HiddenValor - Worn-down pencils and Coin Belts

[HiddenValor]

Greetings, Rebels! I am so honored to be participating in my first challenge with you all. It just so happens that I sat down this last weekend while my husband was out of town to plan out my goals for the next six months and figure out what I needed to do each week to achieve them. At first, I figured I would just leave it at that, but as I read through the forums for this challenge, I realized I would be missing out on a great support and accountability community; so I decided to officially sign-up for the challenge and encourage other rebels like myself to reach their goals.

 

Currently, I weigh about 250 lbs, and wear a dress-size 18/20 (somewhere in the middle); ideally, I would like to wear a size 12. I am also an aspiring writer and would love to earn some money for my work and/or see my name in print.

 

Goal #1: Exercise 5 days a week for at least 20 minutes per day.

 

       --Alternate between strength training and cardio. (i.e. MWF is weight lifting or body weight workouts, TTh is bellydance, yoga, walking, etc.)

 

Grading:

A - Exercised for at least 20 minutes a day for 30 days.

B - Exercised for at least 20 minutes a day for 24 days.

C - Exercised for at least 20 minutes a day for 18 days.

D - Exercised for at least 20 minutes a day for 12 days.

F - Exercised for at least 20 minutes a day for <12 days.

 

 

Goal #2: Stop drinking soda.

    

      --I drink about 1 Dr. Pepper a day, usually to keep me awake after my lunch break (I'm on my feet for my whole shift; that can get exhausting after a while). I will replace my daily soda with water, tea, or juice (if there isn't too much sugar in it). The "Naked" fruit smoothies have always been very good to me   . 

 

Grading:

A - no soda for 42 days.

B - no soda for 36 days.

C - no soda for 30 days.

D - no soda for 24 days.

F - no soda for <24 days.

 

Goal #3: Query/Submit to at least 6 publications.

 

      --Send query letters to at least 3 publications that require them before sending a manuscript. A query is a letter to the publication editor asking if he or she is interested in running your piece (article/story/poem/etc.). Many publications require a query letter, and then will ask the author for the complete manuscript if they are interested. If you send them your piece without querying first, they may throw it away without reading it; they call them unsolicited manuscripts.

      --Submit manuscripts to at least 3 publications that do not require a query letter. Some publications are okay with receiving unsolicited manuscripts.

      --Mail at least 1 query/submission per week.

 

Grading:

A - Query 3+ publications. Submit to 3+ publications.

B - Query 3 publications. Submit to 2 publications.

C - Query 2 publications. Submit to 2 publications.

D - Query 2 publications. Submit to 1 publication.

F - Query 0 publications. Submit to 0 publications.

 

 

Goal #4: Write 1000 words per day, 5 days a week.

 

      --Pretty self-explanatory.

 

Grading:

A - 1000 wds a day for 30 days.

B - 1000 wds a day for 24 days.

C - 1000 wds a day for 18 days.

D - 1000 wds a day for 12 days.

F - 1000 wds a day for <12 days.

 

 

A word on my grading scale: The day count I have included in my grading scales are cut-off amounts to account for some variability in performance. For instance, if I exercised for 26 days during the challenge, I would still grade myself an A because I exercised more than the cut-off amount for the B grade, which is 24 days. I hope that makes sense. The only exception would be Goal #3 with the publication submissions. In order for me to achieve an A grade, I must query at least 3 publications and submit to at least 3 publications. Anything less results in a lower grade.

 

I look forward to sharing with my progress with everybody.   

 

HV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sunmage]

Great!

 

Welcome here!

 

Can you write my literary thesis? It will help you with the 1000 words...

[allirep]

i used to work for a researcher who was trying to publish an article - best of luck! i know how hard it can be to get an article out there.  

 

do you have the opportunity at work to take a nap?  speaking as a coffee addict, i find that a cup of coffee followed immediately by 15 minutes of eyes closed time results in a much happier me.

[DoubleOrNothing]

Sounds like you have some great goals! 

Btw, what kind of writing do you do? 

 

Best of luck to you!

[ScurvySpider]

Welcome.

Your query/submission goal terrifies me, and I don't even write!  Does it terrify you?  Good for you for getting on that.

 

Re:  soda:  I've targeted soda (indirectly:) in this challenge too.  In experimenting with substitutes, my favorite so far is to brew raspberry tea and mix it with seltzer water.

[jnicole]

Welcome!

 

On your writing goals, is writing 1000 words something that comes easily to you? I wouldn't want you to write a lot of great stuff and receive a lower grade because you didn't get quite the right amount of words or days in. {good thinking on the buffer zones between grades, I like it}

 

Good luck with submitting your queries and manuscripts! We're cheering you on!

[HiddenValor]

Can you write my literary thesis? It will help you with the 1000 words...

 

I appreciate the offer, but I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request. I am so done with writing academic papers.    I'd be willing to proofread it for you, though.

 

Sounds like you have some great goals! 

Btw, what kind of writing do you do? 

 

Best of luck to you!

 

I like to write fiction for the most part, especially in the science fiction and fantasy genres. I would like to get a novel published someday (that's what the 1000 words will work toward as well) but for now, I'm focusing on short stories and poetry.

 

Welcome.

Your query/submission goal terrifies me, and I don't even write!  Does it terrify you?  Good for you for getting on that.

 

Re:  soda:  I've targeted soda (indirectly:) in this challenge too.  In experimenting with substitutes, my favorite so far is to brew raspberry tea and mix it with seltzer water.

 

It does scare me, actually. Sometimes I obsess over getting all their writer's guidelines perfectly right that I don't bother to submit anything if I don't have the write size envelope.

 

Welcome!

 

On your writing goals, is writing 1000 words something that comes easily to you? I wouldn't want you to write a lot of great stuff and receive a lower grade because you didn't get quite the right amount of words or days in. {good thinking on the buffer zones between grades, I like it}

 

Good luck with submitting your queries and manuscripts! We're cheering you on!

 

I was thinking about that earlier--how maybe I shouldn't have included the 1000 words as a goal. Even if I get a lower grade for not doing enough words for enough days, I'll still produce a lot of material to work with over the next six weeks. That's definitely a win for me.

 

 

 

Thank you guys so much for the encouraging welcome!

 

HiddenValor

[HiddenValor]

 

 

do you have the opportunity at work to take a nap?  speaking as a coffee addict, i find that a cup of coffee followed immediately by 15 minutes of eyes closed time results in a much happier me.

 

I would love to be able to take a nap at work! But I can't. I only get a 30 minute lunch break (no lunch if I'm scheduled for less than 5.5 hours), and I spend half of that time eating my food. I suppose a 15-min power nap would be fine; I may try that some time this week and see how I feel.

 

No soda today! Yay! Drank a bunch of water instead.

 

But I'm so tired...

 

I also have a question. Even though I signed up for the challenge on April 16th, can I count the submission I mailed on April 15th toward my submissions goal, since I submitted it within the time frame of the challenge?

 

HV

[Chanda]

Welcome to the Druids! Glad you chose our guild!

 

You have a nicely laid out set of goals that should make a real difference to your life.

 

I am specially impressed how you are tackling head on your goal to get something published. Very inspiring!

 

I would say that the submission you mailed on April 15th can count. It really depends on how you feel about it though... maybe leave it as a backup? Wouldn't it be great to have submitted to 4 publishers in the space of 6 weeks? 

 

If you get a chance do join our mini-challenge:

http://nerdfitnessrebellion.com/index.php?/topic/27575-mini-challenge-around-nf-in-40-days-strong-like-a-warrior/

[I am Eve]

Welcome to the Druids. Great goals, uncomplicated yet demanding!

[HiddenValor]

Here's an update for this week. I decided to include stuff from Monday, even though I didn't sign up until Tuesday. 

 

Monday: Submitted to a haiku magazine. Drank soda. Didn't get to my workout or my 1000 words. 

Tuesday: No soda. Did my cardio--a bellydance DVD produced by Neena and Veena Bidasha. Didn't get to my 1000 words. 

Wednesday: No soda. Didn't get to my strength training. Wrote 1,020 words. 

Thursday: No soda. Did my bellydance DVD and wrote 1042 words. 

Friday: Still up in the air. 

[Wandern]

Looks like a good start! Congratulations on the submission! Belly dance is awesome. I used to take lessons, but my teacher moved and so now I just dance around the living room. Another druid, Spider, teaches it. 

 

I like tea for my afternoon pick-me-ups. Green tea is good cold. If you miss the fizzy, there are some good flavored waters out there with no sweeteners. Trader Joe's lime is a current favorite ;-).

[HiddenValor]

I love flavored water, especially if it's carbonated. Peach and white grape are my favorite flavors.

 

I hope I hear back soon on the submission, though I expect it might  not be until after the challenge is over. Oh well.

[Spider]

Neena and Veena are a great way to get to know the world of belly dancing! Welcome!

[Wandern]

Ooh, peach fizzy water! I've got to find some of that.

[allirep]

Here's an update for this week. I decided to include stuff from Monday, even though I didn't sign up until Tuesday. 

 

Monday: Submitted to a haiku magazine. Drank soda. Didn't get to my workout or my 1000 words. 

Tuesday: No soda. Did my cardio--a bellydance DVD produced by Neena and Veena Bidasha. Didn't get to my 1000 words. 

Wednesday: No soda. Didn't get to my strength training. Wrote 1,020 words. 

Thursday: No soda. Did my bellydance DVD and wrote 1042 words. 

Friday: Still up in the air. 

 

sounds like you are doing pretty good - don't sell yourself short - kicking the soda habit is hard! your forget and order it at a restaurant w/o even thinking.  or your loving husband just hands a fresh cold one to you ... and then he snatches it back saying "I'm sorry I forgot you were quitting..."

 

but enough about me - you got a little bit of everything done! so good job.  i will be borrowing your fizzy tea idea.  i had been putting frozen fruit in water (or tequila) - but fizzy tea... hmmm that might get me to drink more tea and less coffee.

[HiddenValor]

Just submitted a short story to online fiction magazine! I forgot to mention my word count in my cover letter, but the story is within their word-limit, so I hope they won't count that slip-up against me. I should hear back in a couple of weeks. If they accept it, I'll get paid $50. Woohoo!

 

I also did the beginner's body weight workout today; I got through two circuits, whereas a few weeks ago, I was only doing one circuit. Yay progress!

 

No soda so far today .

 

Still working on my 1000 words for the day.

 

HV

[Chanda]

Looks like a day full of win! 

 

Did you get to the 1000 words for the day?

 

Also, what about making a checklist for future submissions? That way you won't repeat a slip-up... 

[Spider]

Congrats on your progress!  I did a soda-reduction mini challenge last time.  Tough, but worth it!

[HiddenValor]

This week has been kinda tough with my goals. I don't think I've made 1000 words any day this week and only did my workouts for three days (hoping to do one tomorrow to make up for one of those). But I did get that story submitted on Monday, and I still haven't had any soda. Not a total fail for the week, but hopefully next week I'll do better.

 

HV

[radialgirl]

Awesome on the goals you did accomplish this week! Totally sure ya can do better next week

[I am Eve]

This week has been kinda tough with my goals. I don't think I've made 1000 words any day this week and only did my workouts for three days (hoping to do one tomorrow to make up for one of those). But I did get that story submitted on Monday, and I still haven't had any soda. Not a total fail for the week, but hopefully next week I'll do better.

HV

Still good work, and we all slip up at times. It's not giving up that makes a difference :-)

[Brian.]

Still good work, and we all slip up at times. It's not giving up that makes a difference :-)

 

This x1000

 

It's getting back on the horse that keeps things consistent and gives results in the long run.

[HiddenValor]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I really appreciate it

[allirep]

eh you are still making progress! keep on keeping on!