Oh. My. God. Becky...

I. Like. Big...planners and I cannot lie.

*ahem*

Okay...so maybe I have a mild obsession with stationary. I can't think of a writer who doesn't get a little giddy during back to school time. I've had more than one conversation with a writer friend about sticky notes and writing utensils.

Don't get me wrong, I love me some techy stuff too. Just check out my fancy clicky mechanical keyboard. (It's wireless and bluetooth linkable to three simultaneous devices. Yeah. And it lights up and is pretty.)

But despite the gadgets I accumulate...(Alexa...remind me to pay my Best Buy credit card bill.)...I still have a love of putting pen to paper.

I take notes for stories, write down shopping lists. Pin down reminders, and have taken to leaving myself notes in places I'll see them too often to ignore.

Planners, just like any hobby, comes with a whole community. (#TeamHorizontal #BuJo4Life) I keep up with a few Facebook groups and some YouTube channels that I check in on when I want an excuse to buy more accessories.

One of the channels I watch regularly, Miss Trenchcoat, popped up while I was scrolling through my various social medias. She's doing an Instagram challenge to help ramp up productivity for the end of the year.

Sometimes the universe hits you in the face with the fact that you're slacking. I think this is one of those times. So I signed up for the #Fall4Productivity challenge. And I'll be checking in on the hashtag (and posting to it) all of September.

This is where you all hold me accountable. Below is the graphic if you want to play along.

My September goals are going to include plotting out 5 stories, (Yes. You heard it right. This pantser is attempting to plot. Hold me.), going through critique partner edits, and writing fresh words on a daily basis. 

Bonus goals...reading everyday both for fun and craft, journaling, and meditation. 

I've got my new planner. I've already filled out my goal tracker, but I'm still dabbling with the routine pages. I'm getting ready to crush this month. If you need a kick in the ass too, follow me on Instagram (@roxymews), tag me to let me know you're playing, and let's get shit done.

At least until the holiday season. Then we'll drink spiked cider and hide from the scary mall people. 

What goals are you working toward?

~Roxy

To find Roxy's books with buy links and what she has coming up next check out her website at RoxyRocksMe.com

I Could Have *ahem* All Night: On a search for the perfect song to *ahem* by

So I generally have music playing in my head, but today I was writing up a guest blog post on music and had to look up one of my flute things on YouTube (Greensleeves on Irish flute and Gilead, if you're interested). That got the music into my ears instead.

And it reminded me of the music I love--Irish reels. My favorite Irish reel group is actually Polish. This is why I love them. By the end they're just BURNING the tempo.

Well, turns out there's a playlist of several hours of music. Normally I'm pretty static when I work, and my hips show it. But today I ran the playlist and I did so much dancing and rocking out in the chair, I lost 3 pounds. Really.

So I thought, if my favorite moving music can help me to move SO MUCH, what about "moving" music, as it were?

There's a rumor among musicians that the two best pieces to do it by are Bolero (because of the pervasive driving beat and the slow crescendo) (and what's with those trombone slides?!?) and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (the guy's supposed to "glissando" wink-wink-nudge-nudge to the long, slow, opening clarinet gliss).

Other than that, I don't have a lot of songs to do it by, but I do know some songs of really questionable taste.

Boobs a Lot would not be written today, though it's got a catchy beat. Then there are the old standbys Barnacle Bill the Sailor (this one's funny but some versions get downright nasty) and this hilarious rendition of Roll Me Over in the Clover ("You mean it's buried treasure...?")

Luckily YouTube suggests other videos. In writing this I discovered Grandma's Viagra song, the Limerick Song, and the Coming (round the mountain) Song.

What songs would inspire you? Leave your suggestions for songs to do it by in the comments!!