Tag Archives | writing goals

Fine. I’m backed into a corner. I’ll tell you.

By on January 7, 2011 in Writing

Told you I’m a rule breaker. I’m already veering off from a set path. I was planning on starting Friday Five (on Friday)– just a trial – and see if I like it. But not today. Next week. Promise.

Just in case you all think I’m a slacker, I’ll share the real reason I don’t write resolutions or goals. I promise I don’t lollygaggle through the year with no aim or purpose.

It’s the same reason why I don’t do Nanowrimo. (Not to say I won’t in the future.)

I have a competitive drive. This drive and determination keeps my goals at the forefront of my mind. I’m already writing. Week to week. Month to month.

I don’t need to write my goals down in order to get stuff done. Actually, I’m pretty hard on myself. I set a schedule and I stick to it. Of course, I also know when I need a break. When I need to spend time with family. And when I need to clean. *cough cough *

Outside of weekly and monthly writing goals, I have two goals, which really apply to all writers.

  1. I will purposefully strive to improve my craft. Read books I like and don’t like and analyze them. Read craft books. Practice. Read more. Work at aspects of life I can control.
  2. I will be bold and take risks in my writing and any future story ideas.

I can’t control whether I get published or not, but I’m sure as bleep going to try. (Hmm, wonder what book I’ve been reading.)

What is your motivation level? Do you need to write goals down in order to reach them? (Outside of writing, I do write lists and cross things off. Or I’d forget what I’m supposed to do.)

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My almost-post about writing goals for 2011.

By on January 5, 2011 in Writing

I’m going to let you in on a secret about me – I’m a rule breaker.

If I ever feel like I’m following a crowd or a trend, I cringe. I hate the wanna-be feeling. Not that crowds or trends are a bad thing, because they’re not all the time.

And I’m not one to do something just because people tell me I should, unless I understand why and think it will be beneficial. Like I dislike character sheets but I’ve heard enough good things about them that I’m starting to give them a try. And that comes from my opinion that just adding quirks to a character doesn’t make them three dimensional. So I stick to character sheets that focus on emotional issues. But I’m getting off track.

I started blogging not to jump on the bandwagon but understanding social media and connecting with other writers seemed like a smart decision. And it was. Ask my crit partners, when I first met them I said matter of factly that I was never going to blog. Hah! Sorry, off track again.

I don’t like Uggs. I absolutely won’t wear skinny jeans. And don’t Uggs and skinny jeans go hand in hand or foot in boot? I like Uggs on other people. But I’m supposed to go barefoot? No thanks. I like socks. And I still like boot cut jeans, which when tried to jam into Uggs look bulky. I’m not saying never, but…

As a writer, I don’t snack on chocolate. (gasp)

And, at times, to my detriment, I have a hard time taking myself too seriously. Like writing goals – even though my goals are branded in my brain and written on my heart and I live them out every day, I don’t feel the need to make a manifesto and declare my goals. Sorry. (I can feel my crit group closing in) (totally joking) (almost) (not really) (Sorry, Ansha, I know you hate paranthesis)

And as aspiring writers who would like to be published – aren’t our goals pretty much the same? I would get into them, but unfortunately, this post has reached the maximum number of

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Out of the box Resolutions

By on January 11, 2010 in Uncategorized

I really don’t care too much for resolutions.

But one of my critique groups meets to chat online once a week. They wanted to talk about our resolutions. It was that time of year (a couple weeks ago). My writing goals have always been the same. Improve. Improve. Improve. With the ultimate goal of finding an agent and getting published. The improving part was within my control. The agent part – not so much.

I don’t need a list holding me accountable to learn my craft better or to get words on the page every day. But after thinking about it, I realized I had resolutions.

My biggest goal as a writer was to write out of my comfort zone. That was what I told my crit group. I was proud of myself. I had an answer that I didn’t make up just to sound writerly.

Then they asked me what I meant by that. I thought um, er, em, let me get back to you on that one.

I wanted to stretch my writing and my ability. I’d learned everything from comma use to assonance to utilizing word choice to set the mood. But I wanted to learn more. I wanted to learn the things you can’t learn from a book or a blog or a conference. (I’m not entirely sure what those things are yet.)

But before 2009 had ended, I’d already done one thing that pertained to writing that was out of my comfort zone. Something I’d said I would never do.

Start a blog. And that is just the beginning.

Do you have any goals that are out of your comfort zone? Or have you already accomplished goals that are out of the box?

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