On the Edge of 2009

Here's hoping the astrological stuff going on tonight bodes well for 2009. It better...maybe. =/

Anyhow, it's of course that time of year where I post my goals for the year and hope I don't fall flat on my face like every other year. I know my problem is that I set too high of a bar for myself, but I just can't help it. One of these years I'm going to force myself to only have one goal - that would be a feat!

Well, out of my two pages of 2009 goals, here are my writing ones:

- Write 4k words (about 16 pages) each week of rough draft material, continuing and finishing started novels and short stories first
- Critique one thing per week, 30 pages or less worth of material - if I have nothing to critique, spend the extra time either writing or revising
- Spend 3-5 hours each week on a combination of revising, story submissions, query submissions, and newsletter/listserv/magazine reading
- In accordance with the above listed goals, spend 10-15 hours per week doing writing related tasks
- Finish rough draft of Shepherd of Dreams by April 30
- Finish rough draft of Daina’s Dance by December 31
- Track Word Count/Productivity
- Revise 12 short stories that have been in the revision pile for ages - then possibly get them critiqued and revise again (hopefully submitting half before the end of the year)
[Ancient Ways, Cold...Oh So Cold, Dreams in Shadow, Hell Hath No Fury, Ode to Buses and Libraries, Path of One, Petals and Blood, Sunset Street, The Awakening, The Game, This is Where I Stand, Trophies]
- Complete rough drafts, get critiques, and revise 8 short stories/novella
[Blood and Souls (novella), Flaws of the Fin, Grinka 3, Love (Fate - Two of Cups), Slavery, Sorrow (Fate - Three of Swords), Tala, Unlikely Hero]
- Once above two goals are completed, work on 1 to 6 more Fate stories
- Keep all completed short stories in circulation
- Continue submitting queries for The Mind Behind the Mind
- Keep up with reading Broad Universe newsletters, F&SF, and Realms of Fantasy
- Start reading/interacting and keep up with WPF and Broad Universe listserves
- Blog every other week
- Update website every other week - maintain MySpace page once a month
- Back-up files once a week, flash drive after each writing/revising session
- Read one novel every other month at least
- Clean and organize my study by January 31 (so I have somewhere to hide when I need to write!)
- Hope I have enough money to at least attend the WPF alumni writer’s retreat this year

That's the scary list. Here's hoping tomorrow I start off running and can keep the momentum going all year! I hope everyone else has decided to make a more realistic list of goals, unlike this crazy writer. =) Happy writing!