J.C. Keough

Paranormal Mystery Author

Thoughts

New Year, New Adventures: Setting Writing Goals and Sticking to Them

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Ah, the start of a new year—a time for fresh beginnings, renewed motivation, and a stack of untouched notebooks that I promised myself I’d fill with profound thoughts. Yes, it’s that time when I dust off my keyboard, sharpen my pencils (metaphorically, of course, who uses pencils anymore?), and set writing goals that I swear I’ll stick to this year.

Goal #1: Write Every Day

As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, I proudly declare, “This year, I will write every single day, no excuses!” Fast forward to January 2nd, and I’ll find myself binge-watching dog videos on YouTube, convinced that I’ll find inspiration in the way Rover destroys a squeaky ball. 

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Discovering the Origin of the Easter Bunny

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Trigger Warning: Pagan Origins

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is one of the most beloved symbols of the Easter holiday. All around the world, children anticipate the arrival of this furry, twitchy creature during the Easter season, its arrival only second to the excuse to eat Peeps. Just me? Ahem. Anyway, this cuddly cottontail brings yearly joy and delight as he/she/they deliver baskets filled with Easter eggs and other goodies. But have you ever wondered where the tradition comes from? 

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2023 Reading Goals Poll

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Hey Y’all!

How is your reading going so far in 2023? Each year for the last few years, I’ve set a reading goal, and I’ve hit it all except one year. As I got ready to post about the number I’m aspiring to this year, I started wondering how many of you set reading goals. So I thought I’d put out a poll to see.

Scroll through the options and then click on the picture that corresponds with the number of books you selected for your 2023 reading goal. And if you aren’t into setting a goal, that’s an option too. Keep scrolling if you want to see my number for 2023.

I’ll post the results on the blog and Facebook next week.

My 2023 Reading Goal

I’ve picked 100 books for this year’s challenge.

I’ve set my reading challenge at 100 books for 2023. I set the goal in Goodreads, log the books I’ve read, and it keeps up with the number. And I count everything – paper, ebook, and audiobooks.

If you set a goal, let me know in the comments how you come up with the number. Also, do you count audiobooks in your books read for the year total?

Psst! If you’re on Goodreads, friend/follow me there so we can support each other in reaching our goals this year. JCKeough on Goodreads.

Happy Reading!

Ask Me A Question – July 2022

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Have you always been a writer? If not, when did you start?

No, I’m not one of those authors you read about who has always written. But I’ve always been a reader and, like most readers, always thought, “I could do that.”

In my twenties, I dabbled in poetry. Very cringe-worthy poetry. Around that time, I also made several false starts on writing novels. I quickly realized that I didn’t know how to keep going past the first few pages. I’m going to age myself here and say that this was before the Internet really took off. Which meant I had to go to a bookstore and buy several how-to-write books. Unfortunately, they were drier than century-old bones. I’ve never been big on forcing myself to muddle through misery, so I didn’t finish any of them.

Life and my career got in the way, but I always thought “someday.” Then, one day I read an interview with one of my favorite authors, Mary Higgins Clark. She said, and I’m paraphrasing here, that if you are a writer, you write. You’ll write any time you get a chance. If you say, “someday I’ll write,” you’ll never write. Since I didn’t personally know any authors, I took her words as gospel and packed away my author dreams with my drier than the Sahara writing books.

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The Five Ways I Use Goodreads

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Goodreads is a website—with apps for mobile devices—that allows users to track books, read and leave book reviews, and connect with other readers. I started using Goodreads in 2019, and I wish I had found it sooner. So I’ve compiled the five ways that I use Goodreads. There are over five, but my cauldron, my reasons. 😂

Setting Reading Goals

Each year Goodreads starts a new reading challenge. I select a goal number of books I want to read for the year, and each time I mark a book as read, it counts toward my yearly goal. I’m goal-oriented, and I love marking things off to-do lists. So this is a win for me.

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Happy Friday the 13th!

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Or, “Happy Remember the Templars!” day, as I like to call it. This is a veiled reference to my home state’s call to arms –”Remember the Alamo!” And what do the Templars or the Alamo have to do with Friday the 13th? Stick with me for a moment and we’ll get there. FYI – I’ve added in pictures of Temple Church in London, a Templar church that dates back to 1185, just to liven things up a bit.

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