Not sure about the titling, but I do want to bring this back for the new year. I used to do these, and you can find some older ones on the site if you search, but this is the 2022 strand, starting now with a Special Limited Edition Holographic Etched Foil Vol. 0!

For the uninitiated, Weeknotes are a way to keep track of what you did over your past week (what projects you started or finished, what links interested you the most, what your thoughts are on what you accomplished, etc.) that you share with others in the hope the find it as interesting as you did. I first found out about them through Matt Webb, but quickly discovered the massive community of people sharing their Weeknotes with the world.

I could never keep up with them before, falling off the wagon for several weeks at a time.

For this coming year, I’m trying it again.

2021 was a big year for me. Dealing with the aftermath of losing a key and beloved family member, I rededicated myself to my writing craft. This push, spurred on by her passing, helped me completely rewrite Project: GREY, my middle-grade science fiction adventure, making it more palpable for querying. I also finished writing another book, Project: DEED, middle-grade realistic fiction with fantasy elements. As such, the 2nd draft is ready to get started…after a few failed attempts.

So we’ll be pitching Project: GREY as soon as the year is off and running, editing DEED with the hopes of querying it as soon as the 3rd quarter of the year arrives, and writing the first drafts of at least two more books this year, either standalone or new series starters, all in the hopes of landing an agent whom I can work with to bring my writing dreams to life.

Even more.

But not so much I burn myself out. I’m not a “young man” per say. 34 is not old, I get that, but I’m not in the “young man mindset” anymore.

I can’t work myself until 3 in the morning and just get up at 7am like nothing is wrong. I have people relying on me, every day, to be alert, with it, and above all, not a cranky sourpuss who no one wants to be around which is not to say that it hasn’t happened but oh boy does my wife let me know when I’m grumpy sourpuss who no one wants to be around.

I don’t want to be a grumpy dad.

For example, I have to surrender to the fact I can’t work out/exercise the way I want to. There’s literally no time. I’m a dad, with twin 2-year old boys and a third boy on the way. My time is not infinite. Between freelancing four to five days a week in the morning from 6am to 8am, then hanging with the boys and maintaining the house from 8am to 12:30p, then working on my WIPs during their nap time from 12:30p until 2p, then spending the rest of the day with the boys and wife until bedtime anywhere between 8:30p-9p, there is zero time to lift weights.

Since this is my first Weeknotes of the year, started on a Saturday, there’s not much work to report on, but there was a lot of contemplation leading to this point. I like to find time around the holidays to be with my thoughts, listen to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe soundtrack (a criminally underrated film score), and reflect on the year that’s past and the year to come.

2022 might be the year of accepting what I am and knowing to maneuver and succeed despite it.

I can’t workout in long, extended sessions like I did in my 20s, but I can take my boys for walks, allowing us to get not only fresh air, but enough dopamine to let me mind wander and think of stories.

I can’t closely monitor my macros, but I can fast and keep not eating junk food. While this has been made more difficult with a pregnant wife who LOVES donuts, I can say, ‘No.’

I can’t binge read for hour-long moments, but I can read for 5 minutes every night before I pass out from sheer exhaustion.

It’s not a lot.

But not a lot is more than enough.

The following is my new Field Notes method for the year.

Since I’m still a stay-at-home dad, without much need for a big, important Bullet Journal anymore, two Field Notes is all I’m going to carry.

The black one on the right, a Field Notes Ignition, is a 26-week date book, taking me through the first half of the year. This will be for logging what needs to be done on a daily basis, with space at the bottom for weekly goals or funny things, like a Haiku or whatever.

The silver one is an older edition of Field Notes, the Black Ice edition. I think this is my last one, as I couldn’t find any other in the drawer of unused Filed Notes I seem to be collecting like an old hermit in the mountains who will surely drown in small memo books, but it was one of my favorites and felt right to use to start this new process. This one, no longer used for daily tasks or weekly errands, will be used for generating ideas, writing the introductions and structures of my freelance work, as well as outlining blog posts.

Basically, everything written starts there.

Inside of the Ignition Edition.

Carrying these two around with me everywhere, pen or pencil in hand (starting with a GraphGear 500 0.5 pencil), and we’ll see how we do.

New Morning Pages notebook

I couldn’t finish the last one until the very end. I was given it as a gift from my sister-in-law for Christmas in 2020 and hoped to fill the thing before the year was out.

With some extended breaks here and there, I was about 8 pages short. That’s fine. I’m okay with that. My Nana Pat encouraged me to keep writing a daily journal during these pandemic times, something to look back on when the years pass, to remember.

I’m keeping it up for her.

The right one I bought a Phoenix Comic Con some years ago.

Book Quotes – Magic Vol.1 – Jed Mackay, Ig Guara

“…and I suggest we sleep on what we’ve learned.”

“Sleep. Good luck, after all of that.”

“Rest. If there is a war coming…and I fear that there is…then we will all need rest.”

Jed Mackay

This series took me by complete and total surprise.

I am a Magic the Gathering fan, through and through, and get to play a weekly Commander game with my friends every Thursday night over camera since they all live in Tucson. It’s been a wonderful way to stay connected and keep my skills sharp in what I consider one of the best games ever.

So. The story. *takes a deep breath*

Magic is a story set in a multiverse (hello, Loki) where every plane of existence is vastly different from the last, ranging from a world made entirely of metal to a another filled with monstrous horrors out of old black-and-white movies, magic and sorcery rule the day.

On the world of Ravnica, a plane made up of one never-ending city, three Planeswalkers (the name given to those magic users who can jump from one plane of reality to another, hence the name) are all attacked in a mysterious assassination attempt. Their pursuits of the truth will take them across the multiverse, unraveling secret after secret, as the three reluctant allies are forced to uncover the truth surrounding a new threat coming to their home world, with ties back to a millennia old threat..

I’ve not read anything by Mackay before this, but with some research I’ve found he’s written Daredevil, Black Cat, and Moon Knight over at Marvel so now I’m gonna have to check those out because his handling of multiple characters, dozens even, with distinct, unique voices is strong.

Ig Guara has just jumped to the top of my favorite artists lists, as the Brazillian native has a frenetic, chaotic style which doesn’t skip on the detail. You see every building in the background of busy fight sequences, while the facial features of each character reflects the insanity of what they’re dealing with. Energetic and fun, with moody and spiritual sequences too, I loved every page.

As I tweeted out, I can’t wait for Vol. 2 and am annoyed I read Vol. 1 so soon after it came out.

It’s a new year.

Be kind to yourself. Make strides to do better, to do more, to make the changes you want to make, but allow yourself forgiveness if things don’t go your way.

I’m a querying author. I have to forgive myself.

Week 1 is just starting.

Let’s make this a good one.

Thanks for reading,

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Contact: robertmichaelacosta@gmail.com