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April 2025 Writing Stats

In April, I wrote 5629 words, which was pretty decent, given that I was really very sick the first 2/3 of the month. Of those words,

  • 432 were for this blog (2 short posts),
  • 28 were for my journal,
  • 3528 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for the Open Door Writing Group and one for the Tyler Public Libraryโ€™s Try It Tuesday Class),
  • 1342 were on various social media accounts,
  • 47 were poetry (1 poem),
  • and 0 were in short stories (0 pieces of flash fiction).

There were 18 days that I didnโ€™t write anything, but this month included so much illness and then also Easter, spring Holy Days, my son’s birthday, and my birthday. I also havenโ€™t heard back from any of the submissions Iโ€™ve sent out lately, but I should hear back any time now.

As for reading, I read parts of:

  • Sober on a Drunk Planet: Giving Up Alcohol by Sean Alexander (e-book; non-fiction)
  • The Magic Words: Simple Poetry Prompts that Unlock the Creativity in Everyone by Joseph Fansano (e-book; non-fiction)
  • Like Literally Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English by Valerie Fridland (hardcover; non-fiction)
  • How to Read Poetry Like a Professor: A Quippy Guide to Sonorous Verse by Thomas C. Foster (e-book; non-fiction)
  • Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper (hardcover; non-fiction)
  • The Carrying: Poems by Ada Limon (e-book; poetry)
  • Anti-Slavery Poems, Volume 1 by John Greenleaf Whittier (e-book; poetry)
  • Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages by Gaston Dorren (hardcover; non-fiction)

โ€ฆand I finished reading:

  • The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle by T.L. Huchu (e-book; fantasy)
  • Legacy of Arniston House by T. L. Huchu (e-book; fantasy)
  • Dearly by Margaret Atwood (hardcover AND e-book; poetry)
  • Wizard of Most Wicked Ways by Charlie Holmberg (audiobook; fantasy)
  • The Right to Write by Julia Cameron (re-read trade paperback; non-fiction)
  • Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (re-read trade paperback; non-fiction)
  • Knit-Fix: Problem Solving for Knitters by Lisa Karths (hardcover; non-fiction)
  • Japanese Knitting Stitches by Yoko Hatta (oversized paperback; non-fiction)
  • Sweet Romance by Carrie Cox (beta read it twice – romance)

So I have finished 26 books so far this year (and read parts of another 12, mostly for research, but also a couple of things Iโ€™ve had to mark DNF.).

March 2025 Stats

I hesitated in posting this on April Foolโ€™s Day, but please know that this post is in earnest. ๐Ÿ™‚

In March, I wrote 21,346 words, which boggled the mind. Of those words,

  • 473 were for this blog (5 short posts),
  • 1,564 were for my journal,
  • 15,562 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for East Texas Writers Guild and one for the Open Door Writing Group and one for the Tyler Public Libraryโ€™s Try It Tuesday Class),
  • 1,355 were on various social media accounts,
  • 894 were poetry (6 poems),
  • and 1,716 were in short stories (11 pieces of flash fiction).

There were 8 days that I didnโ€™t write anything, but this month included traveling for Spring Break and two out of town Winter Guard competitions for my kid. I also havenโ€™t heard back from any of the submissions Iโ€™ve sent out lately, but all the submitting guidelines said I probably wouldnโ€™t hear back until mid-April or later, so Iโ€™m not worried about that yet.

As for reading, I read parts of:

  • Concessions by Libby James (e-book; thriller)
  • Agatha Arch is Afraid of Everything by Kristin Bair (e-book; mystery)
  • The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach edited by Robin Behn and Chase Twichell
  • How to Read Poetry Like a Professor: A Quippy Guide to Sonorous Poetry by Thomas Foster (paperback; non-fiction)

โ€ฆand I finished reading:

  • If Women Rose Rooted: The Power of the Celtic Woman by Sharon Blackie (audiobook; non-fiction)
  • Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T. L. Huchu (e-book; fantasy)
  • Such a Thing to Behold by Umar Turaki (e-book; fantasy)
  • The Midwife (volume 1) by Jennifer Worth (e-book; non-fiction)
  • The Truth of Me by Patricia MacLachlan (e-book; childrenโ€™s lit)
  • Storyteller: 100 Letter Poems by Morgan Harper Nichols (e-book; poetry)
  • Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (hardcover; poetry)
  • The Poetry Home Repair Manual by Ted Kooser (paperback; non-fiction)

So I have finished 16 books so far this year (and read parts of another 8, mostly for research, but also a couple of things Iโ€™ve had to mark DNF.).

I feel like Iโ€™ve finally hit my stride with this year, so of course the next couple of months are going to be ridiculously busy in my personal life, as I have graduating high school senior in my household and another kid whoโ€™s applying to law schools and may need help moving. Wheeeeee!

February 2025 Stats

In February, it felt like I had written practically nothing, so it was sort of a surprise to find out that I wrote 13,543 words. Of those words,

  • 353 were for this blog (three short posts),
  • 3536 were for my journal,
  • 7203 were for handouts, scripts, and slides for lessons (one for East Texas Writers Guild and one for the Open Door Writing Group),
  • 1629 were on various social media accounts,
  • 421 were poetry (one short poem and one long),
  • and 401 were in short stories (two pieces of flash fiction).

There were only four days that I didn’t write anything. I was sick for a lot of the month. So, I didn’t get any poems or short stories submitted anywhere.

As for reading, I read parts of:

  • Sound and Form in Modern Poetry by Harvey Gross (paperback; non-fiction)
  • Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (hardcover; poetry)
  • Storyteller: 100 Poem Letters by Moran Harper Nichols (e-book; poetry)
  • A Poet’s Guide to Poetry by Mary Kinzie (paperback; non-fiction)
  • If Women Rose Rooted: The Power of the Celtic Woman by Sharon Blackie (audiobook; non-fiction)
  • The Sounds of Poetry: A Brief Guide by Robert Pinsky (paperback; non-fiction)

I finished reading:

  • The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest edited by Ellen Datlow (e-book; fiction short stories)
  • The Wonder Engine (Clocktaur War #2) by T. Kingfisher (audiobook; fantasy)
  • Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree (paperback; fantasy)
  • On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity by Daniel Bowman, Jr. (e-book; non-fiction)

PS. It is totally do-able to read Legends and Lattes #1 AFTER you’ve read Legends and Lattes #2 (Bookshelves and Bonedust) if, like me, you didn’t know it was a series.

More Speaking Engagements – Calligraphy and Crochet!

I’ve been asked to lead a a couple of sessions of the Tyler Public Library’s “Try It Tuesday!” programs. On March 11, 2025, I’ll be teaching a beginner calligraphy lesson and on April 8, 2025, I’ll be teaching a beginner crochet lesson. Both sessions are free to the public. They run from 5:30-7:30pm in the 3rd floor Makerspace at the Tyler Public Library. Hope to see some of y’all there! ๐Ÿ™‚