Return to the #ROW80

Greetings and salutations! And thanks for stopping by… 

I am getting a late start to this Round of Words, though in fairness, at least I am starting it – I’ve been absent from this forum for the better part of a year. 

In that time, I have actually accomplished a good bit – started my publishing imprint, Umbrella Books, published my first paperback book, traveled to Paris and Burning Man, been featured in a videocast, a podcast, and written an article for Medium.com that’s gotten over 8000 hits.

But that's the past, and this is a goals post about the future, so here are my modest’ish goals between now and Christmas.

WRITING

- Write 8 chapters of The Perfidious Mister Wickham 

- ROW80 updates posted once a week (usually Wednesdays)

- Post weekly on my GypsyDangerously blog (Tuesdays)

- Finish The Artillerists (short story) 

- Finish Merry Christmas, Mister Washington (short story) 

FITNESS

- Run two 5K races

- Obtain my Black Belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program

- Get a first-class score on the Combat Fitness Test

- Bench 185 pounds

LANGUAGE

- Complete 8 DuoLingo classes in French

- Obtain a 2+/2+ or better on my Indonesian language test

SOCIAL

- Go on at least four fabulous and fun dates with old friends and new

- Buy presents for all my family for Christmas

NETWORKING

- Get 1000+ Twitter followers

- Join Lowcountry RWA

NEW ECONOMIC

- Get 50+ patrons on Patreon

- Reduce my personal carbon footprint by using alternative means to get to work at least twice a week.

OK, so, that’s it for this Round – wish me luck, and I can promise you that I’ll do the same for you, and make myself heard cheering you onward on Twitter and Facebook.

Sunday #ROW80 Update

What’s new this week?

A little progress on the writing front – I’ve finished 2 Chapters of The Perfidious Mister Wickham, and will probably get this week’s chapter posted either tomorrow or Tuesday... This counts as my ROW80 update, and I actually got a good bit of editing done on my critique of Steven Pressfield’s The Warrior Ethos.

I also got in my yoga class for the week, and though I’m not teaching language (yet) I did study both Russian and French, and in fact I found a neat, free tool for anyone learning a Romance language - French, Italian, Spanish, etc. - http://www.duolingo.com/ - so far I've done the basic course (4 lessons) for French, and I really like it!

As for dating, I think I’m going to take that one a bit slow... The gene pool seems to be a little shallow around here, but who knows, perhaps I’ll be happily surprised.

No bucket list adventures to report, but I did have a good time up in Charleston with my little brother, playing Dominant Species and watching the UFC fight...

And I got nothing much done  in terms of networking or the new economy, but I listened to some greatTED Talks on a playlist featuring conversations about the open-source future.

A short update, but it is what it is... In the coming week I’ll focus on:

- Posting Chapter 32 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham,

- Posting on GypsyDangerously

- Final edits and e-publishing of Ho B-52 (short story)

I’ll have to squeeze in one weekday yoga class so that I can get up early to Charleston next Saturday to run in the rUndead 5K, and try to make sure I get around to:

-  Scheduling language classes for my Marines

- Joining Lowcountry RWA

- Joining AirBNB

- Reducing my personal carbon footprint by getting a kayak and paddling to work...

But all that requires some rest, so off to bed I go!

Wishing everyone a happy and productive week,

Edward

Helicopter Flights & a #ROW80 Update!

Flying the unfriendly skies...

A super-busy week- I've been doing lots of writing - mainly recommendations for Navy Commendation Medals (but I did ghost-write a Bronze Star on behalf of the Commanding General - good times!) Also, editing and writing a variety of letters in an attempt to get my Marines Combat Meritorious Promotions, etc...

It hasn't left a lot of time for other things, but I did go for a ride on a CH-53 helicopter out over the Helmand River Valley to watch one of my Marines re-enlist at 3000 feet - what a great way to end the day!

Of course, the day won't really be over until I post this note, after which time I can grab my gear and go catch a few hours of sleep, but here goes:

WRITING
- Wrote a smidgen of the Perfidious Mister Wickham…

- Posted Chapter 30 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham…

- Wrote a few more pages of Stephen Pressfield’s “The Warrior Ethos”: One Marine Officer’s Critique and Counterpoint… Did some editing and created the cover art... Slowly getting there!

PUBLISHING
- Put out the 17th issue of the Squadron newsletter – 9 pages of print & pictures!

FITNESS
- Added 10 lbs to my Bench Press…

- Bodyfat still at 13% - gotta work on diet, abs and cardio to get down to 12%...

LANGUAGE
- Completed my requisite 5 hours of language study, now looking for a C-130 ride to Bagram to test out next month...

NETWORKING
- Still looking for 2 people to join my “Core Group” this week – anyone who does will get free books and advance copies of new material in exchange for reviews and critique… Are you interested? If so, leave a note here, or drop me a line directly to ehcarpenter@gmail.com

So, that’s it for my goals! How did you do with yours?

I hope everyone has had a great weekend, and is all set for another productive week!

A la prochaine!

Edward

#ROW80 Update from a #Warzone!

Everyone smile for the camera! 
Oh, wait, Marines don't smile...

A quiet week in some ways here, a very busy one in others!

Writing awards and orders, finishing up one International Relations class, and preparing to teach another, and taking a 3-day-a-week French class via online video-linked classroom (thanks, Special Operations Command!) so as is often the case, I’m struggling to make time to write, let alone publish or promote!

That said, I have gotten a little bit more done on Steven Pressfield’s “The Warrior Ethos”: One Marine Officer’s Critique & Counterpoint. Shooting for publication before the end of the month, so lots to do with that! And I have to finish the final proofs for my interview in Laurence Raw and Robert G. Dryden’s upcoming book Global Jane Austen: Pleasure, Passion, and Possessiveness in the Jane Austen Community.

So, I trust you’ll pardon the very brief goals update:

WRITING

- Posted Chapter 29 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham…

- Wrote 1500 words on my critique of Pressfield’s The Warrior Ethos.

PUBLISHING
- Put out the 16th issue of the Squadron newsletter – Mother’s Day edition!

FITNESS
- Added 10 lbs to my Bench Press…

- Bodyfat down to 13.4% - next stop, 12%

- Scored 284 (out of 300) on my latest Physical Fitness Test!

LANGUAGE
- Got in 5 solid hours of French study this week, 4 of those in a class taught all in French… Je suis un bien eleve!

NETWORKING
- Found a couple of people interested in my Core Group! Still looking for more, though – anyone joins will get free books and advance copies of new material in exchange for reviews and critique… Are you interested? If so, leave a note here, or drop me a line directly to ehcarpenter@gmail.com

So, that’s it for my goals! How did you do with yours?

I hope everyone has had a great weekend, and is all set for another productive week!

A la prochaine! 
Edward