I was never one for New Year’s Resolutions. I think that is because of the negative stigma they have. It seems that New Year’s Resolutions are things we know we will not do. Where else would jokes about NYRs being things we intend to leave behind by the end of January come from? It is silly and pointless to set out to do something with the mindset that you will fail. So I do not make NYRs.
I do, however, re-evaluate my goals and what I am doing to achieve them occasionally. I have spent the last couple of days doing just that. How is that different than a New Year’s Resolution? you might ask. It is all in the mindset. New Year’s Resolutions=setting up for failure. Goals=totally achievable. Yay for achievable!
Nicholas Sparks says that when he reached his mid-twenties, he began to feel a little empty. He had a good job and a great family-all around a pretty good life-but something was still missing. This is kind of how I am feeling now. Bubba and I have a wonderful marriage and love being together. We both have good jobs (seriously, have I mentioned how much I love my job yet?). We live in an adorable house in a great town. We are very blessed. But something is still missing-and it is something I can fix.
It has been my dream to be a published author since I was a very small girl. I love creating worlds, characters, stories, and I love writing them down. But recently I realized something: I am not moving forward. I have my website and this blog. I have my writing. But I am still stagnant. So, this year I set my goals with an eye turned to the future. I need to start trudging through the scary world of publishing if I want to get anywhere with this. I can’t continue to sit in my little safety bubble and just write for myself. Well, I can do that, but it is not all I want. I want to be published and share my books with people. I want more than I am making for myself right now. So I will go out and get it.
I have a dear friend who is always quick to remind me that people who write their goals out are more likely to reach them than those who just think of them. It makes sense. I have decided to go one step further. Today, I am sharing my goals for the year with my blog readers-putting them in a public place to help keep myself accountable for them. So, here they are:
2010 writing goals:
- Write and edit two novels
- Write and edit one short story
- Continue to blog every weekday
- Do everything in my power to get an agent*
That’s it-four things. No biggie, right? Oh, you mean those are four huge things? Wow. I guess you are right. But they are four things that I am completely capable of doing, which is important. I have broken each goal down into easy to handle chunks to help me tackle them (yes, I am one of those geeky list-lovers). I can do these four things. And I will.
Happy 2010 everyone.
*It would be all fine and dandy to just make #4 “Get an agent”, but that is setting myself up for disappointment. This is not to say I won’t get an agent, it’s just not completely within my control. Publishing is a very subjective business, so even if I write an AMAZING book, there is a possibility that nobody will pick it up. Goals should be attainable, and it is not effective to set a goal that is so dependent on other people. So instead, I am promising to do everything I can to get an agent this year.
2 Comments
Rachel,
My friend Debby Florence lives in Missoula and she is very active in the creative writing/arts scene. Not that you need any inspiration but she is very inspirational. She has, for the last two years, entered this write a novel in a month- it’s in November, but it may have good links too: http://www.nanowrimo.org/.
I used to write a lot, I don’t hardly ever now- took a few creative poetry writing classes at the U of M and got accepted into an advanced class where I had to submit a portfolio and everything to get into the class and got in, but had to drop it at the last minute. I know your frustration….maybe getting involved in an inexpensive creative writing class would help you to get inspired too….
Here’s some other links all of which my friend Debby is involved with in some way in Missoula. Not that you need to go to Missoula but maybe you’d be inspired by them: (I’m inspired by you!) Happy New Year!
http://www.slumgullion.org/
On facebook look for: Humanities Montana and ArtMelt
Thanks, Kim! I will definitely check into that. I started to to NaNoWrimo this last November, but then ended up sick most of the month so it didn’t pan out so well. There is a lot of good inspiration in the forums on that site.
I think a cheap writing class might be just what I need-I will have to look into some!