Tag: new year

2023 Goals

A new year has started and I am so excited to have a whole new blank canvas of 365 days to accomplish some new goals. This year, I have decided to do something different as far as goals go, and I’ve added more than just writing goals.

Writing Goals

Write Every Day of 2023

Even though I have never been successful, I would really like to attempt to write every day. I would like to do my best to build a habit and stick with it.

Edit Three Novels

2023 will be the year of editing. I have several editing projects started, but have yet to finish them. I would like to start working through my catalogue of novels I’ve written over the last few years and hopefully get them ready for a publisher.

Edit Six short stories

Same as above, 2023 is the year of editing. I would like to do more than six short stories, but I don’t want to get too overwhelmed either. I’m keeping the bar low, especially since I know I’m not the best at editing.

Read Six Books

Reading is a big part of being a writer. I enjoy reading, and I find it refills my creative tank when I need it most. I have a feeling I’ll read more than six books, especially if this year is anything like last year, but once again, I would rather set the bar low and overshoot it rather than fail it spectacularly.

Publish Something (Either Traditional or Indie)

I’m hoping with all the editing I’m planning on doing this year that I can get something published. I’m hoping for Traditionally published, but I have been doing more research into indie and hybrid publishing, so we shall see what the next year holds.

Participate in Most (If not all) NYC Midnight Writing Contests.

I really enjoy the contests/challenges that NYC Midnight puts on. I intended to compete in all of them last year, but timing wasn’t always the best, or school got in the way. I’m hoping to get a better handle on it this year, so I can be successful in all of the challenges.

Personal Goals:

Graduate With a Bachelor’s in Creative Writing

My tentative graduation date is October of 2023, so I’m looking forward to continuing my education in this next year. I’m not entirely sure what my plan is after I graduate (whether I do an MFA or not), but I’m excited to get my Bachelor’s degree.

Exercise at least 3x a week

2023 and beyond, I want to take better care of myself. I’m not getting any younger and with the amount of sitting I do for work, and writing, and school, I want to prevent any health issues down the road. I’m hoping for at least 5 days a week, but sometimes that isn’t possible. I want to build a routine that I can stick to and exercise (most likely walking/hiking) is a step in the right direction.

Journal Daily

Over the past few years, I’ve been journaling on and off. Putting words down on the page helps get the craziness out of my head. For the last few years I’ve been slacking due to crazy work schedules. Now I’m looking forward to getting back on track and taking care of my mental health as well.

How I Plan to Reach Those Goals in January

Writing

Participate in the NYC Midnight Short Story Competition

Luckily, the first NYC Midnight competition happens to take place in January. Last year, I couldn’t make it, due to homework being due, but I have a better plan for schoolwork and work, so I hope it doesn’t interfere with the competition this year.

Edit One Short Story

I enjoy editing short pieces like short stories. I’m hoping to get at least one edited this month, but hopefully I will be able to edit one or more. I have a feeling editing the short stories will be like writing them was last year, with maybe the editing not getting done in the 30/31 days of the month, but spanning a few months at a time.

Edit Three Chapters

Three chapters doesn’t always seem like a lot, but I think that is what I can accomplish in a month with school, adjusting to a new work schedule and everything else going on in January. As stated above, I’m hoping for more than three, since I do have a lot of editing this year, but we shall see how the first month goes.

Personal

Exercise

At least three times a week to start, and then see how it goes. I might change this goal based on how the month goes.

Journal

No excuses, I want to write a journal entry every day of January and hopefully beyond that.

How about you? What are your goals for 2023?

2019 Stats and 2020 Goals

Here we are again at the start of a new year and a new decade. It seems like just yesterday that it was 2019 (yes, I did make that joke). Here’s some of the cool stuff I did and created in 2019 and the statistics to go along with it, because I enjoy numbers.

In 2019 (And November and December of 2018), I wrote a grand total of 412,699 words through multiple projects. A measly 1,616 were written in December of 2019. That averages about 29K a month, which isn’t bad at all.

In 2019, I finished five projects. Deeper Than Time (book 8 of the series), The Weight of Your Lips (Fanfiction), The Kiss (the series prequel), and Inktober.

In 2019, I had a lot of great experiences, like a writing conference, revamping my blog and creating my own social media platforms.

It was an amazing year for writing, but 2020 will be better.

Here’s what I hope to accomplish in 2020:

  • Write an average of 30K per month.
  • Finish Under Grey Skies (book 9)
  • Begin editing the completed books in the series and begin querying for Girl Disappearing (book 1)
  • Publish something in 2020.

#1: Unopened

Of the several things that lay strewn under the Christmas tree the week after the holiday, the most inconspicuous was the small cardboard box.

“I know we’re over,” he had said way back in the summer when she had ended their relationship, “But I found this and it reminded me of you.”

For months, she had held onto it. Set it on her shelf and admired the festive paper, letting the curiosity eat at her, and the regret of her decisions.

It was the first present she put under the tree as soon as it was up. The small box had been tormenting her for months with its unknown contents and she swore she would open it as soon as she could, even if it was just a reminder of what she used to be, but wasn’t anymore.

When Christmas morning did arrive, the tree was so laden with presents that the small box was nearly forgotten until she began cleaning up the wrapping paper from all of the other gifts.

Christmas morning, she had gotten as far as tearing off the festive wrapping paper before the fear froze her. What if whatever the box contained changed everything?

She stared at it, under the tree for the entire week, the fear enough to eat her from the inside out. As it got closer to the new year, she told herself she would open it on New Year’s Eve and decide if it was something she wanted to keep in the new year or chuck away with the old, but as New Year’s Eve arrived she found herself pulled away to a New Year’s Party.

New Year’s Day, when she awoke, it was still under the tree.

She looked at the tree, slowly starting to dry out, and the other boxes that she had left in the rush of plans after Christmas and grabbed a trash bag. A new year meant it was time to move on.

The next hour or so, she spent breaking down boxes and crumpling up wrapping paper and tape. For the first time in a week she picked up the small cardboard box.

It was heavy in her hand for the size of the box and the memories she was sure it contained. She knew she could spend minutes, hours, days, weeks trying to figure out what was inside.

She already had.

Instead, she dropped it from her hand into the nearly full garbage bag.

Some things were better left unopened.