ROW80 Round 7: 2nd Update

I'm hoping that everyone else is doing better than I am so far this round, because aside from a few days of very good word counts, I haven't done a lot :( This was mostly because I had a nasty stomach bug last week and spent most of Sunday to Thursday curled up in the foetal position around the toilet, so I guess that couldn't really be helped, but it is still annoying that I missed out on all that potential writing time. I did have three or four days of 1,000-1,500 word counts, so at least I partially made up for it; I think since my last check-in I've added around 5,000 new words to my novel. I haven't done any new drawings or paintings, but I have been working on a coloured pencil test/comparison for my other blog, since I want to be more active with that blog in terms of reviews and so on.

Eating healthy is out the window for this week; while I was sick I lost several kilos, so now I have to try to put some weight back on to stop my pants falling down all the time :| Also, I just found out I'm teaching four classes this semester instead of two (as well as still working my other part-time job), which is excellent for my bank balance (especially with Rex still on his medication and the strong possibility he'll have to remain on it for life) but not so good for writing/art/web development time. Ah well, I'll have to find ways to get creative with my time management :) The second semester starts a week from tomorrow, so at least I'll have some time to try to catch up on my goals before I start teaching again.

Judgemental Dog is less than sympathetic about me stressing my brains out...

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 7: Goals and 1st Update

I know this post is a few days late, for some reason I got my dates mixed up and thought the round started next Monday :| I blame lack of sleep, I'm still trying to get my sleeping pattern back to some semblance of normality after working midnight to 7am last week. Since the last round, I've added around 2,000 words to my novel, but have probably deleted as much in scenes that became obsolete when I wrote and/or revised other sections. I did manage to do a quick, colourful sketch in my art journal:

I also recently stumbled across Pinterest and thought it might be a good way to organise some of my novel-related inspirations (as well as other random things I like), so I set up my own account. Does anyone else here use it? What sort of things do you use it for?

This round's goals:

• Write at least 500 words every day until semester 2 begins
• During semester 2, write 500 words three days a week
• Keep tinkering with novel outline, especially the two problem areas
• Continue developing web folio
• Produce at least one decent sketch or piece of art work each week
• Visit at least 10 other ROW80er blogs each week

I'm only teaching two classes this semester instead of three, so keeping up with everything should be more doable, though I know that once I start teaching again I'll probably drop off a bit (especially considering how badly I bombed with my writing last semester).

To these productivity/creativity goals, I'm also going to add a personal health goal or two: exercise for 20 minutes every day, and start eating more healthy food. Though I haven't put on any weight, I've been lax with my exercise and eating habits over the last few months, since by the time I get home from working two jobs I'm too tired lazy to cook a proper meal or do much of anything. Exercise will have to be fairly light anyway because of my knee issues but some is better than none, and I can probably cook some decent food during the day and make an extra portion for dinner. Hopefully this will improve my general well-being and energy levels.

To finish off, Judgemental Dog seems unimpressed with my new friend, a Pillow Pet:

Good luck for this round, folks :)

See other ROW80 posts here.