For the March challenge, I bit off more than I could chew.

For two reasons.

One: I underestimated the write a mystery how-to book. I knew there were exercises in the book to complete, not that you have to but I felt are important to do, which meant I needed a good chunk of time to devote to them.

Two: Reading at night is one thing, trying to read and do writing exercises in the book at night is quite another. I found I did not have the brainpower to do the exercises, or, at least, give them the attention that they needed.

The first plan was to alternate reading the how-to book and the cozy mystery example alternating by day. Once I realized the exercises in the book needed more energy and brainpower than I had at night, I decided to read the cozy mystery at night and do the exercises in the morning in place of my usual writing time. It was for writing, so it made sense.

By the end of the first week, I realized I hadn’t even started the cozy mystery because I was so tired at night I couldn’t keep my eyes open to read. Between changes in the weather and being so busy at work, my energy reserves were tapped. I was even having trouble waking up in the morning on time to get my writing done.

The second week was even busier at work, and I was going to bed even earlier and still waking up later than usual. I felt guilty for not doing more with the how-to book, and I didn’t even crack open the cozy mystery until Thursday…and realized that I needed to change the book for something new. I’m sure it’s a good book, I just couldn’t get into it.

Since I hadn’t been reading much more than books/articles for grad school or fanfiction for quite a while, I was behind in reading the awesome offerings from a few authors that I enjoy, so I thought going back to one of them would be a good idea. I chose to read a cozy mystery by Josh Lanyon, which was part of a series, and ended up fighting sleep to read. (Thankfully, that was Friday and Saturday nights.)

The mysteries are well-paced, quick, fun (despite the murders that plagued the small town), and I read five books (of seven – the last who are on pre-order) in three days thanks to a late winter storm and freezing temps this weekend.

What I’d like to do now is read the how-to book and think about how the first Lanyon book fits the blueprint. I purchased the e-books, so I can make notes on my tablet as I go along. When I will get it done, morning or night, I don’t know as long as I work on it a little each day. It would be nice if work calmed down a little, but who knows.

As much as I love to plan things out, I need to remember to be flexible and not waste time feeling guilty for not accomplishing every goal. I’ve been slacking on journaling and have noticed it in how I fell into the guilt spiral and have been feeling less positive about how I am dealing with things in general. Work being what it is, I need more patience than I have at the moment, so getting back into that habit is key.

Ending on a positive note, I am so happy to have so many new (to me) Josh Lanyon books to read, and I have an idea for my April challenge story. Now to break down the cozy mystery formula so I can write one of my own!

Josh Lanyon writes m/m mysteries and her books can be found here on her website or on Amazon (where I purchased the e-books). The series I read over the weekend is Secrets & Scrabble, starting with Murder at Pirate’s Cove.