2012 Writing Goals

I am excited to have Saturday off. I quit my seasonal part-time job at the clothing store (that I took to get employee discounts while earning extra bucks). When you work retail your weekends and evenings are taken.

I am thrilled to have Saturdays off. The day is mine and free from classes or obligations. I am not required to go anywhere. The day is mine to seize. I may catch up on extra sleep, clean and organize my place, do the laundry, do my homework, attend a dance workshop, see a movie, or volunteer for a cause, host a party with my friends. I may go out or be in my pajamas inside all day.

I am designating Saturday morning as my writing time right after breakfast. I am scheduling a window of time strictly for writing. I won't respond to email, answer the phone, or heaven forbid browse the internet. The internet can be a distraction. I may go online and google one topic or to JSTOR for fact checking one topic. It then becomes a gateway to wandering through BBC, Arts and Letters online articles, Athletes.com articles, twitter, blogs, youtube or screw you autocorrect. Turning off my wifi is not a bad idea. At this time, I don't want to be disturbed. Saturday is designated to be my main writing day. I will also write on Wednesday morning.

It's a good idea to pencil in a time block in your schedule for writing and treat it like it's an appointment or a date. However, please do not write while you are at work. That is unethical and unfair to your employer. Plus, you won't have other things on your mind.

During my pen times, I will have all the freedom to write away, play with words, experiment and it's really my time.

I tried NanoWriMo and didn't have 50,000 pages of verbal vomit (otherwise known as first draft). I didn't have the time. But, I don't regret it, because it helped me get something. It was also fun to meet other participants and have a good time. I met others and encouraged to keep going. "Failure" in this sense is only going to keep me going more than anything. Plus, this time I have accountability partners with another writer friend, who'd help me in my writing journey. It's such a blessing.

For the first quarter: I have 2 food articles that I will be pitching. I will revise and compose pitch letters and keep going. These two articles are my priority. In fact, I may make Wednesday the time to work on articles or other shorter writing like article, short story, poetry and short pieces. And if there isn't anything, I'll write my novel in-progress.

I gained ample insights from my Magazine Writing class. I am thinking of having a goal of writing at least one article every 6 months or two per year. It may not sound like a lot, but it is if you are a graduate student involved in university activities and employed. This sounds reasonable to me. It's for my own sake.

And of course, I also have my novel in progress. I don't put goals for how many pages or chapters to be done at a certain time. To me it's simple, set aside time and write. Even if it's a few paragraphs, that's at least better than nothing. Or there may be days, I can't stop and end up with 3 chapters. Whatever the case, let it be!

These are more for myself. Having this thought out gets me going.

Other things I have done is take up another creative form: painting, baking, dancing, because creativity encourages creativity. Or I may hike in the wilderness, which isn't exactly creative, but it gets the creative flow going.

Other than that when I reflect on the previous year, I have learned to be bold in exploring new terrain and difficult topics. I learned how to sprinkle grace and what is the best approach to present that difficult topic to my intended readers.

HAPPY WRITING to all of you!