Month-in-Review Highlights: May 2024

The teacup I purchased for my future self to celebrate finishing the second draft of a novel-in-progress. May 18, 2024. Lausanne, Switzerland.

I postmortem each month shortly after it ends. Previously, I used these posts to hold myself accountable on progress toward my annual goals. Starting in January 2023, I broadened these posts to address more generally my observations and experiences for the month. (To read previous months’ reviews, click here.)

With a hike in the Swiss alps early in the month with the Club Alpin Suisse and the first week of my two-week yoga retreat in Skyros, Greece, the last week of the month, I was spoiled for choice when it came to a header photo for this month’s review.

I decided, after deliberation, to go with a photo of the handmade teacup I purchased as a gift for my future self upon finishing the second draft of my Get Your Needs Met novel manuscript—a milestone I achieved just before leaving for the yoga retreat. I’d purchased the cup so long ago that I didn’t even remember what it looked like, which added to the delight of finally allowing myself to open it.

The manuscript is now in the hands of readers who have agreed to look at the novel in draft form and give me feedback on its current state—the overall plot, the characters, the unfolding of the story—before I get too in the weeds with fine-tuning the details and the language. I’ve asked them to share their thoughts before the end of June, if possible, so that I can begin revisions in July.

My goal is to get this manuscript to a marketable stage by the end of the year. The likelihood of my achieving that timeline depends on what I hear back from my readers. (Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the kind souls who offer to read draft manuscripts and provide feedback for authors. Your help is invaluable.)

While on the topic of writing updates, I’ll add that I dug into revisions on my draft plan for the next novel I have on my plate to write. I still have work to do on the plan before I can call it finished and the novel ready for drafting, but I am confident that I made good progress on what I have. The plan has gotten much stronger after two rounds of testing and tightening.

All this frantic writing work—and work-work—ahead of leaving for my yoga retreat (where I wanted to need to think about as little as possible and force my brain to unwind a little) meant that I didn’t hit targets around socializing or household projects. I did, though, make it back to my general practitioner for an annual check-up, as planned. (Yes, I put an annual check-up on my goals sheet for the year because, if I didn’t, I might find a way to “forget.”)

The rest of the year promises a lot of busy on a lot of other fronts, but I hope I can find a way to swing myself back around toward making some level of progress on projects that are lagging or, well, lacking entirely on needed efforts.

And I’d better hustle there, as we have somehow nearly hit midyear already. Oof.