Eight Crazy Nights - BICHOK Accomplishments

From of the awesome folks at Ninth Moon, I have 3 sets of B.I.C.H.O.K. magnets for today’s prize. If you’re not familiar, that stands for “Butt In Chair, Hands on Keyboard.” This was my mantra earlier this year while writing The Book, and I love these magnets. They crack me up.

So, want a set? Leave a comment and tell us what task you are most proud of accomplishing this year.

Mine is no secret: writing the Bitch Book, when I’d never written a book before and didn’t honestly know if I could, is something I’m ineffably proud of, and I still get all giddy when I think about it.

So what are you most proud of this year that you did? Big, small, I’m curious – I’ll pick three winners in 24 hours.

Comments are Closed

  1. I got an agent, and I’m still all thrilled and inarticulate over it. I finished two books of a trilogy and am 1/3 of the way through the last.

  2. evabaruk says:

    I didn’t slash my ex boyfriend’s tires after he broke my heart for the second time.

    Do I get credit for things I’m not supposed to do?

  3. hollygee says:

    I designed and painted a trompe l’oeil door for a friend’s house. It did exactly what it was supposed to do: distract the eye—attractively—from an area of an exterior wall where she wasn’t going to be able to match the siding.

  4. Sara N. says:

    I started my diet, and I mean it this time. It’s a lifestyle change that includes healthy eating and exercise. Go new, healthier me!

  5. Finally convinced myself that I am not my job, and that I do not owe them any more loyalty than they, apparently, feel toward me.

  6. MJ says:

    I wrote and contracted two novellas this year-6 weeks for one and 2 weeks for the other!

  7. ev says:

    I managed to get the daughter packed and shipped to CA for college, now I just have to get her there.

    I also didn’t kill anyone in hubby’s family for ruining our vacation this week.

    Yet.

  8. Caty M says:

    I completed the first draft of a full-length novel.  It’s still nowhere near ready to start sending out queries to agents and publishers, but it’s a damn sight better (and longer) than anything I’ve managed in the past.

  9. Jennifer C says:

    I applied to present a paper on vampire romance novels at a conference and got in!

  10. tracykitn says:

    I have managed not to completely alienate my husband over the matter of whether or not he’s actually quit smoking. I know—I have incontrovertible evidence—that he hasn’t, but I’m planning carefully how to bring it up without anger or a guilt trip. But it’s hard for me because the lingering smoke on his uniforms gives me migraines.

    also, I made a nifty makeshift bookcase out of packing boxes to last me until we get the new one set up next week. I was going into withdrawal having my books all packed up where I couldn’t access them.

  11. zumie says:

    I too finished my first ever book, which I started three years ago (eh, I procrastinate). Still need to revise the darn thing, but I’m hoping to crawl my way into the published world with it if I can get an agent.

  12. KL says:

    My greatest accomplishment is not losing my mind this year. My husband has been deployed for all but a month and some change of the last twelve, and right now he’s in Afghanistan. At the same time as this deployment hell, I started my grad degree work. I’ve nearly completed the first draft of my thesis. I’ve also nearly completed the first draft of a paranormal romance. And – most important – I haven’t sold my wee sproglets on eBay.

    It’s been a hellish year, but I’m still kicking. That’s definitely an accomplishment.

  13. Ariana says:

    I moved to Chicago to live with my beloved, and have since found three jobs in this economy: barista, temp graphic designer, and now non-temp graphic designer.  🙂

  14. elianara says:

    I got a half-time job I really like, and I’m doing better with handling my depression. And I made this really nice laptop bag for my sister for Christmas. Sewing isn’t my forte really, so I’m enormously proud of that one.

  15. Vicki says:

    I finished 50029 words for National Novel Writing Month, while being a full time pediatrician and raising a grandson (and having lots of help from grandpa).

  16. Kim says:

    Flew to Chicago and attended a fan convention where I knew absolutely NO ONE. And made a wonderful new group of friends.

  17. Eliza says:

    I went back to college to study fiction writing.  I am having such a blast and producing a lot of pages, too.

  18. Vicki says:

    Oh, and congrats to everyone else, especially the ones who avoided doing things. That is hard.

  19. Silver James says:

    Wow, ladies! Awesome accomplishments so far! I finally got up the nerve to start submitting manuscripts again (after almost 20 years since my last rejection). I’ve “suffered” a few rejections, gotten some great advice, and made my first sale. In other words, I didn’t quit this time.

  20. Dena Hankins says:

    I’m a bad candidate for magnets because I’ll be in India another couple months, but I wanted to answer you anyway.  Besides coming to India in August and all the fun I’ve had here, I’m most proud of a hackjob I did.

    I finished my first manuscript about a year ago and have been doing rewrites slowly.  I finished my second manuscript about a month ago.  But after that second one was finished, I did something I’m very proud of.  I listened to the criticism of the first one clearly and honestly (something I’d had trouble doing when it was newer).  I erased and completely rewrote the first two chapters.  They were not representative of the rest of the book and didn’t do the main characters any favors.  Now they’re a good start to a good book.

    My second book is still better, but hey…

  21. Tina S says:

    I completed my first draft of my theraputical/semi-autobiographical war story during NaNoWriMo. It was so amazing to actually have an ending to one of my stories-my computer is filled with never-finished stories.

  22. Madd says:

    I got out of bed every day. Considering the level depression I dealt with at times, that was pretty darned good.

    I haven’t given my aunt shit when she’s does something insane. She’s only 4 years older than I. She’s so much younger than her sibling that she’s more like my sister than my mother’s. The problem is that she makes horrible choices. I talk to her about it, but I don’t go at her the way the rest of the family does because she just gets angry and shuts everyone out. Everyone needs someone they can talk to and I seems to be it for her. So far this year she’s changed her focus in school from computer tech to medical examiner. She’s had a pregnancy scare when she’s a single mom to a teenage boy who works full time, goes to school nights, and is involved with a guy who treats her like a booty call despite the fact that he’s invited her to move to Nigeria with him, which she was actually considering until I talked her out of it. Now she wants to get lap banded even though she doesn’t really need it and I know she won’t change her lifestyle to support the procedure. I doubt I’ll be able to talk her out of it. She doesn’t think anyone (read: man) will love her so long as she’s overweight. I’ve tried pointing out that she weighs less than me and I’m married, but she seems to consider that an exception to the rule. Her real problem? She’s got self-esteem issues and so dates jerks who treat her like dirt. She’ll drop a nice guy like a hot potato.

    And, wow, I should not post things when I’m exhausted and on flu medicine.

  23. Sugarless says:

    I don’t know, this has been a pretty terrible year in general for me. I’m probably most proud of how well I’m doing with school even though I have so much on my plate. So yeah getting through two of the hardest semesters so far with good grades and landing (and doing well in) a great internship over the summer.

  24. I contracted several books and novellas this year.  My daughter had the best accomplishment this year, though.  She has learning disabilities and she is finally starting to learn how to read.  She told me she wants to grow up and write books like her mommy.

  25. KellyMaher says:

    I have two very proud moments with regards to my writing career. One was having my first new release in almost two years back in October. The second was writing and selling a short story to Black Lace for my first “original to print” release. These two things have really given me the confidence to keep me going as I’d begun to question the viability of my writing career.

  26. Suze says:

    Due to work-related things (most especially working an extra month or months per year for three years running), I had burned out a little bit.  Last year (2007), I worked crazy overtime again, but got all my debt paid off.  This past year, I:

    – worked only 24 hours of overtime.
    – stayed out of debt.
    – built up an emergency fund of useful size.
    – started on a down payment for an eventual house.
    – recovered (mostly) from the burnout and accompanying depression.
    – declined to jump on every problem that presents itself, because I’m NOT the only guy who can fix it.  (Even though other people’s fixes are naturally inferior to mine.  Just sayin’)
    – realized that I’m over 40 and have to retire someday, so I’d best plan for it.

    All of which makes me look back and think, dang! I did pretty good.

  27. I grew a tiny human in my uterus and then forcibly expelled it whilst screaming my head off.

  28. Oh, also, I got to a point in my career in which my husband could quit his job and stay home with the kids so that I could be a full time writer.

    I’m really, really proud of that.

  29. Stephanie says:

    I formed a corporation and created a new comic book for knitters, blending 2 of my loves.

    I also made my first fiction sale (to Paper Bag Press, which I learned about from SBTB).

    I read 71 books (so far).

    I was *there* when my family needed me to be. Said goodbye to my grandmother and helped clean out her house after she died. I catalogued the 750+ books in her library so my family would be able to select the ones they wanted without having to go through them all individually, and send the rest to auction. One set of 2 books sold for over $600 at the auction.

  30. Strategerie says:

    I planned the largest RWA chapter conference on the West Coast. It went well.

    I also finished a book.

  31. Appomattoxco says:

    Starting physical therapy again and getting over my fear of needles to start botox treatment on my legs [for CP not wrinkles, my legs have no wrinkles LOL!]

  32. KTG says:

    Getting a ‘B’ in Math 011, the equivalent of High School Algebra. I finally did it! I finally passed Algebra! (I’m someone who fears the thought of numbers and letters working together to confuse and scare me. ) I guess old dogs can learn new tricks! (I’m 33.)

  33. AgTigress says:

    What a lot of writers we are…  🙂 

    My tenth book was finished and published but more of an achievement than that was that at last I completed and handed over the manuscript of the major academic publication that has been ruling my life for sixteen years – since long before I retired from full-time employment.  So, although there will be lots of editing, proof-reading and indexing still to come, I feel huge relief, because sometimes I thought I would never finish writing the &^%$£ thing.

  34. Cheryl says:

    I learned to quilt.  As my “master work” of the year, I quilted a king size blanket on a standard sewing machine.  If you are a quilter, you will understand the difficulty.  If you are not a quilter… go to the next post 😉

  35. Carin says:

    I (along with my husband) started doing foster care again, learning to take care of a medically needy little guy along with the rest of our kiddos.

  36. katiebabs says:

    I finally reached one my dreams of working for a major television corporation in NYC after 10 years 😀

  37. Chanel19 says:

    I’ve managed not to react to a co-worker who every shift gives me chapter and verse on why my Country should not be in Afghanistan and how all service personnel are war loving morons.  My husband is currently serving there.

    Dont’cha love freedom of speech.

  38. Morgan says:

    I went back to school, after being a drop-out for 3.5 years. & I passed my first semester back! Wooo!

  39. Alex says:

    I worked as a teaching assistant in a geology lab, and the first lab test, the class made 25 A’s, two B’s, two C’s, and one E.

    Then on the last test, these friends were, not to put too fine a point on it, ditzes. I ran the review out in the hall, and they were the last to go in for the test, and they were both freaking out and saying, “I’m gonna fail, I’m gonna fail…”

    I ended up running downstairs to raid a candy dish for Jolly Ranchers (so they had something to take their minds off of test anxiety), ran the test for them, and then graded them.

    One made an 86, and the other an 84.

  40. Estelle Chauvelin says:

    I got a librarian job with actual hours, just two months after finishing my Masters of Library Science (and therefore no longer getting any advantage out of being only a substitute librarian).

    I just hope that this time next year I’m responding to a survey like this by saying that I’ve gotten up to full time.

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