Tuesday 3 October 2023: The month ahead

After a lovely week off where we actually had some quality time off together, it was back to work for both of us yesterday.

It was the first working day of the month, so that meant new spreadsheets. I also scheduled the next three books I’ll be publishing, between now and 1 January. The January publication will be the next issue of the magazine and I want to schedule in writing time for two new short stories and a new novella to be included in that.

The next job of the day was sharing the gig list post reminding everyone to add their gigs for the coming week at least.

Then it was Monkey Dust work, this time creating new posters for the gig after the next one. That’s three different posters, one for Instagram, one for Facebook, and the regular poster that venues can download and print off. I shared the event for this coming weekend. Then I created an event for the one after. I added the new event to Diane’s Gig List, and for that I had to find out the full address and postcode. Finally, I shared the new event poster to Instagram.

While I was working on that for Monkey Dust, a request came in from a venue to change a date. I checked they could still do the new date, and we agreed to move that gig from a Saturday to an earlier Friday. The band prefer not to do Friday gigs as they all work full time and one of them usually has to get up early on a Saturday morning too. But as they’ve already cut down their gigs for next year, they accepted the change and I rejigged the calendar they all can see and add to if they have holidays or anything.

I updated and changed the wall calendar, then broke for dinner.

Over dinner I watched a cluster of storms coming towards us on a thunderstorm map, and I caught up and commented on a few blogs. I registered for a Zoom class for NaNoWriMo prep and inked it into my diary for next week. I downloaded a printable guide to the class. And I downloaded a daily tracker that also goes with the class. Then I gazed out of the window for a few minutes wondering what on earth I was going to spend NaNo doing this time…

Back at work I carried on with my planning tasks for the month ahead. I inked in the People’s Friend writing hour on Twitter every Tuesdays and my Zoom class for NaNoWriMo next Thursday. I jotted down the next couple of short holidays we’re having (long weekends, really, to use up the poet’s holidays at work). I booked us both in for an eye test. We’re overdue by about a year. While I was writing up the diary for this week, I also updated the Monkey Dust calendar with new days off for band members.

I updated the power board. I’ve turned the Post-it notes the other way around and I’m writing the working titles at what would normally be the bottom but upside down. This way they can be stuck to the power board and moved around more easily. I’m also jotting down notes on them, such as target wordcounts, potential markets, and deadline dates.

The first working day of the month is very much a planning day, so in future, that’s what I’ll write it all in as. That way I won’t feel like I’ve fallen behind by only the second working day of the month.

I worked on the plan until about 6pm, then I gave up and packed up for the day.

Hello October

Here’s how I hope the rest of October will pan out:

• monthly schedule planning for October ✔️
• new month wordcount & progress spreadsheets for October
• write the next short story for 12 Stories in 12 Months
• weekly tech scan & backup
• weekly diary work
• attend PF Writing Hour on Twitter every Tuesday
• brainstorm, outline and write A Winter’s Promise and send to market
• brainstorm, outline and write A Midsummer Crime Dream and send to market
• brainstorm, outline and write Tripping the Light Fantastic and send to market
• revise The Old Annexe and send to market
• revise Take Your Pick and send to market
• finish the Vietnam book
• start the naval book
• Monkey Dust admin every Monday
• Diane’s gig list admin every Monday and Thursday
• continue typing Catch the Rainbow
• continue writing Project Management for Writers: Gate 3 – How? 
• continue planning The (new) Fool
• continue planning The Beast Within
• autumn newsletter
• finances for October
• arrange optician appointments for us both ✔️
• attend NaNoWriMo prep class
• NaNoWriMo prep work (potentially The Mystery of Whitehorse Farm)

Planning work for The Fool will very much be ad-hoc, as and when I can fit it in. Planning work for The Beast Within will be done alongside Project Management for Writers: Gate 3.

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