Goals
Well, I wrote out my New Year's Resolutions. All 28 of them. Seems like a lot. The sad thing is, in the sucking vortex of my life, some carried over from 2010. Which is unusual. Most years, if I have, say, 30 resolutions, I achieve 22 or 23 of them. I'm not sure why last year was so different, but it was. My goals range from starting my vegetable garden this year to finally reaching a point where I can truly take weekends off (and some of that is workload and some of that is workaholism). Some are health goals. Some are about focusing more on my children.
And then there are the writing goals in there.
However, this year, the writing goal portion looks different. Because I have one book now (women's fiction) that I am just ready to shop, I need to do a new middle grade proposal and a new YA proposal. I am going to shop a romantic-comedy proposal that I think is very fun, and I am going to shop a mommy memoir (non-fiction) of sorts. And I am going to do a Kindle/Nook only series. It's a series I have loved, but that hit the "shopping" stage when chick lit dropped dead. And I re-opened it and STILL like it and still like the writing. And when I write romantic-comedy, I tend to be a one-draft writer, so I can finish a couple of manuscripts in . . . a few months. So I look at my writing goals and there is a wide landscape there, which feels fun and exhilarating.
So then the question is HOW do I do all of that? And it's pretty much the same story it's always been. Set a deadline (even if artificial), and divide up what needs doing by a manageable daily or every-other-day chunk. And then just get to work. If I feel stale writing one proposal, I work on another.
And everything is finite. Deadlines, workload . . . it can all get done. Nothing is overwhelming. It's just a matter of doing it, head down and focused.
So how do you divide up your writing workload? How do you set specific goals? Any writing goals you care to share?
12 comments:
To-do lists and intermediate steps. I put today's to-do list on my blog and what i don't like about it is there's too much spec work versus contracted work, but hopefully that will change. Here are a couple of my 2011 writing goals:
1. Finish The Sins of the Father and get it off to my agent and publisher. It's the 5th Derek Stillwater.
2. Finish writing and e-publish Freelance Writing For A Living.
3. Research and write a proposal for a nonfiction book. Already started the research.
I suppsoe my number one goal is to keep fighting the good fight and hope a few of my punches land.
I love how you achieve your goals. It's so do-able!
I am only resolving to write forward every day. I find that I progress more that way than when I guess (incorrectly)about how long it will take me to finish a draft. I'm still learning how I write, and what kind of deadlines work for me.
Congrats on getting so much accomplished!! I'm in awe. :)
Mark:
I am glad for #2 because I thought you did a GREAT job on that, and I routinely send writers to your blog for that. (I get a fair amount of email from blog readers or regular readers of my books asking "How can I break into writing?")
E
Travis:
Always a good goal. :-)
Heather:
I guess I feel like almost anything is doable if you chunk it. I don't kick myself if I don't write fiction every day, but this year, I'm going to try to do that. I even have it on my to-do list so I can tick it off--even if I only write two paragraphs! :-)
Resolutions?
1-Take control of my writing career. Thanks fo Mark Terry I've been doing a little freelancing and although it's just pocket change at this point I'm having fun.
2-I have a manuscript I'm thinking of putting up on Amazon as an ebook. I'm facinated by the ebook thing and want to give it a try.
3-Get back to blogging on a regular basis. I miss it and all my blogging friends.
Thats if for now. I'm sure I'll think up more as January goes along.
I wrote down my goals this time last year. I achieved only one. I finished painting my sister's chair that I'd been trying to finish for six months.
Setting goals isn't the same as achieving them. Sometimes I think it's more important to focus on what you love and the good that comes of it becomes the realization of the goal.
I'm trying to squelch the negative talk in my head - so much to do and so little time. Not sure how to make it all happen. I'm good at accomplishing one goal at a time, and I can manage life in general, but multi-goals and multi-tasking to achieve diverse writing goals eludes me.
So I guess that's the 2011 plan! Fingers crossed.
Aimless:
I'll look forward to more blogs from you! :-) And I think it's great you are making $ freelancing!
Richmond:
I've always been really goal-directed, so usually writing them and then living them works for me. Which is definitely not a Buddhist/Middle Path sort of approach--yours is much more so.
Amy:
I know that little voice well. In my life, it is called Worry.
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