A Day Late, A Few Goals Short

The title of this post is probably not a good sign of things to come, but I’m going to take it as an admission of failure to hold myself to task, and an encouragement to do better next time.

It’s been a busy week, as you can read about in more detail here, if you like, but for a quick recap of what did (and didn’t) happen on the ROW front, here goes:

WRITING

- Drafted one chapter of the The Perfidious Mister Wickham 

- I didn’t post a ROW80 update on Wednesday as planned, and am obviously a bit late in posting at all this week!

- I did work on my boat this week, but didn’t post on the GypsyDangerously blog on Tuesday as I’d planned… Must do better next time!

FITNESS

- Took another two hours of classes towards my Black Belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, and got enough exercise in to break even, but not really build toward my other goals.

LANGUAGE

- Completed one DuoLingo class in French and two in Indonesian…

SOCIAL

- I took 8 Marines down to Hilton Head to participate in an Ethics Symposium and met a lot of interesting people, did some great workshops, and heard some amazing speakers, but nothing that was “ROW80 Goal-related”.

NETWORKING

- Got 42 new Twitter followers (now at 922, just 78 more to go!)

NEW ECONOMIC

- So, this is where I could use some help from my friends in ROW80 – please check out my Patreon project - of course it would be great if you decided to become a patron, but if not, some Tweets or Facebook shares would help me get the word out and achieve my goal to get 48 more patrons before the end of the Round! 

That said, please feel free to ask ME to do anything quick, useful, and relatively inexpensive that would help promote your current project or cause!

OK, so, that’s it for this update – see you on Twitter, Facebook, and in the comments block!

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.

Facebook Promotion Payoff and a #ROW80 Update!

Adopting a Napoleonesque pose
at the Marine Corps Ball

A busy week gone by, and the little checklists have so far paid dubious dividends… Even the simple things, like “Drink 2 liters of water” are going undone, often as not. Of course, it was an odd week, what with an impromptu send-off party for a fellow officer headed to Afghanistan and my squadron’s Marine Corps Birthday Ball on Thursday night, but even so!

That said, I did get a good bit of writing done, so salvaged that end of things… I also did a little experiment, putting $5.00 of promotional money toward the Facebook post on Chapter 34 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham… The result? So far, with only about $2.50 spent, over 1000 people have seen the Facebook post, and over 100 have visited the book page – an all-time high!

With the book running an estimated 45-50 chapters, about $50 should theoretically bring in quite a lot of potential readers and future customers. Worth the price of admission? I think so, but does anyone else have experience with this feature on Facebook?

WRITING

- Posted Chapter 34 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham…

- Posted this ROW80 Update!

- Put up a new post on my GypsyDangerously blog…

- Wrote most of Chapter 35 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham.

- Wrote about a third of a non-fiction piece for Foreign Affairs.

FITNESS

- Attended yoga class on Saturday

- Tracked down a local rugby club to play for.

NEW ECONOMIC

- Well, old economic – put in an offer on a pair of little rental condos in Hilton Head!

- Reduce my personal carbon footprint – I got the electric motor and battery for my little dinghy, and took her out for a spin – read the wholestory here!

So, another somewhat useful week, but lots to do still – will put the little checklists to the test this coming week, where my big goal is to get Ho B-52 published and promoted!

Wish me luck!

Edward

Another Sunday #ROW80 Update!

One of the medals for an award
that I wrote up this week...

So, it’s been a week or more since my last update… Bad author! Bad!

But I’ve accomplished a few things while I’ve been running silent, running deep…

WRITING

- Posted Chapter 33 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham…

- Posted this ROW80 Update!

- Put up a new post on my GypsyDangerously blog…

I’ve also been accepted as a contributor to the blog for The Marine Corps Gazette (the professional journal of the United States Marine Corps) and my sister has asked me to help co-author an article for Foreign Affairs.

On top of all that, I’ve been busy writing at work – a Meritorious Service Medal nomination (3 pages) and a Legion of Merit nomination (4 pages) – an author’s work is never done!

SOCIAL

- Pulled off a bucket list adventure racing NASCAR’s around the short track up in Myrtle Beach (pictures to follow one of these days!)

NETWORKING

- Joined the national Romance Writers of America (RWA) – now I just need to join the local chapter… If this seems like an odd move, it’s because The Perfidious Mister Wickham has elements that will appeal to the same readers that RWA authors generally cater to…

NEW ECONOMIC

- Join Air B&B – complete! Now I just need to get my little vessel ship-shape so I can start bringing in guests from time to time!

- Reduce my personal carbon footprint – I found a lovely little dinghy that comes with a sail, oars, and the mounting block for a little solar-powered electric motor that I plan to install – so, for the cost of about 8 tanks of gas, I should have carbon-free waterborne transportation to work here very shortly!

So, a vaguely productive period of time, but there’s still a lot more to be done in the last 6 weeks of this Round of Words. I’ll be quite honest that I’ve been having difficulty meeting some of my goals, so to ensure they don’t fall through the cracks, I’ll be creating 6 weeks worth of little checklists and making sure that I’m marking something relevant off every day!

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

Sunday ROW80 Update - Goals!

Thanks to everyone (Steph, Shan, and Gloria) who made suggestions on my last post regarding their approaches to setting goals...

I shall indeed plan to build on my past success (French, physical fitness) and work on areas where I didn't do so well last time around.

But, as usual, I'm going to build my goal set in a format that should appear familiar to anyone who's followed my past ROW80 adventures.

WRITING

- Post one Chapter of The Perfidious Mister Wickham each week.

- Post at least one ROW80 update

- Post at least once on my GypsyDangerously blog

- Finish The Artillerists (short story)

- Finish Ho B-52 (short story)

- Finish Merry Christmas, Mister Washington (short story)

PUBLISHING

- Publish Ho B-52 (short story)

- Start the Parasol Books imprint

FITNESS

- Run two 5K races

- One yoga class per week (flexibility)

LANGUAGE

- Teach French for 2 hours per week

- Teach Indonesian for 2 hours per week

SOCIAL

- Begin dating

- Go on 5 “bucket list” adventures

NETWORKING

- Spend 5 hour per week on Social Media (Twitter, FB, blogs, etc...)

- Join Lowcountry RWA

NEW ECONOMIC

- Join Air B&B

- Reduce my personal carbon footprint

It's an interesting set of goals, for an interesting time. So, I do hope you'll join me here occasionally to see how I progress through the next few months, as winter comes to the Lowcountry and my cozy little boat rocks gently at her moorings.

A Return to the ROW...

Thanks, Yoda... I'll get right on that!

When one is a writer, one is obliged to do certain things, one of them being to write.

This can be somewhat troubling at the end of a 15-hour workday in a week where that has been, in fact, one of the shorter days - when you come home to a boat that is simply a wreck (figuratively speaking) with company due to arrive in 48 hours, and still laboring under the malaise that results from a once-a-year cold...

Thank Goddess for a Round of Words!

And thank Goddess for calendars, which are an apparently recent invention which, properly utilized, might actually have resulted in my beginning this Round on the 7th along with everyone else, rather than fashionably late as I am doing today.

So, ahem, with little further ado, my goals. Actually, a glass of wine, and then the goals. Ah, better.

Actually, I believe I shall start this ROW with a recap of my previous round, since it has been just a while since last I wrote a ROW80 post - June 9th, to be precise, and it is already October. So, I've been away for a whole Round, (four months to the day) and what did I get done?

Well, not too much, and then again, a bit... I returned home from Afghanistan, took on a new and challenging job leading a little over 100 Marines, flew to Europe to visit my dear sister Kaiti in Geneva, bought a boat on which to live, (you can read all about my adventures in the life aquatic on my new blog www.gypsydangerously.blogspot.com) celebrated a 40th birthday aboard a cruise ship surrounded by nearly all of my 8 sisters and 3 brothers, met my new niece, Astrid, and received the following note from the editor of a distinguished military journal to which I had submitted an article:

Thank you for submitting your article on the Marine Corps’ Diversity Taskforce.  I have one question.  Are your really proposing that the Marine Corps resemble the gender demographic of the United States and be composed of 50% women?  Or is this a thinly veiled satire in the vein of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal?” 

To which, of course, I quickly replied:

While I am no stranger to satire and appreciate the comparison to Swift's masterpiece, the observation that the Corps would be different and improved if the demographics of female Marines more accurately reflected that of the general population was quite serious, etc, etc...

Apparently this answer satisfied the editor, (a retired Colonel) who observed that he enjoyed printing "contrarian views" and looked forward to seeing what sort of comments the article elicited from my contemporaries and seniors. I shall know next month, I am told...

But, back to last Round's goals... On the literary front, I was supposed to post one chapter of The Perfidious Mister Wickham each week, write a chapter of my Learning Indonesian book each week, and finish three short stories; The Artillerists, Merry Christmas, Mister Washington, and Ho B-52.

I was supposed to start a publishing imprint (Parasol Books), publish a collection of short stories, increase my strength and decrease my bodyfat, and study French for five hours a week, all the while improving my social networking.

Well.

I did get proficient enough in French to get paid for it by the military, and I did manage to put out a weekly update to The Perfidious Mister Wickham. I accomplished nothing with the Learning Indonesian book, and similarly made little progress with finishing any of my short stories.

Fitness goals were met, social media goals, not so much.

Which leaves me to contemplate what I should strive for in the next 78 days...

Suggestions?

The Final Countdown in Afghanistan - a #ROW80 Update

It's the Final Countdown...

So, I missed last two week’s ROW80 updates, and missed publishing chapters of The Perfidious Mister Wickham. I’m behind on finishing up Steven Pressfield’s “The Warrior Ethos”: One Marine Officer’s Critique & Counterpoint, and as for my other various writing goals – nothing! It would be easy to throw up my hands and say “Such is life in a combat zone,” but believe it or not, I’ve actually been doing a very great deal of writing, it’s just that not all of it aligns with my personal goals. 

Much of it is work-related – it’s important to recognize superior performance, and since my last check-in I’ve written up three Meritorious Service Medals, six Navy Achievement Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and ghost-written a Bronze Star Medal. I’ve also drafted a 2000-word op-ed on diversity in the Marine Corps, published 3 issues of the squadron newsletter, and done a bit of work on my ROW80 goals, as listed below…

So why the retro-hair-metal picture? Well, besides the fact that Europe rocks, it's official - we're counting down the weeks (soon to be days) before redeploying back to the States - which is great, but it just means there will be that much more work to do. Thus, I have to be realistic about how much I'll be able to do as a writer - the answer? Probably not that much. 

Before the goals update, I do have some other exciting news to report; I’ve been asked to co-author a screenplay on a most interesting Victorian character, and am now planning to release the first volume of The Perfidious Mister Wickham as a novella in early August, while I finish the book in its current online-serial format and re-release the whole novel next year.

 

And now for a very brief goals update:

WRITING

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

- Wrote an Op-Ed: The Marine Corps's Diversity Task Force: Looking for the Right Answers, Asking the Wrong Questions. Now to find a publisher... Thinking the New York Times "At War" blog, or possibly the Opinion page. Any suggestions?

FITNESS
- Did 225 lbs on the squat, and 275 lbs on the deadlift in a recent weightlifting competition – adding 80 lbs to my previous score from just 6 weeks ago!

- Bodyfat is down to 11% - so I'm doing well in that department.

LANGUAGE
- Got in 5 solid hours of French study this week… Je suis un bien eleve!

NETWORKING
- Still looking for more – 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

With just 11 days left in this ROW, how am I looking for the original goal set? I’ve failed to make any progress in short story writing or publishing, or to advance with my Learning Indonesian book. I haven’t started the “Parasol Books imprint” or gotten much done in networking. I’m probably averaging closer to 4 hours of French study per week than 5, but I am on track for my bodyfat goals, (16% -->11%) and I have added an average of 13 lbs per week to my bench press – the goal was only five!

I'd like to say that a big push in these final weeks of the ROW will put me over the top, but... No. I'm practical enough to realize that it's unlikely to happen. That said, I hope everyone has had a great weekend, is all set for another productive week, and is doing better than I am at attaining their goals this round.

A la prochaine!

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

Busy Week in Afghanistan... a #ROW80 Update!



Sometimes it gets noisy here...

Well, the Spring Fighting Season has arrived, so this has been a very busy week.

Had to fill in for the Commanding Officer for a few days, and had the unexpected pleasure of a visit from an old friend who was touring Afghanistan with a General – on top of that, I’m preparing to shepherd my International Relations class through their final exam, so not a lot of time left for writing, publishing, or promoting, I’m afraid!

I ran a few free days on KDP Select for Happily Ever After and the German translation, Und Wenn Sie Nicht Gestorben Sind, giving away about two hundred copies that will, with a bit of luck, result in a few more reviews and some sales of my other stories… If anyone reads German and would be interested in a free reviewer's copy, let me know!

A quick review of my goals from the start of ROW80 reveals that I’m doing fine with the fitness, language study, and am actually ahead on The Perfidious Mister Wickham project, but am falling behind on the writing and publication of my stock in trade, short stories. I will make an effort to get back into the saddle on short stories this coming week – we shall see if that works!

So, here’s a brief goals update:

WRITING

- Posted Chapter 28 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham… A wedding in St. Clements!

- Finished and sent in to the editor my review of Torture and State Violence in the United States for the Air Force Research Institute.

PUBLISHING
- Put out the 15th issue of the Squadron newsletter – 11 pages of print & pictures!

FITNESS
- Added 10 lbs to my Bench Press…

- Bodyfat down to 14% - eating really healthy, not as much cardio this week as I’d like, but shooting for 13% next week!

- Did 20 pull-ups (max score!) and feeling good for an upcoming Physical Fitness test next Saturday

LANGUAGE
- Only a few solid hours of French study this week… Je ne pas bien eleve!

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 bientot!

Edward

Windy Sunday #ROW80 Update from Afghanistan!

My Weekly Squadron Publishing Project

Still waiting for the kick-off of the Spring Fighting Season, but am making the most of the relative quiet time.

My days still start with a long run at 5:30 am, do not end until 11:00 pm, and are filled with a variety of work-related activities, in amongst which I squeeze in some writing, studying, and extra physical training. 

I have finished my critique of The Warrior Ethos and am now engaged in writing the second half of this book – a counterpoint suggesting a more suitable philosophy for the modern warrior. I look forward to being done with the writing in a few more days, and then being able to turn to editing and publishing around the second week of May.

Until that’s done, I don’t expect to do any of my planned work on Learning Indonesian or the Parasol Books imprint to get done, but will be getting back to work on those as soon as my critique & counterpoint of Pressfield’s book is published. Looking back at my original goals post, I notice that I’m a bit behind on the short-story writing and publishing that I’m supposed to be doing – but there are only so many hours in the day!

So, here’s a brief goals update:

WRITING
- Wrote 3 chapters of the Perfidious Mister Wickham…

- Posted Chapter 27 of The Perfidious Mister Wickham… Darcy arrives!

- Wrote 8 more pages of Stephen Pressfield’s “The Warrior Ethos”: One Marine Officer’s Critique and Counterpoint…

PUBLISHING
- Put out the 14th issue of the Squadron newsletter – 9 pages of print & pictures!

FITNESS
- Added 15 lbs to my Bench Press…

- Bodyfat back to 15% - the rollercoaster is headed down again! Hopefully it stays pointed in that direction and I can report 14% next week!

- Did 19 pull-ups (one away from the max score) in a contest, and ran a 23 minute 3-mile race. Getting stronger & faster every day!

LANGUAGE
- Completed my requisite 5 hours of language study, donc,  je deviens plus mieux tout jour! (Ou si j’espere!)

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