We Have Made Some Progress

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of posts about people kicking it into high gear to complete their 2018 resolutions.  And that made me think that maybe I should take stock and see how I'm doing on my Sherlockian resolutions for the year.

1. Read one canonical short story every week.

2. Update the Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street Facebook page on a regular basis.

3. Make good progress on my next writing project geared towards young readers.

4. Help create a space online where educators can find Sherlockian resources for lesson plans.

5. Keep membership numbers up for The Parallel Case of St. Louis and foster a welcoming environment for anyone in the St. Louis area to join us in discussing the Canon.

6. Have Holmes in the Heartland be a fun and educational Sherlockian weekend.

7. Submit an article to the Baker Street Journal.

Wow.  Now that I look back, I had some lofty goals for this year, and quite a few of them! 

(Deep breath)  Okay, let's see how things look.

1.  Read one canonical short story every week.

I gave up on this a months ago. 

I realized fairly early on that this was becoming more of a reading requirement and I wasn't enjoying the stories as much as I have in the past.  I did read quite a few stories so far this year though:

1. The Adventure of the Three Students 
2. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches 
3. The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual 
4. The Adventure of the Reigate Squires 
5. The Adventure of the Crooked Man 
6. The Adventure of the Golden Pince Nez 
7. Silver Blaze 
8. The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter 
9. The Adventure of the Missing Three Quarter 
10. The Adventure of the Naval Treaty
11. The Final Problem 
12. The Adventure of the Empty House 
13. The Adventure of the Norwood Builder 
14. The Adventure of the Abbey Grange 
15. The Adventure of the Dancing Men 
16. The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist 
17. The Cardboard Box
18. The Adventure of the Priory School 
19. A Scandal in Bohemia 
20. The Adventure of the Yellow Face 
21. The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist 
22. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches 
23. The Stockbroker’s Clerk 

To be honest, when I thought back on this, I didn't expect to see so many on the list.  I'm pleasantly surprised by making it to 23 (22 if you want to count against me for reading SOLI twice this year).  52 stories was a lofty goal, and I probably won't even get to half of that, but I'm very happy with being able to say I've read more than 20 Holmes stories this year.  I'm calling it a win.

2. Update the Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street Facebook page on a regular basis.

Pfft.  That fizzled out pretty quickly.  No way I can count that as a win in any way, shape or form.

3. Make good progress on my next writing project geared towards young readers.

This one's trickier.  In December, I specifically said "My goal is to start working on it in the next month.  It's going to be geared towards younger readers, and my research will start in earnest this winter.  My hope is that I will be ready to start the writing process by the spring."

My plan for the book changed.  Although I did do some writing, drafting two chapters over the summer.  I moved the research part back to November, when I'll be teaching Sherlock Holmes to my students, and plan to spend quite a bit of time on it over the Thanksgiving break.  So let's call this one a draw.

4. Help create a space online where educators can find Sherlockian resources for lesson plans.

Things are definitely looking better with my resolutions now.  The Beacon Society website is an easier to navigate site for educators who might not be too familiar with Sherlock Holmes.  And we are continuing to work on more and more resources to be available.  Score.

5. Keep membership numbers up for The Parallel Case of St. Louis and foster a welcoming environment for anyone in the St. Louis area to join us in discussing the Canon.

I'm going to say right up front that there is no possible way I can take more than even the smallest bit of credit for this resolution and the next one coming true.  The Parallel Case of St. Louis is a great group of people and our discussions and welcoming atmosphere are a testament to the wonderful people that come out to our meetings.  That being said, I still get the point for the resolution.  My resolutions, my scoring system.

6. Have Holmes in the Heartland be a fun and educational Sherlockian weekend.

Hell yeah, this happened!  When I posted this resolution in December, we didn't even have a name for our conference.  Eight months later, we pulled off a great weekend full of speakers, dinners, tours, events, and a sizable attendance.  And you know what, we've got another one cooking for 2020.  Point scored.

7. Submit an article to the Baker Street Journal.

And then I'll end on a loss.  Admittedly, I called this my stretch goal for the year.  I obviously thought I would have a lot more time to write than I actually did.  But even when the thought of putting an idea down to submit to the BSJ boils up, I am absolutely paralyzed.  I'm not ready to submit to the BSH.  I'm not there yet.  But someday....


So, that's my status report.  4 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw.  I'm proud to see what I've accomplished so far this year, and glad to see that I still have a lot to do.  But not tonight, I'm tired.