{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling

by Karen S. Wiesner 

   Beware spoilers! 

Caitlin Starling's previous new release, The Starving Saints, garnered a lukewarm, undeniably disappointed review from me (see

https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/2025/08/put-this-one-on-your-tbr-list-book.html) here on the Alien Romances Blog. As a result, I decided to hold off on purchasing the hardcover of The Graceview Patient, released October 14, 2025, despite that she's written some of my favorite novels (The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence--also reviewed on this blog and accessible with a search). While waiting for the paperback release, the audiobook version became available on one of my library apps so I borrowed it immediately. 

In The Graceview Patient, we're set up with what sounds like an absolutely irresistible horror scenario that was described in promotion as "Misery meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Okay, well, more so the latter than the former definitely got me drooling. Margaret has a rare autoimmune condition that wrecks any chance of her living a normal life. Without a cure, she's barely making it day by day until she's offered a spot in an experimental medical trial that's fully paid for. She'll be forced to live at Graceview Memorial Hospital full-time and subjecting herself to a treatment that will all but kill her. The fact that she has no one to go through it with her (apparently she's alienated every single person she considered relative or friend) doesn't initially bother her too much. The man in charge of all this, Adam, is charming in a way that Margaret has no willpower to resist. As the trial progresses, she begins exploring the hospital and finds something that only becomes increasingly more sinister the longer her trial goes on.

I'm not gonna lie to you: The early chapters of this book were absolutely brutal--so boring, it was almost painful to force myself to continue. In part it may have been done in this seemingly innocuous way in order to throw the reader off. But I have to comment on two aspects of this: 1) The audiobook was recorded at such a low volume that, even with my speaker hooked up and at full volume, I could barely hear it, and 2) the audiobook narrator had a voice all but designed to put a listener to sleep. I realized later that the intention was to come off sounding like the patient who progressively becomes sicker and sicker. She captured that in spades. Despite that there was a reason the narrator read this book the way she did, it was still difficult to endure. If it hadn't been a Caitlin Starling book, I might not have continued with it all the way through. I am glad I did, though, but the narrator choice did skew my initial perceptions of the story. Do I believe that the ebook or paperback would have been any better? No. I'm almost certain I would have struggled even more with those formats than this one. This book was written like a dry textbook. Only when you were too far into the net to back out did it become exciting and suspenseful. At all times, though, it was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. At no point did that cringing let up. 

One further complaint: All throughout the story, the author sprinkled in what could only be perceived as annoying "tell the story before I tell the story" injections, such as things like "maybe I should have been afraid or suspicious by that but I wasn't". If you don't believe you can set up a horror story well enough to be frightening when the time comes, this is the method you'd attempt to make it so. I register a full poo-poo on such a weak and unprofessional delivery system! I was taught early on as an author to never do that, and I agree with the advice wholeheartedly. 

All these issues aside, you have to read this full-on horror story! I can't imagine a single person alive not being anguished at the thought of being sick beyond cure, desperate to find any hope at all, and taking a risk however perilous that might lead to life--a risk that never would have been an option until that point. I can promise you that, once you've read The Graceview Patient, you'll never go near a medical facility without wondering what you're getting yourself in for, without being justifiably a little afraid. Do an internet search for "what bacteria/virus/infection is prominent in healthcare settings" and read some of the articles that come up. Do you know there's actually an acronym for contracting an infection that wasn't present at the time of admission while you're receiving medical treatment (HCAI)? Apparently, some believe that medical centers should be completely "restarted" every decade or so, as it's the only way to really avoid HCAI. I didn't delve too deeply into HCAI in large part because I really don't want to know. There's enough horror in life these days without adding to it with a million "what ifs". 

The Graceview Patient sneaks up on you. You'll probably start out bored (as I certainly was) and, before you know it, you're canceling your next doctor's appointment because…you know, you're really not as sick as you thought you were. It does a psychological number on you, maybe permanently. You'll never look at health, hospitals, or experimental trials the same way again, let alone what constitutes sentience, what should be allowed to live and thrive… While this recommendation comes with quite a few disclaimers, if you like horror--especially the real-life-this-could-actually-happen!!! kind--you won't want to miss this one. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

An Author's Legacy by Karen S. Wiesner

 

An Author's Legacy

by Karen S. Wiesner

 

While writing the final review for a subseries in Robin Hobb's The Realm of the Elderlings (to be posted on Alien Romances Blog in the future), I came across an interesting thing on Hobb's website blog posted August 21, 2025 concerning WorldCon Seattle 2025. The author commented on SFF Addicts Podcast's (rude) question posed to author (and Hobb's good friend) George R.R. Martin about what would become of his work upon his death. Hobb herself gave her answer to such a question about her own legacy as: "Upon my death or me being admitted to memory care, my very loyal daughters will torch any and all papers on my desk and filing cabinets. All files saved to the cloud will be deleted and accounts closed. Hard drives will be removed from computers and destroyed or wiped. When I go, all my imaginary friends will go along with me. As they should."

 

My opinion, which mirrors both Hobb's and Martin's, is that if I can't get the actual author's version of any sequel to their series, I don't want it. Nor will I waste my time reading anything else as a substitute. If either author passes detailed notes on to another, trusted author to finish their legacy, then, yes, of course, I'd read them. Otherwise, no. Just no.

 

Not surprisingly, readers had mixed reactions to Hobb's and Martin's answers. Many said of Hobb's that, if her daughters really were loyal, they would save it all (implying the only right thing to do is to give it to the world). I don't believe that's the case at all. The only loyal thing Hobb's daughters will be able to do is to follow their mother's orders. Maybe, but just maybe, they can retain their own copies for themselves (destroying them before their own deaths), but only if their mother expressly allows it.

 

This is a task no author can safely forgo while they yet live. Only now can we have our say about our writing legacy. When authors are no longer anything more than names on a family tree to those who come after us, our wishes will no longer matter. It's better to take unwanted possibilities off the table while all this is still within our control.

 

Authors, I beseech you, make your wishes known to those who come after you--write it all down, preferably in explicit and complete detail, then talk to your family and to the ones who'll control your writing legacy once you're gone.

 

Don't assume your family would know what you want or that what they want is the same as what you want. I had a recent discussion with my husband about some aspects of all this and found out that he believed the exact opposite as I do--he thinks all written works should immediately pass into the public domain upon an author's death. I was horrified. That was the opposite of what I wanted. I want a trusted next of kin to hold onto my very considerable legacy (with 156 books, several writing columns, countless articles, etc.) as long as it's possible, not just thoughtlessly give it all away.

 

Needless to say, it's a very good thing we had this discussion and also very good that I've written down my wishes exactly for what I do want for the future of my written work. Having those deep, maybe uncomfortable discussions as well as establishing firmly for those that follow what you want to see happen with your own work isn't merely an option. It's critical. You're never too young or old to undertake this. Tomorrow isn't certain; the next hour isn't certain. Do it now! You can't finish what you don't start, and you can do it a little over time. Just do it. What happens when you're gone should be your decision. Just remember, once it's over, it's forever out of your hands.

 

For me, the thought of anyone other than a first-generation family member (who knows and fully understands what I intended) writing anything for my series, characters, or settings would make me turn over in my grave. And, yes, I've already done this myself. Okay, full-disclosure, I've committed to file and paper thousands of pages of information, master copies of my published work, instructions, etc. and this to the largest, commercially available binder as well as onto mega-large flash drives. All of this contains my wishes for the body of written work that is my legacy. These have been prepared for those who will handle said body of work when I'm gone. Additionally, I've spoken at length to the two I've chosen for this task. All this has been a massive project I've worked on for the last couple years.

 

As my publisher and I are wrapping up the editing of my last projects before I retire from fiction and nonfiction reference writing, I'm completing the last of my legacy instructions and storing master files, etc. as we finish them. I've already also begun to undertake children's book illustration and various other art projects, authoring and designing Christian devotionals, as well as composing my own songs, which will be the exciting second chapter of my career. Honestly, I wouldn’t feel comforting going into any of that without first doing the critical work of setting down my writing legacy wishes. This next phase of my life promises to be filled with wondrous new endeavors to keep my mind and body active in my "Golden Years". I know I'll rest easier, knowing I've done all the work of leaving behind my written legacy as I see fit. Be sure to check out my website and the blog there to remain in the loop of all I'm doing: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/.

 

 

In the meantime, another sentimental milestone in my writing career has been marked. The publication of my final adult fiction novel, Bad Blood, Book 11, the epic conclusion of my Bloodmoon Cove Spirits Series, has recently been released. This paranormal fantasy series was one of my favorites to write. Find out more here:

https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/bloodmoon-cove-spirits-series.html

https://writers-exchange.com/bad-blood/

"BAD BLOOD weaves together people and episodes from previous novels in the series to create a satisfying culmination for the Bloodmoon Cove story cycle. Sympathetic protagonists and secondary characters face dire threats in a conflict whose outcome will change the town and the tribe forever, whether for better or worse. The overarching series theme of the past elders’ disastrous rupture of a portal between this world and the spirit realm at last reaches its resolution. The climactic battle is entirely worth the wait. Especially effective is the way the author blends mundane, wholly realistic problems and tensions with mythic motifs. This is a can’t-miss experience, as readers will rejoice in witnessing some characters attain well-deserved happiness." ~author Margaret L. Carter

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Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: The Gorgon's Fury, Book 1: Tales of Newel & Doren (A Fablehaven Adventure) by Brandon Mull by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: The Gorgon's Fury, Book 1: Tales of Newel & Doren (A Fablehaven Adventure) by Brandon Mull

by Karen S. Wiesner 

 

Beware unintended spoilers! 

Brandon Mull's young adult fantasy Fablehaven Series (and the Dragonwatch spinoff) is one I've spoken of often in the past on the Alien Romances Blog, including in a full review. Find out more here: https://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/search?q=Fablehaven. This is one of the few series where, every so often, I go looking for updates to see if there are new installments available. A few months ago, I did that and found out the first in a new Fablehaven spinoff was available, released March 2025. This time, instead of focusing on Seth and Kendra, it features the previous series' comic relief in a pair of satyrs. 

Newel and Doren have been spoiled by modern technology and cushy living on the magical creature preserve, even living in their own cottage. Seth traded batteries with the cousins in order to procure valuable information or help in the original series. The two actually become something of heroes in Dragonwatch. I can't be the only one who sees many similarities between this duo and The Lord of the Ring's Merry and Pippin. While both are impulsive rebels, Newel (like Merry) is the braver of the two and much more straightforward with everything he feels mostly on the surface. Similar to Pippin, Doren is slightly more awkward than his cousin, more of a thinker, more nervous and uncertain, and ends up with more regrets. Without a doubt, both goatmen are trouble, but they're fun and mostly harmless--the very kind of mischief-makers that make a book and series so charming and action-packed. Also, sometimes they end up saving the day, to no one's surprise more than their own.

In the first of the "Tales of Newel & Doren" called The Gorgon's Fury, the Fablehaven satyrs are hosting the annual Satyr Games with such events as Dryad Tag, Clobber Ball, and (the epic finale) the Prank War. Newel and Doren seem to win every single year, almost without trying. Yet this year they've got competition in Barrett and Hoff, who not only tie Newel and Doren for first place, leaving only the Prank War (and a wrestling match, if that doesn't do it) to decide the victors, but the pair also have a smartphone they've recorded their epic prank with. For the most part, Stan and Ruth, the caretakers, don't allow creatures to have modern technology--though not for lack of trying on Newel and Doren's part, of course! So where did their rivals get it? 

Intent on topping Barret and Hoff's prank, our daring duo decide to talk to the ogre farmer they most love to nick vegetables from, only he's been petrified. Later, they find another satyr in the same stoned condition. They rush to Stan, who tasks the pair with consulting with the swamp hag. She directs them to her sister at Florida's magical sanctuary, who in turn sends them to a very creepy Listening Doll, who's said to possess the power to reveal the antidote for any magical malady. In order to do this, Newel and Doren will have to pass through the forbidden Fairy Realm, drive a vehicle, steer a kayak** through hydra-infested waters, and appear in public when necessary as human, thanks to a magical amulet. Since only one of them can wear it at once and no one would buy that the other is an emotional support goat or seeing eye goat (I love those lines in the book!), their task is none too easy, especially considering that Seth and Kendra's cousins Knox and Tess from previous series' will be accompanying them. For their trouble and provided they're successful, Newel and Doren will be rewarded with their own smartphones. Whatever prank they come up with will live forever in recorded cellular memory. 

**While it's hard to know for sure whether it was the author or the illustrator who didn't know the difference between a kayak and a canoe, I believe the author was at fault. A kayak has a closed deck, and that probably wouldn't have worked for the purposes Newel and Doren use it for in the book. What the artist in one of his wonderful illustrations drew was clearly a canoe with the open-top design, which is what I believe the author should have specified instead of a kayak.

 

You absolutely do not need to be a young adult or middle grade reader to adore all of the Fablehaven books, including this one. What's not to love in this whirlwind tale headed by a lovably familiar pair of rogues who describe themselves so hilariously? Essentially, Newel says this: "We're not ants; we don't build, store, or work (God forbid!). We improvise and freeload. We don't care about karma. We live in the moment, reap what we never sowed, eat what we didn't cook, win without practicing." To which Doren hear-hears with "Let's keep doing that!" 

Those who have read the previous series probably remember how large each of the books were. At first sight, The Gorgon's Fury was noticeably smaller. That was by design, according to the author in the acknowledgements included in the back of the book. Mull and his publisher thought shorter books in the new series would lure more young readers into trying it. What a sad commentary on the state of the publishing industry that we're catering to non- or reluctant readers more than to actual readers with our books. Oh, well! I do have to add that I myself was kind of glad this was shorter than all the previous Fablehaven books, most of which were quite the undertaking (but worth it). However, the end of The Gorgon's Fury seemed a little rushed to me.

Good news for lovers of Fablehaven that I have no doubt will resurrect the popular series all over again! A film adaptation was supposed to have started shooting in the summer of 2025, with the movie slated for 2026 release. This series is absolutely made for the screen, so I can hardly wait for it to finally come out. 

No word at the time of this writing (July 2025) when the next in this promising new series will arrive or what it'll be about. Stay tuned. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website and blog here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

Our Personal Monkeysphere

You've probably come across the concept of Dunbar's number even if you're not familiar with the name of it. (I wasn't until recently.):

Dunbar's Number

It's a proposed relationship between the size of a primate's neocortex and the number of individuals "with whom one can maintain stable social relationships -- relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person." In other words, the size of the primate brain controls the maximum number of community members whom you can really "know." For human beings, this number is estimated at about 150. I first came across this concept in an article originally called "The Law of Monkey." Unfortunately, that formerly clean, plain-text essay is now available only (as far as I could find) as a headache-inducing, badly formatted page on the Cracked website:

What Is the Monkeysphere?

The author begins with the example of a pet monkey. How many pet monkeys could you accumulate before they became, as he puts it, just a faceless "sea of monkey" whose separate members you couldn't care about as individuals? "We each have a certain circle of people who we think of as people. . . .Those who exist outside that core group of a few dozen people are not people to us. They're sort of one-dimensional bit characters."

This attitude doesn't make us sociopathic or in any sense evil. According to the Dunbar's Number hypothesis, it arises from an inescapable limitation of our brains. It explains the reason for the phenomenon described in the quotation at the top of the page: "One death is a tragedy. One million deaths is a statistic."

The author of the essay imagines the reader protesting, "So I'm supposed to suddenly start worrying about six billion strangers? That's not even possible!" No, it's not, at least not in the emotional sense we care about people we know well. One of my idols, C. S. Lewis, writes somewhere that the modern world's global news media constantly inundate us with disasters we can't do much of anything about. Our brains aren't designed to cope with that flood of information about the plights of strangers. (And he was writing long before satellite news services and the internet.) As a Christian author, he didn't view this limitation as rephrehensible, just as a fact. We have a duty to help other people as far as our personal situations allow, not to shoulder the burdens of the entire world single-handedly.

Of course, as rational rather than purely instinctual beings, we do often manage to rise above that limitation and care about people we don't know, in an intellectual even if not an emotional way. Virtues, including concern for others, consist of choices, not the vagaries of feelings that ebb and flow. While emotion may generate the ignition spark, deliberate choice provides the fuel for the long haul. I feel sad for the people in Gaza and Ukraine. But it's rationality, not emotion, that keeps me donating to Episcopal Relief and Development. Religious and charitable organizations, however, often try to augment this rational awareness with emotional appeals. From the earliest years of the Christian movement, as demonstrated in Paul's epistles, the church taught members to think of fellow believers as sisters and brothers. Charities, rather than restricting their messages to generalizations about refugees, starving children, homeless people, or abused animals, also send us pictures of cute, sad-eyed kids, puppies, and kittens.

Pictures alone, though, don't make the strongest impact. Whether in electronic or snail-mail solicitations, they're usually accompanied by stories. Messages from charities introduce us to real, particular families, children, and animals. Stories, whether factual or fictional, build empathy. Think of what UNCLE TOM'S CABIN did for the anti-slavery cause, BLACK BEAUTY for animal welfare, or Upton Sinclair's THE JUNGLE for food safety. The power of stories to generate empathy makes them vital to the life of the human species.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

{Put This One on Your TBR List} Book Review: "The Oblivion Bride" by Caitlin Starling by Karen S. Wiesner

 

{Put This One on Your TBR List}

Book Review: "The Oblivion Bride" by Caitlin Starling

by Karen S. Wiesner 

 

"The Oblivion Bride", a romantic fantasy novella by Caitlyn Starling, was published January 21, 2025 by Neon Hemlock Press, the same publisher that released Starling's 2020 "Yellow Jessamine" novella. This new tale has a lot in common with that one, though I liked this one slightly better. Taking place in a made up city-state called Volun, wild magic surrounds the walls, forcing all to stay inside a warded area for safety's sake. The main character Lorelei has lost almost everyone in her family under suspicious circumstances, including, most recently, her beloved mother. The cause is almost certainly magical in origin, possibly a curse. Her remaining kin, an uncle, is determined to figure out the cause of this and so agrees to marry Lorelei off to the top war alchemist Nephele, who applies herself to investigate while the marriage is being arranged and Lorelei is magically impregnated in a way that also includes Nephele's genes. 

Lorelei is, not surprisingly, a mess, grieving the loss of her mother and never expecting to develop feelings for her betrothed. Nephele has a similar reaction, given that this was an arranged marriage and she's an older woman who's been almost totally consumed by her career up to this point. 

While I enjoyed the dystopian quality of the setting and otherworldly mood of the events, as a whole, the story felt as disjointed and underdeveloped as "Yellow Jessamine" did to me when I read it (which is why I didn't review it). My main issue here was that the past really wasn't dug into deeply in this particular tale. We learned very little about Lorelei and Nephele's histories nor about the circumstances surrounding the state of the world beyond what was told us as statements of facts (i.e., whatever might have been written on a character/plot sheet in advance of writing--no more, no less). That crucial dimension of development forced 2D renderings and never achieved full-fledged lifelike status for me. I also have to comment on the fact that the reader can't help but feel Lorelei was projecting on older-woman Nephele her loss and devastation over her mother--desperately needing maternal comfort. It's difficult not to get an icky feeling about their romantic/sexual relationship because of that. 

Additionally, the last few chapters kind of dissolved a bit with far too many instances of the f-word per page. I don't mind some well-placed swearing, but sometimes overuse gets so drastic that it's hard to know what the author meant a word to actually mean. If everything (noun, verb, adjective, you name it) becomes an acrobatic feat of grammar by twisting the same word to the form needed, the story becomes muddied by the appearance of the same word from one sentence or paragraph to the next. Not only that, but using a word like that absolutely does not in any way intensify the reader's sense of suspense, action, or emotional connection--you know, beyond annoyance that genuine portrayal of said suspense, action, and emotional connection is being reduced to childish cursing. Ergo, the reader is thrust out of the story by lazy writing, which is what happened to me toward the end. I really struggled to finish the last few chapters. 

That said, I nearly always enjoy Starling's offbeat and unusual storytelling, and this tale is no exception, despite the areas I was left wanting more and different things than were being presented. I read eagerly at first and my interest only waned slightly from start to finish. (I certainly would have preferred to be more excited about the novella near the end rather than earlier on.) 

As a little bonus, the exterior and interior of the paperback were very striking. The front cover had such a multifaceted and layered image, I found myself going back often for more, to discover something else that might have been hidden in the cleverly rendered artwork. The interior had compelling, black and white, free-form images before each chapter of a similar but always changing nature. Unfortunately, the text was left-aligned, not justified, and that made it hard for me to read. I just prefer text to be tidy and symmetrical to prevent it from distracting from the story. 

For those who like to view the world in an unconventional, even weird way through their reading, this story will more than satisfy. 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Find out more about her books and see her art here: http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/

The Power of Stories

The blog of fantasy author Deborah J. Ross, "In Troubled Times," includes a post on the healing function of stories:

How Stories Save Us

She's writing here mainly about true stories, the sharing of our personal experiences, both storytelling and "story-listening." Stories "can heal and transform us" and "also become beacons of hope." Shaping experience into a narrative structure brings patterns out of "seeming chaos." "No matter how scattered or flawed our lives may appear, as we tell our stories, we gain something." Storytelling helps us realize "even tragedies have order and consequence."

Ross also reflects on the power of stories to inspire empathy. We feel a bond with characters we can care about. At this point she brings up the effect of fictional characters on readers. "Hopeful stories provide an antidote to fear-driven stories," a principle that applies to both real-life narratives and imaginary ones. The strongest such narratives have the potential to "create a bridge of empathy, even with people who appear to be 'on the other side' of arguments."

I'm especially interested in how this process works with imaginative creations -- stories and characters effective enough to inspire what Tolkien calls "secondary belief" (a step beyond mere "suspension of disbelief"). Empathy reminds me of "mirror neurons," which activate in our own brains when we witness someone else performing an action or displaying an emotion:

Mirror Neurons

Mirror neurons can "help explain how and why we 'read' other people's minds and feel empathy for them." A neuroscientist quoted in that article says, "This neural mechanism is involuntary and automatic. . . . with it we don't have to think about what other people are doing or feeling, we simply know. It seems we're wired to see other people as similar to us, rather than different. . . . At the root, as humans we identify the person we're facing as someone like ourselves." There seems no reason why we shouldn't react this way to characters in novels as well as people in the primary world.

In AN EXPERIMENT IN CRITICISM, C. S. Lewis declares that fiction enables us to share the viewpoints of others, not only people different from us, but nonhuman creatures as well, and not only sapient species such as elves or extraterrestrials, but plants, animals, maybe even stars or rocks. "In reading great literature," he writes, "I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the Greek poem, I see with a myriad eyes, but it is still I who see." In our experiences of stories, we can recognize entities very unlike us as "someone like ourselves."

Ross connects experiences of viewpoint-sharing and empathy with positive stories, which she maintains can counter "fearmongering" and thereby bring about concrete change in a troubled world. Let's hope so.

Margaret L. Carter

Please explore love among the monsters at Carter's Crypt.

Taking the Bucket Out of the Bucket List, Part 2 by Karen S. Wiesner

 

Taking the Bucket Out of the Bucket List, Part 2

by Karen S. Wiesner 

In this final of an updated, two part reprisal of earlier posts on the Alien Romances blog, I discuss the wisdom and benefits of, and strategies for, drawing up a personal bucket list as early as possible--long before the curtain of a life is drawn. Only slightly belated as you draw up your New Year’s resolutions, I encourage everyone, not just those interested in writing (or aliens!), to read this. 

 

Last week we went over what a bucket list is, and I discussed my own realizations of wanting to achieve my most desired goals early enough in life to enjoy them throughout all the days of my life that followed. Let's continue with actual strategies for forging ahead. 

Taking the Next Step--Are You Ready? 

Coming up with a formal or informal bucket list as early in life as possible will help anyone focus their time and energies in areas they're already passionate about as well as provide excitement, inspiration, and the push toward finding purpose and a sense of accomplishment long before the curtain of a life is drawn. 

While I was working on this article, I was asked a couple questions that are worth considering on your own as you decide whether you're ready to take the bull by the horns yourself. 

Had I been making bucket lists since my twenties, or did I just start making them recently? All things considered, I’d have to conclude I’ve actually been making them mentally since I was 20 and I just never really realized that was what I was doing all this time.

Would I have benefited in my twenties by formally writing my goals down? Have I benefited now for writing them down versus just thinking about my plans in my head? I suppose the blanket answer to these two questions that feed into each other is about the same: It might have benefited me to formally write down my bucket list goals at any point; however, I’ve always had a mind like a relentless robot seeking out all the dark corners of my own soul. For me, it didn’t really make a huge difference to officially spell out my goals for myself. What you've seen presented in this article is what I saw in my head from the beginning. That said, I think most people probably will benefit greatly from actually make their bucket lists formal plans with loose or definitive goals. 

I have several pieces of advice to those wanting to forge ahead into a life lived with purpose:

 

A.     Choose wisely. You don't have to feel like you're required to have a certain number of goals on your list. I have four, which is a nice, even number, but if you only ever have one, that's fine. You can add to it if you want to (no pressure) at any time as you complete or become proficient at priority items. This thing isn't set in stone, nor should it be. If you discover one of your wishes isn't really something you like after all, well, you've learned something about yourself you didn't know before, right? That said, you do want to include on this list only things that you're strongly zealous about and are deeply committed to fulfilling. This is another reason why limiting the list is advisable. There's no point in having a checklist of this kind that includes a bunch of things you're not serious enough to actually make deliberate preparations in undertaking. I don't think anyone needs another random to-do list lying around collecting dust.

 

B.     Prioritize your bucket list in the order of the things you want to accomplish first and last, and don't try to take on the whole list at once. That's a recipe for failure. Start with the top one, the most important to you, and make a serious go of completing and/or developing it over time, perhaps even years. Make this part of your daily or weekly life. The whole reason for doing this long in advance of having an actual deadline (especially one as final as death!) is to accomplish things you enjoy and may spend the rest of your life taking pleasure in and cultivating. In many cases, the items on your list will require an investment: Of time, discipline, energy, money, and frequently all of the above. Trust me, you're embarking on a labor of love with any one of these.

 

C.     Make a plan for how to go about fulfilling the items on your bucket list, one at a time. Set goals over time so you're doing something toward making the wish reality. Make a commitment to forging ahead with your goals. Start small, if you need to, and make initially small investments of time, energy, and finances. Work into the passion that can motivate you to keep going bigger and better. I know a lot of people can't think of long-term projects that require large investments of time, energy, or money because their lives are busy, complicated, and/or they're financially unable. In those situations, creativity may be needed to get started. Devote just five, ten, fifteen minutes--whatever you can eke out every day or once a week to advance your project. Take free classes at your local library or online. Ask close friends and family to gift you with an item you need for a birthday or Christmas. Small, slow, and frugal can produce results eventually, too!

 

D.     Define your reasons for what you hope to accomplish with each item on your bucket list if for no other reason than that you set yourself on a path toward seeing where it's going, or where it could be going. I wanted to understand my motivations clearly from the start, whether I intended to advance in these areas for individual edification or for something more--such as, my drawing could potentially lead to an exciting new career for me in the future.

 

E.     Only you can decide if your pursuits are worthwhile. Don't let yourself or anyone else tell you that something you've chosen to do isn't meaningful or significant. The goal of personal development is valuable--whatever your chosen aspiration. At the very least, anything you achieve is one regret you'll never have to feel.

Nearly three decades after I started pursuing the wishes on my informal bucket list, I find myself realizing that as I look back over what I've managed to accomplish, I'm satisfied. If my time in this world ended tomorrow, I would feel as though I lived with purpose and that I'd accomplished something worthwhile. Instead of waiting until I was close to kicking the bucket, you might say I took the bucket out of my bucket list. I took the bull by the horns, and I'm reaching for previously categorized "don't even bother wishing 'cause they can't come true" things and I'm making them a passionate part of my everyday reality, one at a time, step by step, until my time runs out. 

If you're interested in taking the bucket out of your own bucket list, jumping in now on the things you've always wanted to do, the worksheet below might be helpful in getting you started. You can and should come back to this often in the future to revise and hone your goals, re-strategizing as you make progress from one item to the next. Remember, small, slow, and cheap still means moving forward. 

My Bucket List 

Date: (may include the dates of whenever you've revised) 

What's in My Bucket 

Wishes: (listed in order of priority, #1 being the one I'm most passionate about and the one I'll get started on first) 

#1 

When and how will I begin to reach for things in my bucket?

 

a)    How long do I want to experience this goal? Circle one: Once | Ongoing | Until I'm finished

 

b)    Detail the first step to beginning:

 

c)     Describe later steps to developing my goal:

 

d)    Specify the time(s) and day(s) I'm devoting to the undertaking:

 

e)    Brainstorm strategies to help accomplish my wish:

 

f)      Identify why this is in my bucket and what I hope to get out of it:

 #2

 

When and how will I begin to reach for things in my bucket?

 

a)    How long do I want to experience this goal? Circle one: Once | Ongoing | Until I'm finished

 

b)    Detail the first step to beginning:

 

c)     Describe later steps to developing my goal:

 

d)    Specify the time(s) and day(s) I'm devoting to the undertaking:

 

e)    Brainstorm strategies to help accomplish my wish:

 

f)      Identify why this is in my bucket and what I hope to get out of it:

 

You can find a PDF of this worksheet here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/5/5/23554234/bucketlistcourtesyofkarenwiesnertypeb.pdf   

For those who are more goal-oriented, Type A personalities like myself, you might want an even more vigorous plan of attack. For that, I offer a more in-depth worksheet, which you can find here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/5/5/23554234/bucketlistcourtesyofkarenwiesnertypea.pdf, or you could even incorporate the heart of the bucket list ideals into a SMART goals program (a simple internet search will hook you up for that). 

"Seize the life and the day will follow!" ~Linda Derkez 

Karen Wiesner is an award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.

Visit her website here: https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/

and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog

Find out more about her books and see her art here: http://www.facebook.com/KarenWiesnerAuthor

Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/