well, it’s the last day of the month. time to do a bit of an update on my goals for the year. in short? i’m not doing that well, but i’m not sucking up the joint either. some things got in the way of my progress, but i’m still hopeful i can keep it all on track. so here’s the status of the big four:

1. the novel
after writing another 15k and doing a lot of thinking and reorganizing, i’ve decided to scrap what i’ve written and start over. i’m currently slogging my way through getting an outline together, which feels right and will help me clarify those vague bits that are still lingering at the edges of the story. it’s interesting because as i’m doing this planning different characters are stepping up and taking prominence at different places where before there was a void. they’re solving my problems for me and i’m grateful.

2. french
stalled, stalled, stalled. it’s not too late as i’ve still got a good grasp on what i’ve learned thus far, but i haven’t worked on it at all the last week and a half. (see novel grappling above) this is the one major goal that i’m most concerned about. it’s sticktoitiveness is not very inspiring. i’ll keep trying, giving it another month, but if i’ve not gotten anywhere by the end of februrary, this may get dropped and i shall sob.

3. the website
on hold. i was going to try to reteach myself html/xhtml and css this month. i realized that what i really need is to get the server space and be able to dig in and make a mess. apparently i learn this kind of stuff best when i have a real world application for it. i’m crossing my fingers that we’ll be able to afford the space this month. my lack of a web home, while i do love this layout and google pages may soon be filling some holes, is beginning to wear on me.

4. the crusades
sort of in motion. i’ve still not finished the first Runciman and i wanted to get through the first two this month. this project is never far from my mind, though, as i a couple of blogs in my feed revolve around this time period and my novel draws largely from the military orders. this one will definitely stick, it’s just moving a little slower than i’d like.

so there we have it. french is most in jeopardy, everything else is either integrated or simply on hold due to circumstances beyond my control. all in all, i’m not thrilled with things as i know i have it in me to be doing better than i am.

i’m thinking at the moment that if french doesn’t work out i’ll try to get some of the other minor goals going. i’ve plenty of other projects i’d love to work on, though perhaps it would be better to fill in french’s absence with more noveling and more reading. eh. we shall see what february brings.

for now though, tomorrow is the first and the beautiful thing with that is that i’ll be able to get a fresh start. i’ve just got to keep on moving.