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Testing the waters to see if there is any interest... Here's my idea (and not entirely sure it hasn't been done here before). I'd like to start a co-op story writing thread that mimics the class activity I would do in grade school where the teacher had us start a story, pass the paper, and keep going round until the teacher called time. Then, we took turns reading the crazy awesome tales we fashioned with the help of our peers. I'm no poet laureate, but I thought it would be great fun to get you nerds involved in a similar activity. Let's see what epic greatness we can come up with? If interested, please respond to sign up. Once sign ups are closed, I will use a RNG to decide the writing order and post it (so that everyone gets a turn, and we aren't all responding to the same story post at the same time). If you are number one, let the story begin! Once the writer before you posts his or her story segment, you are free to continue the tale with your work. Take as little or as much time as you like posting your bit! The sky is the limit, but you are confined to a single post (so fit the sky and more in that one post!). SIGN UP FOR ROUND ONE CLOSED! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN IN ON FUTURE ROUNDS! Current Posting Order: gwenhwyfer seahound jitterstheclown red1263 klaymates ghost alienjenn vengefulpear

Work in Progress Storyline to be inserted here My commitment for 2014 is to participate in seven consecutive NF challenges with the following definite aim: To overcome my current limitations (physical disability, bad habits, faulty beliefs and attitudes) and attain a high level of fitness and a healthy body weight, through a strategic combination of healthy eating, targeted physical activity, and systems design. ~ My Aim is Driven by My Motivation ~ I resolve to not die with my best dreams and work still inside me For I can bring beauty, joy, and healing into the world through my art, music, and writing ~ To accomplish My Aim, I must pursue My Main Quest with drive, determination, and discipline ~ "I am as unstoppable as the Shadow Lion!" This is my new battle cry when tempted to skip training, indulge in sugary foods, or slack on my practicing... Day by day, I plan to gamify my challenge and draw inspiration from the best qualities of my hero and literary creation, Ariel ha' Cathach, the "Shadow Lion." This will be a year of modeling my fitness, health and creative pursuits on that "ranger's ranger" who's kickass fit, doesn't take "No" or "You can't" for an answer, never gives up on her main objective, and always, always, always follows her heart. She is utterly committed to her friends and family, and believes in herself and her mission. Exactly how I want to be when I grow up! To achieve my goals, I have broken everything down into SMART goals with scoring in a detailed, and rather lengthy, Plan of Action to be posted in my Battle Log. A summary of the key components follows: 1) Eat Right, Lose Weight CON-4 FOOD SUCCESS PLAN 1 ) Accountability - Log, photos, measurements. 2 ) Specific Tactics - Plan meals, try new recipes, batch cook and make ahead. 3 ) Disaster Management - Carry food with me when on the road, have some planned "free meals," go for 80/20 clean/free. I am not setting a goal that defines a certain number of pounds or percent body fat to lose this challenge. Those have not been helpful and I do not know yet how my body will react to my new crossfit regimen. Instead, I am going to trust that behavior changes will move me closer to my ultimate goals and see how far those will take me this challenge. I do have a long-term goal in mind, but will wait and gather information before considering a new deadline. 2) Become a sleek, strong, and supple ranger with lots of stamina STR-1 STA-3 DEX-1 FITNESS SUCCESS PLAN 1 ) Accountability - Log, class/coach/crossfit 2 ) Habit Reinforcement - Workouts at regular times and places, daily mobility work 3 ) Recovery - Keep to sleep schedule and get enough protein and calories overall, keep perspective and don't over load 3) Build effective, efficient, and sustainable systems to achieve my goals WIS-2 CHA-1 BASIC SYSTEMS SUCCESS PLAN 1 ) Accountability - Participate actively in the Renaissance Rebels accountabilibuddy team 
2 ) Productivity - Continue my solutions from previous challenges on a daily basis, use checklist/spreadsheet for tracking, create larger strategic framework, use various methods as needed to maintain focus and keep stress in check 3 ) Disaster Management - Create a written fallback plan with creative solutions for tough times. Front load challenge activities early in the day and the week. Fall down seven times, get back up eight. 4 ) Evaluate & Iterate - Track progress daily, evaluate progress weekly. Reward good behavior; learn from the bad. Notice what promotes good behavior - do more of that! 4) 


Level Up Life Goal(s)
 WIS-2 CHA-1 CREATIVITY SUCCESS PLAN 1) Art - Start and complete drawing for mom's birthday. 2) Craft - Finish knitting projects already started and not done (socks, shrug, pillow). Post progress pics. 3) Music - 
Practice regularly (still determining amount and pieces). Complete the goal started challenge-before-last: Learn one new (or complete one "half-done but abandoned") song per instrument and have each memorized and performance-ready by end of challenge. The songs don't have to be long or terribly advanced repertoire, but they do have to engage my interest and be something that would be pleasing to an audience. Guitar, Harp, Violin, Piano, Voice (may double with one of the other instruments). 
Share with accountabilibuddies. 4) Writing - WRITE. Write a lot. Write at least 20 minutes a day, 6 days per week, even if crazy busy, tired, don't feel like it, blocked, yada, yada, yada. Then write some more. Preferably on the novel, but personal journal counts, too. Write 18,000 words by the end of the challenge.
 The specific, measurable steps that correspond to the above goals and objectives (as detailed in my Battle Log) will be graded with the standard A, B, C, D, or F system using the usual percentages.

Hi. I'm ytterbium, or Greg if you prefer, and I'm excited to get into the next challenge. (The first was really good, but the holidays/between-challenge time) hasn't been so good. My main quest: I've got plenty, but for purposes of this challenge (and probably the next couple), let's go with this: I've signed up for a Warrior Dash on June 14. I'd like to rock it. Unfortunately, I don't have any kind of a gauge for that time-wise. But at least, I'd like to do the race capably -- i.e., successfully running the full thing at a steady but challenging pace and successfully completing all of the obstacles. (If anyone wants to make time goal recommendations: I did a 5K run last summer in about 28:20. That race was pretty flat, whereas this one is supposedly "moderately hilly." I'm planning to be at least about 40 pounds lighter for the Warrior Dash than I was for the 5K. I'm hypothesizing 45 minutes as a goal time, but I have no clue whether that might be realistic or not.) My motivation: My nephew was born last year. I don't particularly want him to know fat Uncle Greg. More generally, I'd like him to look at me and my life as an example to follow. (Or at least learn from. I mean, I sure wouldn't wish the journalism major on him.) My goals for this challenge: These might change by the time the challenge actually starts, but my current plans are: 1. Perform 3 consecutive full pull-ups. I currently can't do any, but I'm close -- about an inch away from getting my chin over the bar. Since I've never done one successfully, I'm not sure exactly how far away from the goal I am. I have a feeling I'll either beat the goal by a lot or miss it by a lot. Grading: 4 points for strength possible. A: 3 pull-ups. B: 2 pull-ups. C: 1 pull-up. D: No pull-ups, but practice done at least 4 times per week. (I really don't have anyplace in my apartment that is suitable, but my gym does -- it's usually, but not always, possible to use them before classes.) 2. Reduce my reliance on packaged and restaurant food. These can both be tough for me -- I live alone, and eating leftovers day after day isn't a favorite activity for me. I also work at home, and sometimes I eat out just to stop looking at my computer for a little while. I don't think it's terribly realistic to eliminate these practices, but I can cut back. The specific goal will involve cooking from scratch at least twice per week (or 4 meals per week), not including breakfasts, and eating out no more than 5 times per week. Grading: 4 points for wisdom possible. A: Cooking from scratch 2x per week and no more than 5 meals out. B: Missing goals by 1 meal total. C: Missing goals by 2 meals total. D: Missing goals by 3 meals total. F: Missing goals by 4 or more meals total. This'll have to be rated weekly and then averaged over the time of the challenge. 3. Continue the dietary improvements from my last challenge. In that one, my (reasonably successful) goal was to cut soda consumption to one per day and eating only when genuinely hungry, rather than because I'm angry, bored, stressed, or just want something. For this goal, I'll update it slightly: I get one day of rational treating (i.e., having a frozen yogurt or a couple cookies) per week for each of these goals. [Days where I eat all the food or drink all the pop are not ok.] Grading: 4 points total possible, 2 in dexterity and 2 in stamina. An A means that I held to the 1 treat per week limit for each. B: 1-2 extras over the challenge period. C: 3-4 extras over the challenge period. D: 5-8 extras. Life quest: Significant book progress. I published a book in 2013, and I'd like for that kind of thing to happen fairly regularly. I've got one in progress, and I'd like to add at least 15,000 words to it by the end of this challenge. Grading: 3 points for wisdom possible. A: 15,000 words total plus at least 2,000 words per week. B: 14,000 words plus 2,000 words per week at least 5 weeks. C: 13,000 words total plus 2,000 words per week at least 4 weeks. D: 10,000 words total plus 2,000 words per week at least 3 weeks. Comments/suggestions welcome.

I've been waiting for this... Main Quest: My main quest is to get healthy and develop the habits to stay that way. In the long run that includes blood pressure, blood glucose, liver function, blood lipids, and other markers of health. In the short term, I'm focused on weight and waist circumference in the hopes that all of the above will normalize on their own. Main Side Quests: M1. Track calories daily. M2. Some kind of workout three days a week. M3. Dermal health, including a mole check. Health within requires healthy skin! M4. Dental health - Find a dentist, get a checkup, floss daily, get one of those germ-killing mouthwashes, and upgrade the toothbrush with new batteries and spinning head. Life Quest: I write books, but 2013 was year of setbacks on the creative front. 2014 will be a year for turning things around. Life Side Quests: L1. Whip my manuscript into shape. L2. Find an agent. L3. Streamline my online presence and social media activity. L4. Set up school visits. That's a lot for six weeks, but should give me a good jump start in the new year.

So since there is an area here called the poets corner I thought it would be only fitting for there to be a place for people to share stories, or books they are writing without judgement. I personally am in the middle of writing two books (have a bit of writers block at the moment though). So come on in, pull up a chair, turn on your reading lamp, put some paper in your typewriter, and share your projects. If you want help with editing or anything just ask and Im sure people would be glad to help(myself included).

Main Quest: Apply to four Doctorate Programs. The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. College Application Season is here!! For the past four challenges (at least I believe four) I have been working on my applications for the four doctorate programs that I am applying to. The deadline is so close. November 15th. Goal #1) GRE: It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing. Such a little thing. How and Why: For every 90 mins that I am studying on the GRE, I will walk for 15-20 mins to refresh my mind. I can get so involved in study mode that I will forget to eat or eat without thinking. I want to prevent any weight gain that might occur in these two months. Grade: A = 38+B = 34C = 30D = 26F = 21 Stats: Sta +1, Con +1 Goal #2) Meditation: I'm not listening... I'm not listening... How and Why: Again, study mode is going to kill me if I don't learn to take care of myself. For this I decided that it's best that I learn how to meditate. I have such a hard time just doing breathing techniques. But I will do it in the morning and before I go to bed. Week 1 – 5 mins a day (2x) Week 2 – 7:30 mins a day (2x) Week 3 – 10 minutes a day (2x) Week 4 – 12:30 minutes a day (2x) Week 5 – 15 minutes a day (2x) Week 6 – 17:30 minutes a day (2x) Grade: A = 38+B = 34C = 30D = 26F = 21 Stats: Sta +1, Con +1, Wis +1 Goal #3) Eating: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? How and Why: I will be sticking to a 1800 calorie count a day. I use myfitnesspal.com so that will help. I don't want to get weight just because I will be less active during the next 8 weeks. Grade: A = 38+B = 34C = 30D = 26F = 21 Stats: Sta +1, Con +1, Cha +1 Life Goal) Applications: You are far too eager and curious for a hobbit. Most unnatural. - Read a book (Dex +1) - Take a practice GRE test every Sunday (Wis +.5 for each test) <--I am rocking this as I am taking a test every day! - Save $200 for applications (Con +1) <-- FUCK YEAH!!! FINISHED!! - E-mail Berkeley, Georgetown, Oxford and Brown (Cha +.25 for each) - Write Personal Statement (Str +.5) <-- FINISHED- Write Statement of Purpose (Str +.5) <-- FINISHED Dex +1, Wis +3, Con +1, Cha +1, Str +1

Do you write, paint, draw, play an instrument, sing, create yummy dishes, throw pottery, dance, act, sew, craft, do something else creative or combine some of the above? Rangers aren't just jacks-of-all-trades in fitness. A lot of us carry that trait over into our more creative work and play, too, either as "Renaissance" men and women when we create and succeed, or alternately as dabblers, dilettantes, and dreamers when we don't follow through on our projects. Let's inspire and encourage each other on to Leonardesque greatness in our fitness and our creative goals!

I am going to properly fill this in when I have a bit more time so this is more of a placeholder as I want to at least get my goals set down seeing as the challenge has now started. Goal 1: get back into the routine if doing bodyweight exercises 3 times a week and for this six weeks I'm going to focus on upping my endurance so high number of reps for smaller number of sets. My targets will be for 2 sets of 20 push-ups, 2sets of 20 assisted one leg squats, 2 sets of 20 assisted pull ups and 2sets of 15 hanging knee raises. Of course, if I hit those targets before 6 weeks, I will move on to harder variations but I'd like to be getting some good rep numbers in first. My actual success with the goal though will be measured by the number of workouts per week rather than reaching certain rep counts as I want this challenge to be more about building good habits rather than hitting specific progress goals. STR +3, STA +2 Goal 2: continuing my already running 28 day handstand challenge, I hope to go beyond holding a one minute wall handstand which is the focus of that and try to get to 2 minutes and make some attempts at possibly managing some freestanding handstands. Like goal 1 though, my real target is to practice every day and establish the habit of getting upside down on a regular basis. DEX +3, Goal 3: increase my supple strength by doing active stretching every day. My introduction to bodyweight was through the first Convict Conditioning book so following on from that I'm going to be doing the three active stretches of the Trifecta in the second book- the various progressions towards bridges, L-sits and twists which tie in nicely with my longer term goals of eventually doing handstands, bridges and L-sits. CON +2, STA +2, Goal 4: get creative by doing some writing of any kind for at least 5 minutes every day. Some days it'll maybe sketching out ideas for stories, maybe I'll experiment with some poetry, whatever takes my fancy- I just want to do something creative. It may well be that my writing for the day will be an update to this thread, I certainly plan to update more often than in previous challenges, so in future I'm going to attempt to be more entertaining or interesting with my updates. I don't know how that'll end up or if there will be any kind of style running throughout them but I do hope that I'll have fun finding out. CHA +3 I'll try to do a bit more of a thorough explanation tomorrow, listing how I'll measure things and what I'll count as successes or failures and I might even try to find a way to link my title with what I'm actually doing as at the moment it's just really a mildly amusing misquotation of Spider-man rather than actually having anything to do with my goals. P.s. In future I'll also spell check before I post too!

We are the Renaissance Rebels... We're having a Creative Revolution and you're invited! Do you have a creative quest among your challenge goals? Then join this ragtag, eccentric group of nerds and level up your health and fitness habits and your creativity. Sure, that's a lot of balls to juggle over the course of six weeks, but it's a lot easier and more fun when you've got buddies! This is the Renaissance Rebels second challenge. You can check out last challenge's thread here and if it looks like fun, signup on the Cross Guild page and post a reply below to introduce yourself. We're happy to have you! Let's rock this challenge together! daggart - prepare to a half-marathon Devyn - WTF Is A Kender, Anyway? Gobnait - Gobnait keeps a log. IronGlider - IronGlider's Bodyware & OS - Challenge 1 Jakkals - Jakkals se kaskenades laurabzz - Tiny Beautiful Things Lt_Laurel - Becoming the Shadow Lion MolecularMachine - Attack on Self-Loathing rowan - RADIO ROWAN: TRUE GRIT RukimiRC - Rukimi's Road to Warrior Princess twitchii - First step to findng my inner Laura Croft vibrantnotions - Winter is Coming - Stocking Up Wollio - Wollio and the Battle of the Willpower Wastelands

It is still dark when I awake. I slip out of bed, already dressed, and gather up the things that I laid out the night before. I put on the warm cap and jacket, and stuff a cloth bag in my pocket, then sneak downstairs to the kitchen. I am in luck. Most of the preparations for tonight's celebration were finished yesterday and no one is in the kitchen yet. So I stuff a couple of biscuits and several slices of meat into my bag and exit out the back door that opens onto the kitchen garden without having to make up any stories about where I am going or what I am doing. All is quiet as I pass around the back of the armory and the two buildings where my mother's students live. I am so excited at what today will hold! I have waited almost a year and a half for it, ever since I saw my older sister receive her training sword the day she turned seven. Today it will be my turn and I intend to be ready. My Main Quest: Become as unstoppable as the heroine in my novel! (The gory details of the following can be found in my Battle Log.) 1) Build effective, efficient, and sustainable systems WIS-2 CHA-1 To achieve my Main Quest and Life Quest Goals, I will follow the Plan of Action as detailed in my Battle Log. The Plan addresses these areas with specific, measurable actions: A ) "Basic Systems," the Foundational Success Plan B ) "Eat Well," the Food Success Plan C ) "Train Hard," Fitness Success Plan 2) Lose 12 pounds and 6% BF CON-4 3) Become a sleek, strong, and supple ranger with lots of stamina STR-4 DEX-1 To achieve this goal, I will use a mix of mobility, strength, and endurance exercises: 3 x 1 minute planks, 30 sec rest interval 5 regular pushups 1 exercise band assisted pullup 2 x 25 bw squats 2 x 10 bw lunges per side Complete Tai Chi form (24 movement) and saber form memorized 15 minute mile on level ground, no pack weight 4 ) Creativity Quest WIS-2 CHA-1 

 ART/CRAFT
 - Knit a pair of socks 

MUSIC
 - Complete the the repertoire goal started last challenge and share with accountabilibuddies. WRITING - Write 18,000 words All of the above goals will be graded with the standard A, B, C, D, or F system using the usual percentages. EDIT 0823 11/17/2013 - Removed previous challenge gamification storyline in anticipation of inserting new material. EDIT 1530 11/17/2013 - Changed Topic Title from "Lt_Laurel - Becoming One of ha'Cathach's Rangers" to "Lt_Laurel: Becoming the Shadow Lion, Episode 1 - Earning My Sword" EDIT 0039 11/19/2013 - Added first part of new storyline to head of topic post.

In Which Devyn Gets Re-Kenderfied Hey, is that even a word? That's not even a gif, Devyn. What are you playing at? Pictured above is my hero, Tasslehoff Burrfoot. He's pretty much every kender's hero. Ask every kender you meet what their name is and one in every ten is going to say "Tasslehoff Burrfoot, named after Uncle Tas!" That's because Uncle Tas is a legend to all kender. Tas is what every kender wants to be. You can read about him in the sacred Dragonlance texts by the prophets Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Because Tasslehoff died before gifs were made, there are sadly no gifs of him. Yawn! That's great, but why are you telling me this? I have squats to do. You could do your boring squats or you can listen to my tale about kender. The reason I'm telling you this tale is because it's extremely relevant to my story. You see, a long time ago roughly three weeks or so... Wiggly Flashback Segue!! *DOOT DOODLOO DOOT DOODLOO DOOT DOODLOO* Why don't you sit and make yourself comfortable. This may take a while. The kender ninja clone matched me move for move. Why wouldn't she? She was me. Except she wasn't. She was alive. Either that or a figment of my imagination. After the long, trial-filled journey I had been undertaking the latter was very likely. Her alive-ness gave her an advantage over me. I was a dead zombie version of my former self and she was some badass version of me that I only dreamed I could be. Eventually, my tired and decaying limbs gave out and I became a punching bag for my other self. It did not end well. It ended kinda well because I did this cool thing where I flipped her over the cliff and she probably died or disappeared in an imaginary puff but I was not a pretty sight afterward. The happy thing is that I figured out the last puzzle on the artifact and used its magic which breathed life back into my withered, dead heart. Also, all my hair is gone. End of Flashback That was riveting. Really. But I still don't see where you're going with this? Is the story over already? Alright already. I can see you don't appreciate a good story when it's talking your ear off. I am alive now, but I don't seem to be very good at it. Bringing myself back to life is no easy task and neither is getting your ass kicked by your imaginary self in a ninja costume. I have been left half the kender I once was. My body is broken and my muscles are weak. My brain is mushy and I just don't feel like a kender anymore. I still feel like a sad, yucky kender. There was no way I could go out adventuring in this state. So, I took the quickest route I knew (that's a whole different story for a whole different time) back to Krynn (my home world) and set up camp in Hylo (my home town). Get to the point. I seriously have shit to do. Rude. Fine. The point is that I am now in Hylo, my home town. It also happens to be the hometown of my sorta kinda enemy Belladonna. Belladonna is the violently self appointed leader of Hylo. She's an afflicted kender which is very sad but it also makes her super annoying because she's paranoid about everything. So she has spent a lot of time, effort and probably tax money to capture me and force me to lead her army. I made a deal with Belladonna. I promised her that if she helped me recuperate, then I would help her in return. I hate giving in like that, but I'm sure it will all work out nicely. What could possibly go wrong? This is all very interesting and everything, but WTF is a kender? I'm so glad you asked, imaginary dialogue person. A kender is a halfling-like creature who is full of badassery and is the thing that every person in the universe should strive to be. All Awesome illustrations by Awesome Iket Notice the topknot of hair, the hoopak (slingshot/staff/spear weapon of awesome), and the expression of fun and joy. Kender are the epitome of carefree, awesome living. My goal this challenge is to get back to my awesome old self and be as kendery as I possibly can be. Kendery is not a word. I don't think kender is a word either. Kender is a word. You shut your mouth. Okay, okay. So, how do you become more kendery? My goals for this challenge will be based on the four main qualities of kender. These are... 1. Fearlessness Kender are known throughout the world as being fear free. Unless you are afflicted (poor you) then you get to live an awesome life doing things you love because you're not afraid to walk into a dragon's mouth to see how sharp its molars are (turns out they're pretty damn sharp.) My goal for fearlessness is: Writing (CHA +2, CON +2)I will write every day. Finish my NaNoWriMo, write poems, whatever it takes. I won't let fear of rejection and being the worse writer in the history of writing stand in the way of doing something I've always wanted to do. 2. Joie de Vivre Joy of living. Kender are happy and optimistic to the point of being annoying. They love life and hate boredom. Everything is new and exciting and wonderful to them. That's what life is all about. My goal for Joie de Vivre is: Parkour (DEX + 4, CHA +1)Parkour is something I've always wanted to do and now I have the ability to take regular classes. I must do parkour class at least once a week. 3. Kleptomania There are some people, LIARS I CALL THEM, who say that kender are thieves. They claim that we steal whatever isn't nailed down and have no concept of property. The worst thing you can call a kender is a thief. We are not thieves. We are curious. We see something that interests us and we just have to have it. We can't help it if you can't keep hold of your stuff. Stop blaming us. My goal for kleptomania is: Stea...I mean borrow ideas from other people. (DEX +4)Each week I will take an idea from someone else in the rebellion and make it mine. If it's interesting and it sounds fun, I will attempt to do it too. Is that your challenge in my pouch? You must have dropped it. 4. Wanderlust If anything defines a kender, it is wanderlust. All kender love travelling around and looking for adventure. Even the afflicted kender have itchy feet and dream of far off lands. We love meeting new people and seeing the world. My goal for wanderlust is: Running (CON +4)I have signed up for 2 races. A 5 mile race on Thanksgiving about halfway through the challenge and a 12k at the end of the challenge. Running is a good way to celebrate it NOT being a billion degrees outside and is a great way to travel and meet new people and find shiny objects at the end to add to my collection of awesome things. I also have a few background goals which include Whole30 diet the whole time. Except for Thanksgiving. So Whole51 and going to the gym. These are things that are already habits for me, but I feel like I need to include. Finally! We get to the actual challenge! Took long enough! Okay. I'm sorry. I wish you the best of luck. And your hair back. Thank you. I look forward to this challenge with as much gusto as a broken kender can manage. I will keep you updated... Goody... Like I said, I will keep you updated on what will happen on this adventure! May you always find a dragon to poke and may Uncle Tas always guide your way. Thanks? You're welcome. Now let's go!

The Fight Against Thunder BOSS FIGHT Vengefulpear VS Thor! Welcome back to everyone for another (what I'm sure will be!) great challenge! So as it's the last challenge of the year (well the last whole challenge of the year) I thought that it would be a good idea to wrap up this little storyline thing I've got going to see out the year and start something new and fresh next year. Despite the fact I would have liked to keep the challenge going and see where the story went based on how well I did I might save that for next year, we shall see! I quite like the whole connecting stories and making my way somewhere so maybe some Malazan themed challenges next year! Anyway! I hear you asking: How does a boss fight work!? Well I'll tell you! Basically I've decided to have specific target goals to reach rather than ones like 'go to the gym 2 times a week' so this time it will be more like 'do 15 pull ups in one go' and each goal will contribute 1/4 of the health of the boss (In this case Thor!) That's my thinking! I'd best get on to the actual goals! Fat Loss: Lose 3% bodyfat +2 DEX +2 CON I feel like 3% was a good number before and I also feel like I've added a tad of weight back on whilst I was at the World Fantasy Convention (damn you hotel pizza and free beer!) So for this I will be eating at about a 1800 calorie deficit about 1800 - 1900 calories per day (as that seemed to get positive results last time I did that) and focusing on eating a minimal amount of carbs (aiming for <50g per day) and I will also be eating as much paleo as I can muster! I hope that TiberiusNightrise will join me once again in a calorie PVP and if anyone else wants to join in it would be awesome to have you along (basically we compare calorie control and the person closest their target wins bragging rights ) Starting Stats: 159lbs / 17% BF Strength: Do 15 Pull Ups / Do 100 Push Ups +4 STR I'm not 100% sure if they all have to be in the same set but we shall see, I'm going to investigate properly the http://twentypullups.com/ programme and also the 7 weeks to 100 push ups programme, later on to make sure I'll be fine with those numbers. The reason that I want to do this is because although last time I did do a fair amount of strength training, I don't feel like I was making progress where I wanted. I never felt like I was pumping out any more pull ups really, it always varied quite a lot. So with a programme like this to follow and a number to aim for it should be all good! And obviously I can do those at home so no excuses! Speed: Run 5km in under 20 25 minutes +1 DEX +2 STA This one I may also change up the times slightly when I have more context (read: I've been for a run again) but I'm fairly sure I did 5km in about 27 minutes before.... maybe 20 minutes is too much to ask... Okay, we'll go for 25 minutes for the moment. Hopefully I can just smash that early on and make my way to 20 minutes! But I also don't want to jump too far and get eaten by sharks! Writing: Post 12 blog posts +2 WIS +2 CHA For this one I'm counting both of my blogs my writing post: http://thetemperedpen.blogspot.co.uk/ and now my fitness one: http://dumbbells-and-dragons.blogspot.co.uk/ So 12 posts should lead to 1 post in each per week (although I might swing more towards fitness if I can't finish/review books quickly enough) and please give me feedback on both/either blogs if you like/don't like them and what you think I could do better That's it for now guys! I shall leave you with this picture of a battling Thor!

Main Quest: Run a Half Marathon I'm almost there! If all goes according to plan, I'll be running my first half marathon on December 14th. At first, I was a little disappointed by the two week challenge break, because I had thought I was actually going to end up finishing my quest on the last weekend of this challenge, but I realized that this way I can include my recovery week in my challenge, which is important since I have a tendency to overextend myself when I'm excited about something. Missions 1) Train Smart, Train Hard (+3 STA, +2 DEX) This one is pretty straightforward: Stick to my training plan. What does my training plan look like? Except for my taper and recovery weeks, it looks something like this: Monday: Easy Run Tuesday: Intervals Wednesday: Rest or Cross-Train Thursday: Hills or Tempo Run Friday: Rest Saturday: Long Run Sunday: Cross-Train (preferably hiking with lots of hills, since it does wonders toward helping me actually run hills) If I'm sick or feeling any non-DOMS pain or wobbliness, I can sub out intervals/hills/tempo for easy runs without penalty, since I don't want to go courting injury or serious illness. As a bonus, if I stick to my plan, I will also finish listening to all of the currently available Zombies, Run! missions at my half. 2) Track Your Progress (+1 STA, +1 WIS) If you've followed any of my previous challenge threads, you've probably noticed that I have a terrible tendency to wander off and forget about them after a week or two. Thankfully, I'm much better at keeping up with my challenge goals than I am with my challenge thread (I only failed my last challenge because I stopped updating my thread!), but I'd still like to actually, you know. participate and stuff. And I'm also much less prone to making stupid decisions about my training when I'm posting regularly here. So, my goal here is to update my challenge thread at least four times a week once the challenge officially starts. 3) Kick Butt, Take Names This one is actually a series of performance mini-goals for my half marathon and the 10k I'm running on Thanksgiving morning. They're all pass/fail. Half Marathon: Cross the finish line (+1 STA) Half Marathon: Cross the finish line in under 2:50 (+1 DEX) 10k: Cross the finish line in under 1:16 (+1 DEX) 10k: Cross the finish line before my brother does (+1 DEX, +1 CHA, + bragging rights for at least the rest of the year) Life Quest: NaNoWriMo (+1 CHA, +1WIS, +1 STA) Yup, it's November again, and that means time to write like a crazy person (which my husband, upon hearing I was still planning to do NaNo while training for my half, assured me that I am). I'm a NaNo "rebel" this year since I couldn't bear to put away my novel-in-progress to start something new, so my goal is to add an extra 50k words to the manuscript by 11:59 p.m. on November 30th. I totally slacked the first couple days of the month, so I'm already behind, so I've got some catching up to do.

Apfelstrudi’s main quest: Visit Tom Bombadil As per that website that figured out how far Frodo actually walked, it is 98 miles from the Shire to Tom Bombadil’s place. I’ve always had a soft spot for Tom Bombadil and really want to pay him a visit and then get rewarded with loads of madness adn weird stuff, so off I’ll go! However, since the next 6 weeks will most likely be not very calm for me (I’ve got nanowrimo and other RL stuff going on), I’ll need a little help getting there - just like Frodo and his companions had ponies throughout some of their journey, I’ll have something that drives me further without actually walking, running or swimming. It’s not a bike, it’s not a horse, nor is it a bird, a plane or superman. Nope! It’s all the other things I do for this particular challenge! By completing certain steps in my other goals, I’ll automatically gain a few meters on my goal, because unfortunately I won’t be able to run 25km a week - especially not since I’ve still not been able to do a 5k run without a break! That will all be explained further down though! So let’s get to the specific goals! (Stretch goal! Reach Bree =135 miles) 1) Zombies, run! or Get your stinky, hairy feet out of my hobbit hole Yeah, I know, the hobbits weren’t exactly chased by zombies. But darn it! We don’t have any nazguls in our neighbourhood and the nazguls in the city are all elitist and weird and won’t get to the suburbs for my lazy ass, so I’ll have to do with zombies. And I promise I'll make that face during every single run because I bet I look equally terrifying and weird when I'm out of breath. Rules here are pretty strict - I go and run and add the distance I’ve run to my journey, no shortcuts, no nothing. I want to go back to running three times a week. I really miss it and it tends to make me super happy. There are a few things I have to get over here: - It’s cold and dark outside and I’m a wuss. I bought reflective arm bands and one of those head lamps so I can be seen properly (and can see where I’m running in dark corners) and not be as scared. I also have pepper spray, just in case. - I get sick when I’m exhausted. It’s like a wave of nausea and dizziness that’s abruptly stopped my last run, and I’ve not run since. Gotta get over that and get back out there! Important note that I nearly forgot! I don’t have to run all the way. Walking will move me towards my goal as well, of course. It has to be walking specifically to walk, though. No “Hey it’s 100m from my car to the supermarket, I’ll count that towards my goal†or things like that. (+2 DEX +2 STA) Reward: If I finish this successfully (either finish the 5k program, run 5k or just feel successful about it), I get to buy the zombies run season 1 game. 2) Stretch, b*tch! or Climb that mighty steed without a step ladder If that guy had stretched properly and got all bendy he wouldn't have needed to get all up there but could've just gotten his leg up. But he didn't - and so he ate dirrrrt. Simple as that! Since I run an average of slightly below 10mins per km, every 10 minutes of stretching (proper stretching, not just sitting there in child’s pose!) will let me advance 1km further down the road towards Tom’s house. I’ve really gotten into stretching during my last challenge and can already see results, but I’m still stiff! So I’ll continue with that, as often as I can. If I’m good with it, this could probably give me 10km per week, which isn’t too shabby! Additionally to stretching, I can do other forms of workout (archery, bouldering, BWW, etc.) and will make up the stats I get for it on the go! (+2 DEX, +1 STR) 3) Clean things! or A shiny visor looks so much better on you Simple as that, clean! Whatever it is that I clean, if I do 15 minutes of it, I get 1km closer to my dear Tom. (+1 each CON, WIS, CHA) Reward: If I clean every day and/or the boyfriend sees improvement in my cleaning habits, not skills but habits, then he will get me an amazon voucher so I can buy new books! (It seemed weird to reward myself with cleaning supplies, so he came up with that). Life quest! Be a pretty little princess Get in control of my laundry. Ho boy! I’ve got so much of that. I think I’ve explained it before - we’ve got a really small apartment and a really small rack to dry out clothes on. That and my forgetfulness makes sure that we always have a big laundry pile and only the top of it gets in the machine, because yanno, washing one load per week should be enough, right? Yeah, I’m sure you see that this can’t work. That being said - we cleaned out our laundry corner, divided it all into different bags according to what it is, and we already got rid of all the towels we had, so now it’s just the rest of it. I want to try and wash 4 loads a week, each load will give me 1km, so I can gain 24 km if I do this right. Why 4 loads? Well! It’s winter, so things need some time to dry, usually 2 or 3 days. If I wash every 2 or 3 days, I can use 2 days per week for doing the laundry. Our laundry rack can hold one big and one slightly smaller load of laundry - so voilá! (+2 CHA - obviously I’ll be more attractive with a pile of clean clothes that I can choose from, and not just wahtever is currently clean has to go with those green pants that are the only ones not in the laundry bin!) Reward: A sports bra! My boobs seem to be too tiny for sports bras, which is just stupid because they get crazy annoying during runs and other workouts, too. So I'll find a good one, not just a cheap 5€ bra, and have fun with that. Diet goal! Have enough food for your journey This is a teeny tiny diet goal that I want ot put into effect while I’m still trying to be all paleo (cause luckily that’s become a habit by now!). It’s super simple - I want to cook in my crockpot once a week. For every portion that I get out of it (I’m used to cooking in the crockpot, but not a whole lot of food but only food for 2 people!), I get 1km. (+2 CON) Reward: A crockpot! I found some that are pretty cheap on amazon and I can turn this reward into a christmas wish. (I don't actually have a crock pot, I do all my crock potting in a dutch oven!) Mini-Challenges! As inspired by aisle4b's current challenge, those aren't my actual goals. I won't get stat points for them but perhaps another km here and they're. They're here to support me in my goals, RL and to make me feel better about myself. As with the guild minichallenges, I don't have to complete them, but they're cool and I get extra for it! Be thankful! Every day, write down what I'm thankful for on that particular day. I often have trouble getting all depressed and 'zomg my life sucks', but that's a perspective-thing. If I manage to write down what I'm thankful for every day, then I get 1km towards Tom Bombadil by the end of the week. Do what the Flylady says! This goes hand in hand with my cleaning goal, so that will automatically count towards my cleaning time. However - those daily missions are things that you don't usually clean in your everyday cleaning craze. So if I follow it every day, I'll get 1km further by the end of the week! Meditate before going to bed No minimum time here, I don't mean the religious kind of meditating either. This can be relaxing yoga, breathing exercises, letting my mind wander while listening to soothing music - anything that calms me down and helps me get tired! I tend to read before falling asleep, so I'm always doing something, looking at a book or looking at my kindle app, so what I mean here is a few minutes of eyes closed relaxation that's totally focused on myself, not something I'm looking at. Same procedure as the other mini-challenges, 7 times a week = 1km by the end of the week. Do something sporty and unusual! I don't mean unusual for everyone but unusual for me. This can be anything from hiking to climbing to swimming. Something that's not routine for me and not my usual workout. I'll get 1km for getting off my bum and going out to do something that doesn't involve sitting in a bar or cinema or other activities you'd expect now that it's cold outside. Craft something! Christmas is almost here and I don't have money to buy expensive gifts. I also don't want to buy expensive gifts when I can make things for my family and friends that are just as cool and have much more love and thought behind them. So, for every craft I complete, I'll get a step further. However - since crafts can take minutes or hours or days or even weeks, I'm not putting a distance here but will use my common sense to determine it - would suck if a huge embroidery would take me as much further as sticking goggly eyes on something. Moar crazy-dance! Totally stolen from Hatter. However, I won't get stat points or km for it. But it's a thing that makes me happy and that I don't do nearly often enough, so mini-challenge it is! Also gotta be fit for my dance-off with Hatter. *coughs* Go to church! It's been ages since I last went to church. This won't bring me any further, but I just found out there's a ... I don't even know how to translate it. Free christian community in our city. I used to go to those as a teenager and would like to see what it's like here. Not getting anything extra here - except a cool sunday morning of course! Shelter time! Go to the shelter and take one or two dogs for walks. It's always fun but I've not done it often enough lately. It will get me to leave the house, move around outside and have a cute little doggy to have fun with. Next best thing to having my own dog! Super duper hooper! Use the hoop I bought and do some hooping!

This is my 1st NF challenge, and I am going big 60 lbs in 6 weeks. My three mini-goals are... 1.) Do the beginner body weight workout at least 3 times a week 2.) Go completely Paleo 3.) Cut soda out completely from my lifestyle. Life Quest...Is to start writing more i.e. fiction and poetry My motivation for becoming healthy is that I am getting married on June 21 2014. I want to see my step daughter grow up and become a woman. I want to grow old with my wife, so we sit on the front porch in rocking chairs when we are 80

My main goal for this challenge to work on improving my eating habits. Poor diet has always been my downfall. I am usually good at developing and maintaining a workout routine, but as soon as I start to try improving my eating habits I get overwhelmed and exercise, and then everything else, falls to the wayside. So, this time I am aiming to make it easy for me to complete this challenge while learning new habits. Main Goal: Improve eating habits 1. Eat a gluten, dairy and junk food free diet and consume more fruits and veggies -Refrain from eating gluten free versions of unhealthy foods and foods with excessive sugar. This will eliminate most of the worst elements of my diet, while theoretically not being such a drastic, overwhelming change that I won't be able to maintain. 2. Research/discover and write down 3 new meal ideas each week and make at least one of them -The meals I find will be for the following week so that I can plan my meals in advance. This is so I can build a good foundation for better eating habits. I need to learn new ways to think about constructing meals and learn new, healthier recipes. 3. Post at least twice a week (Monday & Thursday) -The goal behind this one is to keep myself accountable and build a support group for myself so that I can maintain my motivation. I set certain days on which I will try to purpose, but this is mostly to keep me on track (I tend to lose track of time). Life Goal: Create a writing habit a. write at least 3x a week b. spend some time each week reading/skimming past writing c.read at least one thing on writing each week This is my third time attempting a 6 week challenge and this time I will make it through. For one thing, this will be my first time starting one on time, so that already puts me in a better mind frame. It makes me feel more prepared and organized. For another thing, I simplified my goals. I have a tendency to try and take to much on at a time and become overwhelmed. This time I made my goals simpler and tried to focus on just one thing, eating. If this goes well, next time I will work exercise back into my life. I have to learn to just work on one thing at a time, so I'm working on what's most important and will help me the most right now. Here's to a good start tomorrow.

This is my 1st NF challenge, and I am going big 60 lbs in 6 weeks. My three mini-goals are... 1.) Do the beginner body weight workout at least 3 times a week 2.) Go completely Paleo 3.) Cut soda out completely from my lifestyle. Life Quest...Is to start writing more i.e. fiction and poetry My motivation for becoming healthy is that I am getting married on June 21 2014. I want to see my step daughter grow up and become a woman. I want to grow old with my wife, so we sit on the front porch in rocking chairs when we are 80.

My main quest - getting healthy and strong - has not changed, but since I have found a basic workout routine that works for me, and my eating habits have improved a lot during those last couple of weeks, I will have a different focus this time. Since this challenge will end one week before my 20th high school reunion, this is the perfect time to look back at where I was 20 years ago, in terms of health and fitness. Would I like to be there again? Yes and no, actually... Which brings me to the goals for this challenge: 1. Flexibility - 20 years ago, I was better "flexible like a mutant" material than I am now. I would like to get at least some of that back, so after this challenge I want to be able to do a front split "at will" again. I managed once (right front split) by accident during my last challenge, but that was just one side and after 30 mins of prep work. I plan on using this program, and see if it works for me. 2. Strength - I would love to be able to do a correct pullup at some point in the future, but... My arms are not my strongest parts. At the end of high school, I had struggled for three years with chronic tendonitis in both wrists and elbows, I had no strength left in my hands (dropped stuff all the time, couldn't hold a pen anymore - try to do your exams when you're not able to write...). So, I'm going to get my hands, arms and upper body used to the idea of doing things with a pullup bar. I know I will definitely not be able to do a pullup after these 6 weeks. I will have to take it extremely slow, because I don't want to make my wrists and elbows unhappy. Been there, done that, can definitely do without that crap... (And I will continue doing my usual bodyweight routine 3x / week which has pulling exercises as well, so...) Weeks 1 - 6: "Hangin' in there": Improve my "hanging" time from (very uncomfortable) 20 seconds to comfortable 25 seconds. That doesn't sound like a lot, but this is not only about quantity, but quality. Also, I will not be able to work on that more than 3x / week, so that's what it's going to be. Current idea (might have to be updated, depending on state of wrists + elbows): Wk 1: 13 - 11 - 12 Wk 2: 15 - 12 - 14 Wk 3: 17 - 14 - 16 Wk 4: 19 - 16 - 18 Wk 5: 21 - 18 - 20 Wk 6: 23 - 20 - 22 Final test: planging* hanging "comfortably" for 25 seconds, not feeling like my hands are going to die after second 2... Weeks 3 - 6: "Shrug it off": From hanging, pull my shoulders down to the correct position and hold. Since I have no idea how my arms are going to handle weeks 1 + 2, I'll have to wait with the actual program for that until the end of week 2. If my arms think that hanging is all they are able to do, then I will just leave it at that and recheck after week 3. Or 4. Or 5. 3. More Strength - On the "off" days I'll work on the RKC plank 3x / week. Should also work nicely towards overall strength, so that chin ups (and at some point pull ups) will be easier (read: feasible at all). I'll start with 3 x 10 seconds (if possible ) and would like to end up with 3 x 20 after the challenge. 4. Then there's that life goal: I used to write fun stuff together with my sister. I haven't done any of that for some years now. So I will write for at least five minutes every day. Doesn't have to be much, but at least one sentence per day. Doesn't have to be a consecutive paragraph when I'm finished, either, the important part is to make time for writing consistently, and to make it a habit again. It sure as hell won't be pretty, but it doesn't have to be. Grading system: 1. Flexibility (+3 DEX, +1 STR): A: front splits right and left, "at will" B: front split right, "at will", left after some prep work C: front split right, "almost" front split left, both after considerable prep work D: "almost" splits right + left, after considerable prep work F: no improvement at all 2. Building strength for my first pullup in the far future (+3 STR, +1 STA) A: hanging comfortably for 25 seconds or more, hanging with "tucked in" shoulders for at least 5 seconds B: hanging comfortably for 20 seconds, no tucked in shoulders C: hanging comfortably for 15 seconds, no tucked in shoulders D: hanging comfortably for 10 seconds, no tucked in shoulders F: anything less 3: RKC plank (+2 STR, +2 STA) A: holding correct plank for 3 x 20 seconds or longer B: holding correct plank for 3 x 17 seconds C: holding correct plank for 3 x 14 seconds D: holding correct plank for 3 x 12 seconds F: anything less 4: Writing (+2 WIS, +1 CHA) A: writing every day for at least 5 minutes, having at least 42 sentences to show for it. B: writing at least 35 days C: writing at least 28 days D: writing at least 21 days F: anything less EDIT: added stat points to goals EDIT (9/22/2013): Since I already started "planging"* during week 1, I'll just keep that up and extend planging time over the six weeks. Goal is still 25 secs. *Planging: For my purposes, a "plang" will be a "hanging plank", meaning: I hang from the pull up bar and contract all the muscles I can muster. Meaning the shoulders must be pulled down, arms strong, hands crushing the bar, abs, back, glutes, legs tight, kneecaps pulled up, flexed feet, toes pointing up.

One of my life goals has been to get a novel published. Well, this evening (November 6, 2013) I launched my kickstarter project with a thirty day window to fund the printing and distribution of a completed novel. But, there is a catch. The catch is I cannot complete this life goal without help. The only way I can publish the novel is to come up with the project funding and reach my pledge goal on the kickstarter project. I cannot do that without you. Please go visit the kickstarter project found HERE or paste this link in to your browser and check out the details http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1163624572/rise-of-the-herald-the-debut-novel-by-mark-e-malco . Thanks for your time.

My Motivation: I resolve to not die with my dreams still inside me For I can bring beauty, joy, and healing into the world through my art, music, and writing My Epic Quest of Awesomeness To Bring Out the Best That is Inside Me To succeed in this I must conquer my Fears and Bad Habits I must be HEALTHY, FIT, FOCUSED, and PRODUCTIVE I MUST BECOME UNSTOPPABLE My Main Quest: BECOME AS UNSTOPPABLE as the heroine in my novel! She's a kickass fit ranger who doesn't take "No" or "You can't" for an answer, never gives up on her main objective, and always, always, always follows her heart. So, first things first. (She keeps her priorities straight, she does.) Over the next six challenges, I will get in the best shape of my life through healthy eating, lifting heavy things, moving around A LOT, and creating routines that support my quest. My first three missions are very similar to my second challenge as they're still the best fit for my Main Quest. I have updated my Life Quest to reflect my relatively better performance in that part of the last challenge, plus some new developments. 1) Eat for health and performance Continue to clean up my diet and maintain at least a 80/20 paleo-primal to Standard American Diet (SAD) split. I will maintain my compliance and momentum on this in the following ways: a ) Increase the variety of meals that I eat by preparing one new recipe per week and planning my menus and shopping ahead for the week so as to maximize variety. b ) Minimize failures (due to my taking the easy way out and eating bad foods when life gets in the way of my aspirations) by having some fast and easy snacks and meals prepared and ready to go at all times. c ) Allow for a certain amount of social and emotional eating by building in some limited cheating, to be fully enjoyed without guilt or remorse. d ) Keep a detailed food journal to ensure I'm meeting these sub-goals. Weigh weekly; take measurements at beginning, mid-point, and end; take photos at beginning and end. Aim to lose 6 pounds and 3% BF. STR-1 STA-1 CON-2 CHA-1 2) Become a sleek, strong, and supple ranger with lots of stamina a ) Do a daily mobility workout of at least 10 minutes a day, six days per week. New focus area - working on posture and back/neck flexibility and alignment. b ) Strength training at least 2x per week using primarily body-weight exercises and modified cross-fit style workouts. More than that - BONUS POINTS! Each additional workout earns $5.00 towards videos and music. (Hmmm, or maybe a new wardrobe a few challenges hence?) c ) Move! Walk, bike (stationary or otherwise - just move!), dance and/or do tai chi for a minimum of 30 minutes per session, at least 3 days per week. More than that - BONUS POINTS! Each additional 30 minutes earns $5.00 towards videos and music. STR-2 DEX-2 STA-1 3) Build good, simple, and sustainable systems to support the above goals a ) Participate actively in an accountabilibuddy team. Aim to contribute at least 7 posts per week. Limit thread following to a manageable number. b ) Get enough recovery - a minimum of at least 4 hours uninterrupted sleep, and at least 6 hours sleep per night, plus naps as needed. Track this in journal, too. c ) Learn from last challenge's "challenges" and create fallback plans and advance creative solutions for those days when I'm crazy busy, feel crummy mentally or physically, or "life happens" and causes my willpower to falter or my time to be limited. Whenever possible, do challenge activities early in the day and the week - front load - so as to have some reserve if I get crunched later on. d ) Create spreadsheet/tracking system for this challenge's many goal components. Experiment with Kanban board, mindmapping, and app solutions the first two weeks of challenge, put system into place during third week, and maintain for the remainder. STR-1 DEX-1 WIS-1 Level Up Life Goal(s) Ah, yes, I am definitely a ranger, a jack of all trades. I've been a musician/teacher, artist, firefighter/EMT, multimedia software developer... despite all that I've been told all of my life about the value of specialization! ART a ) Complete my two portrait commissions by end of challenge. (Due date of Nov. 1, 2013) b ) Update personal business card, logo, and web avatar c ) Design and create guitar society logo Bonus Points - Create portrait of one of my novel's characters. Post for NF enjoyment. MUSIC a ) Learn one new (or complete one "half-done but abandoned") song per instrument and have each memorized and performance-ready by end of challenge. The songs don't have to be long or terribly advanced repertoire, but they do have to engage my interest and be something that would be pleasing to an audience. Guitar, Harp, Violin, Piano, Voice (may double with one of the other instruments). Bonus points if a piece is an original composition. b ) Review and revise lesson policies, mission statement, other business docs, in light of the new realities of being a traveling teacher and working with co-op studio. c ) Progress, however small, on music method and associated game. Consider outsourcing game development. Bonus Points - Record one or more of my new songs and post for NF enjoyment. WRITING a ) Finish outlining the series - Is it three novels, or four? Do I go with the one that is almost done first, or change the order? b ) Get information on self-publishing and building an audience; keep working with my mentor. c ) Most important of all - WRITE. Write a lot. Write at least 20 minutes a day, 6 days per week, even if crazy busy, tired, don't feel like it, blocked, yada, yada, yada. Then write some more. Write 30,000 words by the end of the challenge. Bonus Points - Post an excerpt for NF enjoyment. Done 9/22 WIS-2 CHA-1 All of the above goals will be graded with the standard A, B, C, D, or F system using the usual percentages. I feel good about all of my goals except the eating clean. I've been so bad the last few weeks, I'm not sure I can do it. This is where I get to choose to be like my hero, or not...

I've fluttered over from the Druids for this challenge. I'm not sure if I'm over here for good or if it I'll start dual classing it back and forth, but I expect to be here for at least a few consecutive challenges. I'm pushing my self rather hard this challenge. It will be the last time I have buckets of free time for a while and I really want to stuff done/started! Main Quest: Get leaner, stronger, fitter, more able. By the end of this challenge I will get my abs visible, I will be stronger, I will be more flexible, and more able at moving my body. Not the most focused main quest, but I'm trying to chock a lot into this challenge! -Increase number of consecutive pull-ups by one a week. Thus be able to do at least 11 in a row by the end of the challenge. 1STR for every increase of two up to 3STR -Average caloric intake of 1500. Last challenge I ended up around 1800, so will need to keep a close eye on this one! Eating more on strength training days, and less on others. 1400-1600 A, 1600-1700 B, 1700-1800 C, 1800-1900 D. Worth 3CON -Exercise every day. Strength training at least three times a week. Basic parkour and stretching on other days. Must be for at least twenty minutes. (This is me just starting parkour, so I will be focusing on mostly the roll and simple vaults). 2STR for strength training three times a week, 1DEX for parkour or stretching on every other day. Life Side Quest: I have an idea for a nonfiction book I want to write. So for this challenge I'm going to kick my ass in gear. -For the first two weeks I will research and brain storm a chapter a day, and for the final month I will write for an average of an hour or 1000 words a day. 1WIS for the first two weeks, 2WIS for the last month. Fitness Side Quest: Pushing the definition slightly, I'm going to make this about mental fitness and continue my meditation goal that I did very well in last challenge. -Last challenge I meditated for thirty minutes every day. I will continue that this challenge but with a whole hour at least once a week. 3WIS Bonus Quests: These don't fit into the challenge outline, and so won't gain stat points, but are things I want to accomplish this challenge anyway. -The first is to take photos of my friends to use as models for painting the major arcana tarot cards. At least 15 photos of different friends. -The other is to get a blog set up with at least three posts published. This will be a general blog from which to launch my online presence, and will eventually have tabs splitting it into a number of "mini blogs", but for now one blog with three posts will do. Posts can be modified versions for stuff I write for my book goal. Motivation: To be stronger, sexier, more able, and to have achieved (started) some projects I have been considering for quite awhile.

MAIN QUEST: to complete C25K. Mini-goal 1: to walk/run/jog at least three times per week. Mini-goal 2: To perform bodyweight exercises at least twice per week. Mini-goal 3: To stay as close as I can to Primal eating. LIFE QUEST: So I'm an author. I've written and e-published one book and I am in the middle of a second. And the second is just killing me, I haven't worked on it in any way for months. I need to start the sequel to my first novel and get it going. So my goal for the life quest is to have at least two chapters done on the sequel by the end of the first challenge. GRADING: For Mini-goal 1: 18 walks=A 14-17= B 10-13=C 7-10=D Less than 7 = FAIL Mini-goal 2: 12 bodyweight workouts =A 9-11= B 6-8= C Less than 6 = FAIL Mini-goal 3 is harder to grade. I've already been eating Primal for the most part and I really like it, but then, what's not to like about an eating plan that gives you bacon? And I do incorporate rice and potatoes in severe moderation. So...how to grade that? Any tips? Life goal: Two chapters of the sequel to my first novel done by the end of the challenge. PASS/FAIL. Period.

Greetings! Newb here, though I've been hanging around the site a few months now. I tried to do a challenge a few months ago and found it all too overwhelming and quit before the end of the second week, so I like the new simplifications and hope it helps me make it through the six weeks! Main Quest: Survive the looming zombie apocalypse My main quest is to be healthy enough and in good enough shape to deal with anything, including a zombie apocalypse. My fitness level is abominable, I have crappy eating habits and I haven’t worked out consistently in years. This affects how I feel, both physically and mentally, and the truth is I feel like crap. I turn 40 in May and am tired of constantly roller coasting my way through new diets and fitness plans. While I do want to change my body and my weight, what I really want is to change my life to one that is built around good health and habits and to maintain those habits permanently, and not just for a few months. And if it increases the likelihood that I can outrun the zombie horde, even better! Mission Goals: Exercise – go to CrossFit at least three times a week (four would be awesome). Food – stick to a mostly Paleo/Whole Foods diet that avoids processed foods and sugar (two cheat days allowed during the six-week challenge, but only after the first two weeks). Clean Routine – because you've got to look good when running from zombies – I need to take better care of my body in general, so I want to create better cleanliness habits: Wash my face and brush my teeth at night at least 5 nights a weekStop picking at my face (I know, gross, but I developed acne at 38 years old! It is hell, but I need to leave my face alone and not make it worse)Floss at least twice a week (sad, but the truth is I don’t floss and I have to start somewhere) Side Quest: “And now, the famous author Melissa Smith…†My whole life I have dreamed of being a writer, but I have never done anything to make that dream a reality. Genug! Now is the time to start making dreams come true! I need to write at least two hours a week. It can be creative writing prompts, short stories, it can even be research for a story, as long as it is something that moves me towards my dream!

Main Quest: In the short term, to get fit. In the long term, I'm not sure. For now (and the next couple of challenges) I want to strive to become healthy, involved in sports and daily exercise, and to level up to the point where my adventuring comes to an end and I can begin truly living a leveled up life. Motivational Statement on My Bathroom Mirror: Me Now: Not so hot, huh? That's forty pounds extra fat I'm looking to get rid of over the coming months/year. Mission 1: 5k Training (fitness) I've done a 5k completely without stop, but it took me a whopping 42 minutes (I was just happy I didn't stop). By the end of this six weeks, I want to be able to run one in 36 minutes. By practicing every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I think I'll be able to make my goal. After all, two months ago I couldn't even do a mile without huffing and puffing. A 36-36:59 minutes B 37-41:59 minutes C 42-42:59 minutes D >42 minutes F unable to complete without stop (total failure) Mission 2: Essential Movements (fitness) My second major goal is to be able to do Mark Sisson's "Essential Movements" that he believes every caveman should be able to complete. These are pull ups, push ups, squats, and planks. They're divided into four levels (the fourth being the actual workout with no assistance). Of course, I have no lofty goals of being able to do one pull up, let alone a bunch, so I'm starting at, of course, level one. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I will do two reps of these 50 wall push ups 50 wall squats 20 chair pull ups 90 second hand/knee plank 45 second side plank (right & left) as much as I am able so that by the end of the six weeks I can complete both sets. Of course, since there are seven categories, I'm going to grade myself on each category. It seems unfair to say I could do everything else 100%, but this one thing I could only do 50% so I have a B. I'll average the seven grades at the end and then post that score. A able to move on to level 2 B one full set, half another C one full set, quarter another D one full set, none of the other F less than one full set Side Quest: Write Daily (life) I used to be an avid writer, penning all kinds of science fiction and fantasy. I've since fallen off that habit and wish to regain my old abilities. I will write daily for five minutes, then every week I will increase it by five minutes. By the end of the six weeks, I'll be writing 30 minutes a day, bonus if it's all for my current novel. A 30 min/day B 20 min/day C 10 min/day D 5 min/day F miss more than 1 day of every week And the treasure at the end of this long, arduous dungeon? A Nerd FItness tank top! This one to be precise. It's super cute and I can wait to strut around campus, running with the best of them. Or at least the okay-better-than-beginner-but-not-that-great of them.

This is the dawning of a brave new world. No more hesitating, it's too late to turn back now, yeah! Back again for my third/fourth go around. I've given my goals careful consideration and thought, and here's what I've come up with, complete with moderately clever names and what-not. Drop and Give Me Ten (or at least six) Six would be nice. I've managed to lose a bit of weight over the past 5 months, but it's been slow. I thought perhaps if I make it a concrete challenge, that I might do better over the next 6 weeks, because goodness knows I do hate to lose. So the goal is to lose at least six pounds over the next six weeks, by means of diet and exercise. The exercise part is covered more specifically in two other goals I've set, so to achieve my six pounds of weight loss in six weeks, I'll be focusing this part of the challenge on Weight Watchers - I've been a member since February. I have managed to lose nearly twenty pounds so far this year, so I'm hopeful that I'll see more results during this challenge. I'm regularly attending meetings, but I still struggle with recording my points. So I think that if I faithfully record and stay within my points guidelines, and eat the recommended foods as I do so, I'll hit my goal. What's on the line? +3 to Constitution if I drop seven or more. +2 if I make 5-6 pounds. +1 if it's only 3-4 pounds. And no points awarded if I lose less than 3 pounds, because that will be very sad. The Final Countdown Last time around I made my strength training way too complicated, and thus it never got done. Even the Angry Birds workout was kind of a pain for me. So I'm simplifying this time around. I found something called a Countdown workout. That's where you do a certain number of reps of each exercise, like 10, then without stopping go back and do 9 of each, 8 of each, etc. I'm going to start of with 5 reps each of Burpees, Side Lunges (5 on each side) and Triceps Dips - counting down 5,4,3,2,1 - three times a week. This way I shouldn't have any excuse to miss a day, because there's always four extra days if a training session needs to be pushed forward. In Week 2 I'll up my starting reps to 6. So by the time the challenge is over I should be counting down from 10 reps of each. That's a move from 15 total reps of each exercise all the way up to 45 of each. It starts tonight. What's at stake? If I don't miss any days - do 18 days of countdown strength training, I'll get +2 to Strength and +2 to Stamina. Miss 1-4 days, I'll get +1 to each. And if I miss more than 5 days, I get nada. Run, Fat Girl, Run Yes, I've progressed through the first four weeks of the 5k program, although it took me 6 weeks to do it. So I'm thinking I'll need at least six weeks to finish out the remaining four. My goal then is to run three times a week, no matter whether I'm repeating a run or not. And actually, since my run time is so weak that fast walkers could pass me, I'd like to get a teensy bit speedier as I progress. Point being, make progress. Run longer, run faster. Either one is good and both is awesome. As an addendum, I also have the goal of finding and committing to and signing up for a 5k before the challenge is over. What's the prize? Committing to a run will get me +1 to Charisma. Failing to commit will get me jack squat. For not missing a single day of running, I get +2 Stamina and +2 Dexterity. 1-4 days missed gets me +1 to each. And missing more than 5 days will get me a big fat goose egg, and not the golden kind either. Write Here, Write Now I have some WIPs that I'd really like to finish, but I've fallen out of the habit of regular writing, and I seem to have this horrible block about writing at my own computer at home. I use a portable word processor for most stuff these days, and that's not much. But if that's what it takes to get me writing, than the word processor will be my best-est friend in the whole world. I MUST WRITE! What's in it for me? I'll finish a story, hopefully, and won't that be nice! But if I log 1,000 minutes of writing time in the next six weeks - an average of 24 minutes per day - I will get 3 shiny points of Wisdom. 750-999 minutes gets me 2 points, 500-749 minutes get's +1 to Wisdom. Less than that will be better than nothing, but not worth a point's worth of anything. So there it is. I hope I've been specific enough. Let me know what you think of my goals and if they need tweaking.