books I want to publish. Many titles will be pushed back to next year. I’m getting covers for them, however.

So the plan, work on VRMMORPG, edit other novels. Get covers. Get books published.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavors, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

My Diet: Some Downsides

As you may know, I have been doing a diet for nearly a month now. I have lost 17 lbs so far. At the moment, it feels great. I have lost waist sizes, and I have more energy. My appetite is down, and I no longer feel hungry all the time.

It hasn’t always been this way.

When I first started the diet, I was eating nearly 3000 calories a day. I would eat five helpings of spaghetti at dinner, and I never ate salad. I was approaching 290 lbs.

What I did to start was to control my food intake, cause no amount of exercise is going to help me lose any weight if I don’t control my eating.

The first thing that I did was to get an app for my cell phone called “My Fitness Pal.” It is a calorie counter program. I entered my information; my height, weight, and how many pounds I wanted to lose. It then told me how many calories I was allowed to eat if I wanted to make my goal weight.

Now, I am nearly 34, so I know myself. I know that if I don’t hit this hard, I will lose motivation. I’m still working on the discipline thing. So I put down that I wanted to lose 2 lbs per week.

It gave me 1800 calories per day. That’s it. Before I decided to change my habits, I could eat that at lunch.

The following two weeks were some of the hardest days of my life. I discovered that a plate of pasta, just the noodles, was 500 calories. And I would eat three to five helpings of it.

My Discoveries

I discovered that grains are not my friend, they cost too much in calories. I also found that I can fill myself up with salad, pickles, cucumbers, cheese, and such, which would only cost me 500 calories.

My appetite has shrunk; which is a good thing. I no longer feel hungry if I don’t gorge myself. I no longer pine after the tasty delicious…

I do have my bad moments. The times that I make a mistake and eat waffles, which I discovered are 250 calories each, which I ate 5. Then I spent the latter half of the day hungry cause I really wanted to make my calories.

Hangry and not knowing what to Eat

I always thought that ‘Being Hangry’ was just a joke. That it was not a real thing. I discovered that it is a real thing. I also found that I get hangry bad. Those Snickers commercials have a grain of truth wrapped in them.

Another issue is I never know what to eat anymore. My go-to meal was always spaghetti, and I make a mean spaghetti. However, I overeat it. I can’t help it, I’m still a glutton after all. So the big issue is eating food that I love as much as spaghetti, that I can enjoy as much and not worry about consuming too many calories. 

Hope

There is hope, though. Find someone to do the diet with. To help fill out the daily food journal when you know it’s not going to be good and don’t want to deal with it. Find someone to encourage yourself to keep going, past the first few weeks. Past the Hangry stage.

Cause once past that stage, it gets easier. The appetite decreases, the energy goes up. Results start coming in.

I weighed in nearly a month ago at 286.5 lbs. Today I weight 269.5 lbs. I will take those results.

Future

Now, only changing my diet is not going to work in the long run. At some point, I will plateau and stop making gains. I have been making plans for more exercise. It is getting nice out, so more time walking around is in order. I have also pulled out my old rollerblades and plan on making a fool of myself on them. I am also going to be getting a bike at some point. Something that can fit in the limited storage space I have.

But that is all cardio, don’t you plan on gaining muscle? I have heard that a couple of times. And yes. I do. But, I plan to get down to a better weight first before I gain it back in the form of muscle. It is in the cards, however, not yet.

I will be in better shape by the end of the summer.

Cause, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Someone out there that inspired me but eludes my memory…

Perhaps I will do another blog post about my different mantras. It seems appropriate.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.

Putting Money where your Mouth is.

At some point words become nothing. At some point, the spoken word is nothing more than a meaningless squawk from the human lips.

I am referring to the endless babble that people do in regards to their hopes, their dreams, and their plans. I hear it all the time. People talking about what they want to do in the future. Either a job, a vacation, or finishing a task.

Yet, that’s all it is. Endless talk and babble without any real substance. However, what is the reason why its nothing more than talk?

People have dreams.

My nine year old has dreams. He wants to make video games and programs when he grows up. It is a worthy dream to do something that he enjoys. In fact, I encourage it.

I have a friend that has dreams. He talks about it all the time. His goal is to move to a tropical island in the Caribbean. He wants to live in an endless summer without having to deal with cold winter weather.

However, there is a difference between the nine-year-old and the thirty-something.

The nine-year-old has little ability to follow his dream. He is nine. My friend is in their thirties. He is an adult and as such, he has the freedom to follow his dream and his passion. He just needs to figure out how, but he doesn’t.

In fact, the nine-year-old is currently doing more to accomplish his goals than the thirty-something-year-old. My son is studying all types of coding on his own, in school, and on a few web sites like Khan Academy. The programs and coding which he learns are rudimentary and very basic, but it is a start. I have told him that if he keeps up the hard work, then he will get to build a real game in no time.

My Caribbean friend, however, I am not sure what he is doing to accomplish his goals and dreams. He talks as if he is, however, the status of where he is in accomplishing his dream hasn’t changed.

He routinely deviates from his goal. If he wants to live on a tropical island, he has many different problems to address. One is figuring out the immigration system, the second is some source of income. For that, he needs a skill that he can use. Diving is one; if he earns some diving credentials and is able to teach tourists how to dive, he could use that as a way to earn money. He has done none of that.

The Fragile Dream

In a discussion made over drinks about my dreams and his dreams, I asked him how far along he had gotten. The answer was not very far. He is dragging his heels, scared. His dream is this crystal object in the future. In his head, it is pure, beautiful, and pristine. He is afraid the dream isn’t going to be as he imagined in his head. Achieving his dream may prove that it isn’t as he thinks.

It’s a good point. How many times do we want something so badly, but see it with rose coloured glasses? The image in our head is formed through media and our imagination. When we finally get it, the reality doesn’t match the dream. It is a very real problem.

Not an Excuse

All of that is an excuse. Like the sun in his face or fingers cold. Poor excuses for things that don’t matter. In my mind, it is more important to stop making excuses and put your money where your mouth is. If you want something, then go do it. Stop dragging your heels and go. Make a list and start checking things off. Eventually, you will achieve your goal.

Secret

And here is a final secret before I sign off. As you move towards your goal, there will be many chances for reality to bust the rose coloured glasses. Things never work out the way you expect. It is the nature of things. You just need to adapt and roll with the flow. If your dream is something worth pursuing, then it will hold up when the glasses shatter.

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End of February 2019 Report

As like the post for the end of January, this is the post of the end of February. I am still putting my money where my mouth is.

Recap of 2019 Goals

1. Write 500,000 words in personal, non-school related projects.
2. Complete and publish Felix #2, Felix #3, Des O’Neal #1, Des O’Neal #2, Des O’Neal #3, Jovian Marines #1, Jovian Marines #2, Jovian Marines #3, Mech Warrior #1, Mech Warrior #2, Mech Warrior #3.
3. Correct cover for Felix #1.
4. Write four blog posts per month
5. Give Felix #1 and Tokyo Tempest #1 a proofread.
6. Complete and submit to market Terran Marine Raider short #1, Terran Marine Raider short #2, and RPG Death short.
7. Earn $1000.00 a month from novels.
8. Relaunch publishing company with a new, stronger name.
9. Get 1 client for editing services.

February Accomplishments

1. I wrote 41,013 words.
2. I finished the first draft of Mech Warrior #1.
3. Re-finished editing Des O’Neal #1
4. Waiting on a cover for Des O’Neal #1
5. Worked on editing Jovian Marines #1
6. Wrote 4 blog posts during February

Examination of Accomplishments

1. I wrote just over 41k words in February. It is not large enough for the 42,000 words that I set for myself, but that is okay. The base goal for February is 38,360 words. My month was far from perfect. I had many days where I didn’t make the 1500 words. I missed the goal ten times this month. However, I did manage to write over 2k words for nine days with my highest word day at 2558. This is a better month than January in terms of words.
2. The novel with the working title of Mech Warrior #1 was started back in 2018. It is the second book of those that I had only partially completed. I had left the book 41k words, but now it has finished at 87k words. That makes three novels to be edited. I may have to figure out better editing habits as the pile is growing.
3. At the start of the January, I had finished the edits to the first Des O’Neal book called The O’Neal Saboteur. However, after reexamining the book and learning some better editing “hacks,” I discovered that I missed some big errors. They are fixed now. I expect to publish it in the next few days. Stay tuned for that announcement in the coming days.
4. I have been working with my wife, the artist, on a cover for the Des O’Neal book. It is coming along, and it will be a post once I can show something about it.
5. The edits of Jovian Marines #1 are ongoing. The title of which will be The Missed Drop Zone. It will be in the Odinite Campaign Saga.
6. As you can see from my previous posts, I have written four blog posts with them going live on Sundays. This month I wrote about story ideas and how to find them and nurture them.

Plan for the Future

Despite not hitting the publish button in the month of January or February, I consider the month of February to be successful. I start my day by editing for an hour before doing anything else. I will need to perhaps add more time to that. Maybe working on more time to write it. I need to get not only Missed Drop Zone published, but I need to get a large part of the way done editing Felix #2.  I still write my next day’s tasks at the end of each night.

I am currently working on a Military Sci-Fi for an anthology. It is still in the same story verse as Des O’Neal and the Odinite Campaign but is about someone on the side of Terra.

So far, it is working, but I have had to make some changes. I will go into details this Sunday when I drop my weekly post. Maybe I will also talk about some of the current projects that I am working on.

If you like what you are reading and wish to support me in my endeavours, please sign up to my newsletter, visit my Amazon Author Page and purchase one of my books. Or buy me a coffee. Your help and support are much appreciated.