Quote of the Moment

"What's Past Is Prologue." - William Shakespeare

Thursday, December 28, 2006

2006 Coming to an End

Well, 2006 just zoomed by for me. Not quite sure where most of it went. Yes, there was moving and unpacking and starting a new job. At least one of my stories came out in an anthology. I was happy to have finally completed a rough draft of something since my thesis novel and graduation. But many of the things on my to do list which I posted at the beginning of the year didn't get done. The year is gone and I feel like it should only be half over! Now I understand why some people comment that working part-time can be worse than working full-time. It's not an excuse, though, just something I need to overcome and make myself adjust to.

So, first I will wish a Happy Holidays to everyone since I didn't get around to posting before Yule and X-mas, and since my next post likely won't be until after the first of the year. And I am not going to look back at the goals I had for 2006 because I am too embarassed to do so. :p What's the point of dwelling on the past anyhow (and my husband constantly reminds me I do so far too often)? What's done is done, and I can't worry about what was, and I should concentrate on what will be. That is sacrily positive, even for me...

With that said, I do have more goals that I drew up for 2007. I don't think I'll ever get rid of that list making OCD. Nor will I ever not make goals that are above and beyond what a normal person should be able to accomplish, even if aiming too high and not reaching the goals is one of the reasons my psychological disposition is the way it is at times. Just can't change some things. :)

Here are my tangible writing goals for the year:

- Finish the rough draft of Shepherd of Dreams novel by April 30
- Finish 2nd or 3rd draft of Shepherd of Dreams novel by December 31 (the 2nd or 3rd depends on how many people I can find to critique the novel and how long it will take them)
- Finish the rough draft of Daina's Dance novel by September 30
- Set up a monthly word count/productivity tracker (I loved doing the report card for NaNo - for some reason I have a fascination with numbers - I have already drawn up the template with the equations, might need some tweaking, but so far good to go)
- 10 hours a week OR 5k a week of new material (this is mainly during the times I am doing the novel rough drafts - when I am doing heavy novel revision, my new material word count will be lower)
- Begin and complete 6 short stories (this could include continuing some I already started the rough drafts of)
- Revise the backlog of short stories that have been waiting to be looked at, and possibly get more feedback, then revise again
- Keep all completed short stories in circulation (well the ones that haven't been banished to the "Shouldn't see the light of day" category)
- Start querying agents and editors again for The Mind Behind the Mind novel
- Critique 1 to 2 items a week (item defined as chapters or stories consisting of 30 pages or less)
- Reactivate Critters
- Blog and Update my Website once a week
- Keep up with my writing groups, newsletters, magazine subscriptions, and writing books

That's a long list, and that's really only my writing goals (oh, you don't want to know my other goals, trust me, far too much reading). I will also try to maintain a word count meter here for the projects I am working on. And, depending on how I feel, perhaps I'll set up a rejection/acceptance total tracker at some point.

What are your writing goals for 2007?

See you in the New Year, and Happy Writing!