I set word count goals at the start of every year. Then, midyear, I review them and make changes if necessary.

TLDR: sticking with my original goal of 500K. Think that’s doable.

Longer version:

For the first four months of this year, I was doing 50K a month. That was awesome and I’d really hoped I could keep it up.

Then I was sick for four weeks in a row. Cut my word count in half for the months of May and June.

Ugh.

Fortunately, because I was so far ahead, I ended June just past the halfway point, that is, 253K.

My spreadsheet where I track things says that at this point, if I keep up the same daily word count average, I’ll get to 506K for the year. My current daily average is only 1389 per day. I will get that back up to 1600 this month, or at least that’s my plan. I just need to stay healthy, and I need to do the other things to support my writing.

I do have travel planned at the end of the year. August will be World Con in Seattle, and I’ll be basically “gone” for five days, plus a couple of days afterward for recovery. As far as I know, we’ll be going to Author Nation again in November, so again, days when I won’t be writing.

This means I need to get more words done in the other months. Fingers crossed this is all doable.

I started the current novel kind of more into the dark than I’ve been doing recently. It served me well until it didn’t. I’m about halfway through, and I needed to take some time to figure out who was the killer. But I’ve done that, so I’m hoping to finish this novel in the next couple of weeks.

Those of you following along at home will be happy to know that I’m writing the BBQ books, “Death by Brisket” with the fabulous Las Chicas de Carne as the BBQ team that goes around competing at different town, solving supernatural crimes.

A cozy mystery series, with magic. And MEAT.

How about you? What does your midyear review look like? Are you on track?