High summer is here. So how did I do with my targets during July?
• I’ve now completed the line edit of Breathing Space and have also finished the timeline edit of Running Out of Space, Dying for Space and am on the last lap with Breathing Space.
Challenge – To have The Sunblinded trilogy published during 2016. Still on track…
• I had a great reading month in July, reading 15 books in all and reviewing all but one of them – and 
that was only because it was the next in a series I’d recently covered and felt I did not have a great deal more to say. There were some excellent books in amongst that selection. I very much enjoyed Louisa Hall’s thought provoking Speak and Jane Lythell’s Woman of the Hour was a strong start to an entertaining, original series – however the two books that were outstanding reads for me this month were N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season and Foz Meadows’ An Accident of Stars.
Challenge – To review a minimum of 100 books during 2016 and widen my reading to include more authors new to me. I wasn’t expecting to be reading quite so much – but as I’m still editing, I find I need to keep plunging into other worlds to keep my head straight. This takes the number of books read so far to 91 books, so this challenge is clearly nailed.
• My one-day Summer Surgery course on Friday 22nd July went really well – I’m glad I have planned an identical course next year. Both my Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon courses starting in September are now full.
Challenge – To have at least two of the four courses I hope to run next year planned and written by the end of the summer holiday. Yes… this should be doable.
There are also a couple of my 2016 Shoot for Moon challenges that I am working on – but right now I’m not saying anymore, as I don’t want to jinx things… It’s exciting and terrifying in equal measure and hopefully I will be in a position to fully update everyone in due course. I wrote just over 20,500 words on my blog in July and just under 6,500 words on teaching admin. I also wrote a number of query letters and synopses which took my overall writing total to just over 29,000 words for the month. This takes my yearly total to just under 164,000 words. How are you getting on with your August reading targets? Do you find the weather affects your reading habits?
Brainfluff 
Your reading pace stuns me from month to month, Sarah. I can only do 4 or 5 books each month – and that’s faster than what my pace was a year or two ago. Maybe it’s because I make more time for reading now…?
Anyways, you’ve done an amazing job with your goals this year. And I wish you the best with the goals you couldn’t say much about, either. I think I remember what some of your other goals were… and if it’s one of those, then I’ve got my fingers crossed for you.
Thank you! Very early days yet – but exciting, nonetheless…
I admire the amount of books you’ve read. At the moment, I’m still struggling to finish the one I’ve started a month ago (or so it feels), and it definitely slows me down. But I know that if I put it down, I’m not going back to it, so I’m going through it…. SLOOOOOWLY.
Also, congratulations of writing almost 30k words, it means you’re close to that 1k words a day I’m doing: and at the same time you read and edit more. I’m stunned! 🙂
I don’t sleep all that much…:)
That explains a lot 😛
I’ve been actually sleeping a lot more now which is a nice change after the constant 4-5h a night and not getting enough rest. It also helps with my weight loss, so I don’t feel that guilty about it… But then, losing a night’s sleep over a book was always so pleasant. 🙂
There are a number of reasons why I’ve become an insomniac, but the major one is intractable. So I’ve determined not to get upset or miserable over it – nowanights I refuse to lie in bed, staring into the dark with my head swirling with dark thoughts. Instead, I get up and start work or read. Much better! And over the years, I’ve got to the point where I can function perfectly well for a week or more on between 3-5 hours a night. I then often have a couple of nights when I sleep for unbroken block of 8 hours or more before reverting back, again. It’s not a situation I’d recommend, but it’s what I live with. I think it helps that my mother and sister also have similar sleep patterns and we regularly skype each other in wee small hours:).