Goals Met & Made

2018 Goals Met (and Not)
​I fell short on a few goals in 2018. I did not submit 20 queries. I did not publish 18 blog posts. I did not write 12 drafts – that’s the one that hurts the most. Here's what I accomplished: 

read 350 new picture books
reviewed 52 books on Amazon
participated in 15 webinars
submitted 15 queries
drafted 11 manuscripts
wrote 9 blog posts
entered 2 writing contests
read 2 craft books
attended 1 writing retreat – Big Sur!!!

2018 Realizations

1. I love deadlines. I need deadlines. It truly pains me to miss deadlines. I need 12X12 to push me to write monthly drafts, even if I never intend to revisit those drafts again. I need a critique group to keep me on task and productive each month, even if I have no new work to share. And I need self-imposed goals like writing daily, even if it is for a mere 5 minutes.
2. I am more creative when I write daily. In 2017 I attempted to write each and every day – daily reflections, a poem, character interviews, 60-second prompts, anything. Though I did not fully achieve this goal, I did feel a boost in creativity, which led to stronger revisions.
3. I am an AM writer and reflector. I need time to myself each morning to write, reflect, and prepare for the day. Carving out time for myself in the morning allows me to be present with my family the rest of the day. Now that my son is *mostly* sleeping through the night and I am catching up on long lost sleep, it is time to set that early morning alarm again … or is it?
4. I need to rethink optimal writing conditions. I envision myself waking early, writing at the breakfast nook, drawing inspiration from the birds chirping and the dawn painted sky, while I feverishly write. But the reality is, I don’t have a breakfast nook table and I can’t control my children’s sleep. Early morning productivity is not an option at this time. I need to fit writing into the schedule the children’s sleep dictates, which may be a 2-3 hour window after they go to bed. I am finding this to be easier said, than done. More on this soon.
5. I need to adjust my writing expectations. There is no balance between writing and family. At this point in my life with my kids so young, the scale is tipped toward family. I am shifting my writing expectations and daily priorities so I can appreciate the writing time I do get AND not stress about the writing time I do not get.
6. I love bullet journaling and have no idea how I survived without it for so long! It is an amazing tool to stay organized and focused, and I plan to continue using my low maintenance, not-at-all-pretty version of this practice.​ Check out Kate Messner's post on bullet journaling for writers. 

2019 Goals Made
I struggled with goals this year. I want them. I need them. But, I also want to give myself the flexibility to adjust my goals throughout the year based on what I need. I don’t want to specify a number of picture books to read, webinars to attend, queries to submit, or reviews to write. My priority is establishing new writing routines so I can get back to the writing, specifically, new drafts that excite me, rewrites to breakthrough revision slumps, and exercises and prompts to spark creativity.

​My 2019 goals include:

• Write daily & establish new writing routines to make writing a priority.
• Read picture books and chapter books.
• Write an Amazon review most Tuesdays #ReviewsDay.
• Participate in 12X12 and write 12 drafts.
• Publish 1 blog post monthly – explore author study interviews and writing exercises.
• Join another critique group for accountability or build new critique partner connections.  
• Participate in at least 1 conference (Rutgers) and various local events.
• Query … eventually. 
• Outline a chapter book series idea.  
• Read 3 craft books from the following list:
  • Julie Falatko’s Writing in Small Doses
  • Christina Katz’s Writer Mama
  • Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat
  • Matthew Dicks’ Storyworthy
  • John Truby’s The Anatomy of Story
  • Lousise DeSalvo’s The Art of Slow Writing