One of my goals for 2014 is to focus on what I’ve accomplished instead of what I’ve failed to get done. So the last day of each month I’m going to write a Monthly Roundup of Accomplishments.

This will do two things:

1) Keep track of the things I’ve completed, so at the end of the year I can look back and see all the wonderful things I’ve done.

2) Keep me thinking in the positive instead of the negative. I do do a lot of things, but I often dismiss my accomplishments. It’s always a good feeling to sit back on a regular basis and give yourself a pat on the shoulder for the things you did. I almost never do that; I hope to change this in 2014.

So what did I accomplish in January?

I wrote 11 posts for this blog:

• How did I observe life differently in 2013?
• Putting Mail Chip to Work for Me
• FILM: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
• Diane Tibert’s Facebook Page
• Updating Published eBooks
• Free eBook: Conflicted Hearts by D. G. Kaye
• Craft Show Lesson Almost Forgotten
• Gender Swopping
• Creating a Clean Manuscript
• Hands on the Wheel
• Publishing 101: Introduction

I wrote and edited five Roots to the Past Genealogy columns. Besides the usual Tuesday snippet of the current week’s newspaper column, I added five posts to Roots to the Past Blog:

• 2014 The Year of the Memory Challenge
• Past and Present—History & Recipes
• Fact and Fiction Make an Interesting Mix
• The Big Newfoundland Book
• From Here to Street Level

I completed writing the draft for the novella Fowl Summers Night. This was one of my goals listed in my 2014 Challenge. So, now I have 1 out of 5 completed in the Writing Projects I Hope to Complete category.

Other writing related accomplishes that took place are:

• I created a MailChimp account to send a monthly newsletter to connect with readers and share unique information and news. It’s called Diane’s Enchanted Scriptorium. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
• I created a Diane Tibert Facebook page to post short snippets of things and links to interesting blog posts by others. This is where I’ve also been posting contests, call for submissions and writing-related events.
• I updated all my eBooks on Smashwords and Kindle to include current information on my recent publications and new links to where you can find me on the web.
• I attended one writers meeting where we discussed marketing, gender swopping, the Amazon Break-through Novel Award, which sex gets more action in the publishing world and other things. I wrote the Meeting Recap post for the East Hants Writers site to keep a record of what we discussed, as well as inform members who may not have been there (or who left early) of what happened. I also spent a little time updating the pages for members. I haven’t finished this yet, but it’s a start.
• I submitted the short story The Remaining Zest Within to the Antigonish Review to be considered for publication.
• I completed an Interview for Lynn Davidson over at Polilla Writes.
• I completed the details for Quarter Castle Publishing’s first short story writing contest, and launched it on the website. I also spent time promoting it on different sites.
• I resumed writing the novel When a Boy Becomes a Crow. There are currently 3,750 words written in the humourous story.
• I began working with a lovely author whose novel will be published in the next 18 months by Quarter Castle Publishing. More on this interesting project in the months to come. No, I’m not yet open for submissions, but…sometimes things come to me.
• I worked for a week and a half without my reading glasses. I had dropped them on the floor, breaking the lens. The shop said they wouldn’t be back for seven to ten business days. During the nine days without them, I either enlarged the Word document screen to 140% or used the $3 reading glasses from the Dollar Store.

So that’s what has kept me busy during the past 31 days. Along the way I squeezed in answering email, reading blogs by others, a little research, feeding the kids and the animals, shovelling snow (and we had a lot; I think there were two blizzards; thanks, boys, for shovelling the paths with me), ‘bussing’ the kids to and from school during the bus strike, tending to my sick middle child while he had the flu and holding a meeting for the photography members in our local 4-H group (I’m Photography Leader).

With the Publishing 101 Challenge set to start February 3rd, I have a feeling next month will be no less busy.