Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Where has the time gone? And book #giftideas

I can't believe it's December!
Welcome to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group. Everyone is welcome!

December usually brings reflection on the past year as the next year waits around the corner. So I'm going to see how I did with my January IWSG "resolutions" post...
  1. Be Shrewd - I think I've done well with this one, sneaking in as much writing and reading as I could this year! How about you? Feel good about how much writing you produced?
  2. Be Definitive - I made some "live healthier" goals for the year.
    • No snacks after 9pm - I believe I did this for the majority of 2015!
    • Eat at least 3 fruits/vegetables each day - need more work on this, but I did better this year than last year
    • At least one form of exercise each day (and I count housework - so win-win) - eh. Have to keep trying!
    • Walk dog at least once a week - a big fail. I think this is doable, I need to focus on it next year! We both need it.
  3. Be Flexible - I've been okay with this, but I need to have a better attitude about it - another thing to work on. Noted!
  4. Be Positive - I started a little page on Facebook for writers to post their writing accomplishments or setbacks. Feel free to join in on it!
  5. Be Content with yourself! I'm content, but I also want to do more, hence the goals.
How did you all do with your goals/resolutions from way back in January 2015? I'd love to hear about something you're proud of from this year!


Today I also volunteered to help out my publisher, Curiosity Quills, by writing an article of book recommendations... In addition, here's are some books I read this year that I highly recommend (sorry there's not more, I'm a slow reader...)
OF BLOOD AND SORROW by Christine Rains
ONE GOOD CATCH by Heather M. Gardner
EFFIGY by MJ Fifield
BELLA'S POINTE by Elizabeth Seckman

And here are some recommendations from my currently reading/TBR list:

POLAR NIGHT & POLAR DAY by Julie Flanders
THE DRAGONFLY WARRIOR by Jay Noel
ACNE, ASTHMA, AND OTHER SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE HALF DRAGON by Rena Rocford

Do you have any books you'd like to recommend as gifts you've read this year?

21 comments:

Shah Wharton said...

My dog needs more than a walk a week, more like a couple of walks a day! If I have to miss a day for some reason he's bouncing all over the place . lol!

You're doing great otherwise, Tara! Good for you. And our TBR reading list is close. I especially need to get my hands of Julie's books. They're right up my street :)

Have a great December, Tara. X

shahwharton.com

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Glad you're setting goals already. Hey, walk the dog every day and you can count that as exercise as well!

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Sounds like you did well and are on a good track for next year.

My Christmas list contained books and...that was pretty much it. :)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tara - when you find "Mrs Time" please let me know and just don't tell anyone else - thank you!!!!

Well done - good for you and goals .. the dog walking should be an easy add in for the end of 2015 and on into 2016.

I need to settle and tidy up, write some lists - organise my life for 2016 ... all the best - cheers Hilary

Tonja Drecker said...

Congrats to meeting all of those goals! My writing could have been better this last year, but not every year can bring sheer amazingness. Love your recommendation list- I've read half of them and loved those.

Julie Flanders said...

You are definitely shrewd and I don't know a more positive person. :) Thanks for including me on your list!!

Christine Rains said...

Great goals. I've tried really hard to eat better (failed) but I've been getting exercise. I even recently started the Couch to 5k (how scary is that!), and I don't die when I do the first workout any more. Thanks so much for recommending my book. I'm in really good company there. :) Mary Pax's newest book in her Rifters' series has come out. It's awesome!

Tamara Narayan said...

I just finished Into Thin Air by Jon Krakrauer (about the disaster on Mount Everest) and I was so sucked in I read it in about two days. Now I want to check out his other stuff.

Carrie-Anne said...

Congratulations on doing so well with your goals! I unfortunately wasn't able to follow all the goals I set for myself this year, for various reasons, but at least I got the biggest ones done, finishing my third Russian historical this March and getting past the halfway point in my radical rewrites and restructurings of my first four Atlantic City books.

Chemist Ken said...

I definitely missed my writing goal this year, although I have been eating healthier for the last month or so, so that's something. I'm glad you met your goals. Have a great December.

Juneta key said...

Missed writing goals for 2015. I managed to keep with my blog post obligations and help other authors some with promotion, even when I was not writing, I wrote some blog post at least 1 to 4 a month. I revamped my blog and I gained 13 new subscribers to my newsletter. I had 19 now have 32, lol, I just hope they stick with me through this journey.

Congrats on meeting your goals,

Happy Holidays,
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

Arlee Bird said...

Congratulations on being so diligent in fulfilling your goals as you have done. I didn't make any goals in particular, but essentially I've had a very good year.

One of my favorite books that I've read this year was World's Fair by Doctorow.

Arlee Bird
Wrote By Rote

S.A. Larsenッ said...

I just love this post. I wish I would have thought about doing a reflection piece. Sounds like you're a pretty loyal person when it comes to making promises (or setting goals) and keeping them. Nicely done! I'm impressed with the no snacks after 9PM. #sighs....

Diane Burton said...

I wish I could say I accomplished all my goals. Some went by the wayside, others I did okay. I'm proud of the fact that I finished 3 books this year. One is published, one should be before Christmas, the other I'm sitting on. (Don't ask. LOL)

Best wishes,
Diane
IWSG #85

Anonymous said...

I plan on going over the goals I set for this year soon. I'm happy with what I did accomplish and think I can do better next year. =)

dolorah said...

I did not make any goals. I was too bummed. I think I'll make a 2016 resolution though. time for a change.

You did well with yours.

Heather R. Holden said...

Congrats on all the goals you accomplished this year!

Also, great book recs! I couldn't agree more about Polar Night and Polar Day. (Julie is such a fantastic writer!) I've been meaning to check out Effigy and Of Blood and Sorrow, but just haven't had the chance yet. (I'm a slow reader, too...heh.)

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Nice to see that you accomplished some of your goals Tara. I have become a slow reader myself over the last few years. As long as you still read something I am very happy for you.

Loni Townsend said...

I was the best me I could be, so I think I did well with my goals this year! We'll see about next year. :)

M.J. Fifield said...

I had a horrible year, goal-wise. I hope I can do better next year!

(Thank you for the shout-out, by the way. It's very kind of you.)

Michelle Wallace said...

Hey Tara!
You did well with your goals this year!
I did lots of reading this year...just need to post a few reviews to meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal.

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