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| What dreams are made of… Photo credit: snowpeak -- taking some time off via Visualhunt / CC BY |
At the beginning of every month, as part of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, I take a look at my successes (not just in writing), share the ways I hope to improve in the next month, answer the IWSG question of the month, and provide inspiration (if I have any). Here's this month's edition:
September Wins –
✓ Cultural experience: Callaway Gardens; Savannah, GA; Japan Fest in Duluth, GA
✓ Spent less than last September 2015.
Other Successes –
✓ Booked flight to Hawaii!! with Delta points & only $22.50 cash
✓ And managed to score a BOGO night @ a Hilton on Maui (+ $30/person/day breakfast + $75 Visa gift card all for the price of one night at a fancy hotel!)
✓ for VALENTINE'S DAY! (And I typically don't celebrate… 😮)
✓ Then convinced the husband to take me to Canada for Christmas! 🇨🇦 🎄
✓ Completed testing for GoPro 5 which will be available for purchase in October. (It's awesome! Buy one! 😉)
✓ Started hardcore editing images and working my way through image editing classes that I've bought
✓ Paid off one credit card (3 more to go + all of the student loans 😞)
✓ Confirmed that I am registered to vote. (So important this election!)
✓ Husband designed rotisserie and then we made trdelnik on it!
✓ Family time with my brother and nephew. 😀
✓ Watched my first ever presidential debate and actually understood/cared. 😮
Things that didn't go so well –
– Taking the time to read a book. 😞
– Blog numbers going down.
– Food spending.
October Goals –
• Cultural experience: Atlanta Botanical Gardens (Chihuly in the Gardens Exhibit)
• Try a new restaurant for Halloween. (It's tradition.) 🎃
• Family time: my grandmother's birthday. 🍰
• Review a fryer I recently received. (Not necessarily on the blog, but maybe…)
• Continue to research Hawaii/Canada and make plans.
• Read one book? I don't know if I'll have time, but I'd like to try…
• Conquer food spending!
IWSG Question: When do you know your story is ready?
I don't really write stories per-say, just blog posts. And my blog post is finished the moment I press "publish". 😀 To be fair, I could edit and nitpick my writing to death. In high school I would spend hours on an email. Write it, give myself time to think, look back at it, delete it all, start over. Crazy, right? And the worst part is when I would question my every word eventually ending up with a two word email. And two word emails are sooo not American. Without fluff, you can come across as rude. Add fluff back in and both you and the recipient knows it's fluff, so you feel stupid for taking up their time and adding so much unnecessary junk into the email. So the editing process starts all over again. *sigh*
The point, my friends, is that I have learned that setting time limits is good for me. I write, edit, post, write, edit, post. Don't dwell. Don't nitpick. There may be a better word out there. I may be humiliated after writing and posting… But I did it. I was successful at completing a written something. And that calls for celebration. 😀
Your Turn
Whether you are a blogger, an emailer, or someone who avoids writing at all cost, how do you know when you have completed whatever you've written? Do you struggle to write clearly and get your point across without coming across as crass or mean?
How are you doing with your goals this September? Does fall make it easier to get more accomplished (with kids back in school) or does it make it harder (less free time?)? Do you have any exciting plans for this month … or any of the last three months of the year heading into 2017?
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