Blogging my retrospective and upcoming goals is a discipline I’m still working to develop. So many times I get lost in the doing and don’t stop to breathe, to celebrate what progress I’ve made, or to be mindful of the things I want to accomplish. When I do this, I typically find that I have more focus and get more accomplished, so I guess you could call this a goal in itself.
With that said, here in Minnesota, we still have multiple feet on the ground, but I’m looking for bright and sunny things to look forward to in the upcoming months. The image of the flowers pressing through the snow just makes me feel a little warmer on a frigid morning.
In the rear-view…
The last time I wrote about my goals was on February 16. My pattern is becoming roughly 2-3 weeks, and I’m thinking that’s a good place to be. It doesn’t seem overambitious (which I have a habit of being), but it is also not too long. At the time, I had a few other projects, and my writing had slowed. As a result, I’d lowered my goal to 3,000 words. I’m fairly proud to say now that in the last 2 weeks, I have written 9,971 words in major WIP’s within the last 2 weeks. That’s an average of 4,985. Worth celebrating, I’d say! In addition to my WIP’s, I have posted a couple of blog posts. If you missed them, check them out here:
I’d like to get a few more blog posts out between now and the next reflection.
In editing and production, I’m excited to be working with a very talented gentleman on a children’s book. He wrote a wonderful story about loons, and I’ll be publishing that for him in the next several months. This makes for an exciting new space in the industry, and I’m excited to see where it will take me.
Also in the area of revising, I received feedback on my romance novel and went through a full revision over the last couple of weeks. I’ll be looking for an editor for this work very soon so that I can get it published too. Stay tuned for more in that area…
Marketing continues to be a challenging area, and something I’ll need to focus on within the next few weeks. We met with a publicist and found a great deal of good information. Now, we just need to decide what to do with that. We also have our regular meetup planned for next Saturday. I’ll be busy preparing for that this week.
Another small project I put out there over the last couple of weeks is my short story Golden Eyes. This is a lovely little fantasy story as a tribute to mother’s everywhere. It’d make a nice substitute for a mother’s day card in May.
Looking forward…
1: Write
- Write at least 3000 words on one of my major WIPs. I have two currently. The 4th of The
Caeteran Tales and a collaborative YA Steampunk fantasy with my son. - Write blog posts: I’ll be focusing on my next topic in worldbuilding: Language. For a CWN (Chief Werd Nerd), this is a super exciting topic!
- (This will lead to a writing goal) Read Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente. This is a book club treat, and I’ll be writing a review when done. With everything on my plate, this is coming along slowly, but it is coming.
2: Edit / Revise
- Find an editor for my romance novel.
- I’m hoping to keep this one light this week and get a little more writing done.
3: Promote
This list isn’t changing. I need to focus a bit more here this week.
- Prepare for marketing meeting next week
- Dip my toe into the AMS world…she says with a frightened smile.
4: Publish
- Blog Posts: Striving for at least 2 this week.
- Progress with my client on his loon story.
To all you writers, authors, bloggers, and readers out there…I know it’s hard work, but it’s a passion. There’s always more to learn, and if you never put yourself out there, no one will hear you. Goals matter–both in setting goals and reflection. How do you know you’re successful if you never measure. Goals are your measuring stick!