MillWordY Update for February 2021

 

I know this is a little late in the game, but I’ve been taking a bit of a break from social media and it’s been nice. I’m back now with my updated stats for MillWordY!

 

February Statistics

Project Home: 35,018

Random Projects: 2,559

Total Words for February: 37,577

Total Words for Challenge: 290,327/600,000

I would look at this as being a very successful month. I finished a rewrite and managed to get a lot of other tasks done. I’m also almost halfway through my MillWordY! Now, let’s see if I completed my goals…

 

February Goals

✔ Average 1k on writing days

✔ Finish FINAL rewrites of Cowboy (hopefully)

✔ Get Cowboy to betas

✔ Classified

Very successful! My first month succeeding at all  my goals since starting MillWordY!

 

March Goals

~ Write Monster

~ Take time to relax

I’m taking a bit of a break from writing. I had a horrible case of burnout after the past 3 months and need to refill my creative well. Monster is a shorter story that I’m working on bit by bit, just to keep in practice. I should be back to normal by April, at which points edits for my next book should start!

 

Thank you all for sticking with me in this journey and I can’t wait to share even more stories with you!

 

Love always,

Lori Fayre

MillWordY Update for January 2021

What a start to the new year! Let’s get into the stats!

 

January Statistics

Project Cowboy: 53,193

Project Monster: 4,218

Project Home: 20,204

Random Projects: 1,633

Total Words for January: 79,248

Total Words for Challenge: 252,750/600,000

I rewrote Cowboy in December and sent it to beta readers in January. It’s too bad that the manuscript was crap and it had to be rewritten a THIRD TIME! I had to completely reoutline as well, so it’s an entirely new story. I am trying to get it done before the end of February so I can send it to beta readers before March. My deadline has been extended so hopefully I can get this out there soon! I will say that it has been the most productive month so far. I worked overtime to get it done and will be for some time to come. Let’s see how I did goal-wise…

 

January Goals

✔ Average 1k on writing days

✔ Get Cowboy to betas

✘ Write first draft of Monster

✘ Classified

The only thing I managed to do was get Cowboy out, after which I started rewriting again. I also managed to write everyday, but Monster has been put on hold. However, due to the insane word count for the month and unforeseen circumstances, I will give myself a pass. Let’s set some new goals.  Next month…

 

February Goals

~ Average 1k on writing days

~ Finish FINAL rewrites of Cowboy (hopefully)

~ Get Cowboy to betas (again)

~ Classified

I feel confident that I can complete these few tasks. Hopefully, my next update will be more exciting. Until then!

 

Love always,

Lori Fayre

MillWordY Update for December 2020

It’s a little late, but here it is. As a reminder, I’m now doing a half MillWordY (600k). Let’s get started!

 

December Statistics

Project Cowboy: 55,592

Project Monster: 3,842

Random Projects: 520

Total Words for December: 59,954

Total Words for Challenge: 173,502/600,000

I almost hit 60k this month! I ended up having to rewrite my entire first draft of Cowboy to fix it. I’m still working on it and have even more to do, but I also hope to really start on Monster soon. January is going to be interesting – I’m working on several secret projects this month and only one has to do with writing. But, I’m ahead of schedule, so I think taking it easy will be a good thing (though the stats won’t look that impressive).

 

December Goals

✘ Average 3k on writing days

✘ Edit Project Cowboy

✘ Stick to new social media schedule (including blogs)

✘ Take at least one day each week to relax

Okay. So, not great. I’m still trying to finish edits for Project Cowboy, but I did take time off for the holidays. I tried to average 3k every day, but I fell short on some days. I did beat my high score, though, and managed to hit over 7k in one day, which is a pretty good feat for me. Let’s look at my new goals.

 

January Goals

~ Average 1k on writing days

~ Get Cowboy to betas

~ Write first draft of Monster

~ Classified

Not many this go ‘round, but that’s okay. And you’re not allowed to know the last one yet! Until next time…

 

Love always,

Lori Fayre

MillWordY Update for November 2020

As a reminder, I’m now doing a half MillWordY (600k). Let’s get started!

 

November Statistics

Project Hawthorne: 3,323

Project Nocturnal: 42,311

Random Projects: 2,836

Total Words for November: 48,470

Total Words for Challenge: 113, 548/600,000

 

Whoo! Passed the 100k mark, which means reward time! I chose a dry erase board (something I’ve been wanting for my office for some time) to help with planning and outlining. I’ve been under the weather for the past week and I’m currently in that lull between manuscripts, but here’s to finishing another project in December! Onto goals…

 

November Goals

✘ Average 3k on writing days

✔ Edit Project Nocturnal

✔ Start writing a new project

✘ Stick to my weekly blog posting schedule

 

This time I only got two, but I was really close to that 3k everyday mark – closer than ever, in fact. Blogs did take a bit of a backseat, but that was due to me trying to get a new social media schedule into place.

 

December Goals

~ Average 3k on writing days

~ Edit Project Cowboy

~ Stick to new social media schedule (including blogs)

~ Take at least one day each week to relax

 

I added that last one because I have been stressing myself out. It’s important to take time to yourself and that is my advice to you: take a break now and then!

 

Love always,

Lori Fayre

Fixing A Few Things

Alright. That’s it. I caved. I’m doing a half MillWordY.

This is a short MillWordY update, but I thought I’d let everyone know. I took the last week away from social media for several reasons. The main reason I wasn’t posting was because of the stress, burnout, and overall done-ness of MillWordY. I was tapped. So, I took that week to refresh and reset and I discovered some things.

The first is that I am not in the proper headspace to try MillWordY. It’s a challenge for a reason, but it was getting ridiculous. I want to challenge myself, but I don’t want to put so much pressure on writing that I can’t enjoy it. So, I’m instead trying for 50k a month (600k a year), which is still a challenging goal but light enough that I can live my life and take care of work and family.

The second is simpler: I’m bad at social media. That’s all there is to it. I’m camera shy and awkward and don’t know what I’m doing most of the time. So I’ve been seeking advice and scheming and, while you won’t see the changes next month, the new year should bring some big things for Lori Fayre.

That’s my update. The past week has been tiring, but I feel like I’ve gotten a lot done and I think I’ve made things easier on my future self. So, here’s to starting over and (hopefully) knowing what I’m doing this time around.

Cheers,

Lori Fayre

MillWordY Update for October 2020

I come to you today with my newest MillWordY stats and updates! I’m not going to offer excuses, just lay out the way things went. MillWordY truly is a challenge, but it’s one I’m still planning to beat. I’ve been trying the 10k challenge every Sunday, but still haven’t managed to complete it.

 

October Statistics

Project Bodyguard: 43, 737

Project Hawthorne: 7, 529

Project Nocturnal: 1, 665

Random Projects: 2, 968

Total Words for October: 49, 899

Total Words for Challenge: 65, 078

 

I know! I was so close to 50k for the month and I didn’t even realize it! I only tally my count at the end of the month. I’m still behind and having to play catch up, but I feel like this is significant progress compared to last month. Onto the goals!

 

October Goals

✘ Average 3k on writing days

✔ Get Project Hawthorne edited and submitted

✔ Write Project Bodyguard’s first draft

✘ Edit Project Nocturnal

✔ Stick to my weekly blog posting schedule

 

Three out of five isn’t bad, so I’m giving myself a pass on this. I think a new goal for the overall challenge would be to finish or edit a draft each month. That would be something completely reasonable given my record.

 

November Goals

~ Average 3k on writing days

~ Edit Project Nocturnal

~ Start writing a new project

~ Stick to my weekly blog posting schedule

 

That’s all I have for you this week. Please let me know how all of you are doing in your own writing!

 

Love always,

Lori Fayre

MillWordY Update for September 2020

First and foremost, I want to apologize for my absence in September. Between work, deadlines, and moving, things just kept getting in the way. I did have a writing tag planned for last week, but the file became corrupted! So, here I am in shame, bringing you some sad stats for a challenge that I’m feeling a little better about now that the chaos has passed in my life.

That’s right. I went for it. At least, I attempted to go for it. September was going to be my month to get the word count and get so much done. I'm going for the Million Words in a Year Writing Challenge (MillWordY)!

Honestly, I thought about calling it and starting fresh in October. That’s what the old Lori would have done. But I was determined that, no matter what, I would stick to this, even if I’m so behind that it will take a miracle to catch up.

 

September Statistics

Project Cowboy: 11,777

Project Bodyguard: 3,056

Random Projects: 346

Total Words: 15,179

 

This is my total word count for the month. September was a month of moving and having a ton to do at work. I’m not giving excuses, just giving myself a break and knowing that it’s okay. I want MillWordY to be something fun, not something to stress me out. Even if I don’t hit 1 million, at least I can say I tried and I’ll have some cool stats for the year!

 

As far as goals for October, they’re pretty lofty.

~ Average 3k on writing days

~ Get Project Hawthorne edited and submitted

~ Write Project Bodyguard’s first draft

~ Edit Project Nocturnal

~ Stick to my weekly blog posting schedule

 

I know it doesn’t seem like much, but I’ve broken a lot of good habits over the past couple of months. The day this is being posted is the day that I’m attempting the 10K in One Day Challenge (which I’ll let y’all know about next week!). I know I can do this! Let me know if you’re participating and, if so, how are you doing?

 

Love always,

Lori Fayre