August was a very difficult month for me health-wise. I did what I could. I ended up changing my writing goals mid-month. I’ve come to realize that as my days are too unpredictable, I can’t have either a weekly or a monthly word count goal. Instead, I write as much as I can according to that day. Namely:

Great day – 4000 words

Okay day – 2500 words

Bad day – 500 words

I wrote 82K in August, which surprised the heck out of me. I made two changes that made that happen:

1) I started blogging every morning. Writing a blog post helped prime the pump, as it were, and enabled me to get to the fiction more quickly, and to be able to start writing.

2) My words before anyone else’s. I had been reading blogs and email before I started writing. I can’t do that. It’s too distracting. That isn’t the right place for my head to be to start writing.

So my September writing goal is going to be write what I can depending on the day.

One other thing I realized this morning – I have written more this year than I have any prior year since I started measuring. Now, mind you, the years I didn’t measure I’m certain I wasn’t writing anywhere near what I’ve since accomplished.

To date, I’ve written 414638 words for 2018. The closest year to this is 2016, when I was in the middle of dealing with horrible chronic migraines, and I hit 412000.

It’s only August. Even if my health takes another nosedive, I should still be able to add a lot to that number.

NOTE – as much as I would like to predict that I’ll hit 600K or 700K, or even 800K, I cannot. I honestly have no idea how much I’ll be able to write. Sure, if my body cooperates, I’ll be able to write that much. Today is a good day. What about tomorrow, or the next day? I don’t know. I do know that I need to stay focused on the positive, what CAN I do instead of what I can’t do.

At some point, I’m hoping that my health stabilizes and I’m going to be able to better predict my word count. I’ll be able to have weekly or monthly goals again.

Or maybe I won’t. Possibly I’ll just stick with the day-by-day goals. I can’t call them daily word count, because that implies a consistent number, which I may never have again. We’ll see.

I’m home again after a marvelous vacation. I really needed that mental break and time away.

There are a couple of lessons that I’m taking back with me from Las Vegas.

1) I need to walk more. Despite not necessarily following my usual strictures when it comes to my diet, I didn’t suffer as much as I thought I would. I credit that to the walking.

2) I need to find a good yoga class out here in Maple Valley. Or I need to put on my yoga videos and do a full-on “class” once a week.

I did yoga with my friend in Las Vegas, and it was so good for me. Just the right level, with an emphasis on stretching rather than on poses. I can’t do hot yoga, which would kill me given how my internal thermostat is currently working (or not working). Almost all the yoga studios out here are hot yoga. There are a few which aren’t, that are starting in the next couple of weeks, that I’m going to go try.

Following my diet is easily 80-90% of the equation for me. The other supremely important parts are sleep and exercise. I’m pretty good on sleep now. Need to get the exercise more consistent.

Like with the word count, I can’t have a daily step count, at least not during the summer. We are still doing too many projects, too much work around the farm. For example, the next couple of days we’re going to take apart the front wall of the pumphouse and rebuild it. This is going to include hanging a new door. Those things are heavy. Sure, I won’t get in as many steps, but I’ll be working my upper body a lot.

This is when I want to get a Bodybugg again, or something that measures actual effort rather than steps.

Anyway, I’m rambling now. Time to get back to the next new short story. I have one more to write this week before I start the next novel. Mind you, I have a couple of short story ideas, and I may end up writing them both before starting the novel. We’ll see.

I hope that for those of you who celebrate that you have a marvelous long weekend! Or just a weekend. Or maybe a few days off.