Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Goals, Dreams and Resolutions 2005
It felt really crap to be going back to the office. A combination of holiday blues and deep resentment of being held to ransom like this. Perhaps that is too strong. I don’t hate the Company – I just wish I had seen the light earlier.
On a good note, Hunting Jack sold as a one-day special at the Keep It Coming Ebay Store! That’s me up to 8 subscribers now! I also had notice from the editor at Ultimate Hallucination magazine, that he went ahead and published the 3 poems I submitted early December; Limbo, Asphyxiation and Frustrating Facilitators. What with all this and Heart of a Child being published by Wildchild Publishing in February, it really is a storming start to the New Year.
Anyway, here are my Goals, Dreams and Resolutions for 2005. Others in my writing group have done the same thing and I will use this as a marker for progress I make during the year.
This list will be permanently available as a link over on the right under the Hunting Jack front cover.
1. Where do you want to be with your writing in the long-term?
* To be able to resign from my job, in the knowledge that I can support my family to at least the standard of living we have now.
* To be an accomplished writer.
2. Where are you with your writing now?
* Much further than I expected!
* 1 Short Story published May 2004 – online magazine – non-paying
* 1 Short Story accepted for February 2005
* 6 Poems published – online magazine – non-paying
* 1 serial published – online e-zine – paying
3. What project did you leave unfinished last year that you need to finish for your own peace of mind?
* First novel Work In Progress: A Friend To Die For – 50% complete
4. What creative goals do you want to achieve over the next year?
* Complete Hunting Jack to novel length
* Move Hunting Jack into new areas
* Complete A Friend To Die For
* Write 1 short story per month
* Write 2 'deliberate' poems per month
* Continue to write inspired poems as and when - impossible to place goals on this
* Write 3 KIC Website columns
* Write 3 KIC Theatre Review columns
* Look for interesting articles to write in other areas (music, travel etc.)
5. What financial goals do you want to achieve over the next year? Yearly? Monthly? Weekly? (Note: There is no need to post this information, but you should have a figure that you feel comfortable with in your own notes).
* This is not my driving force. Getting published and recognised is more important to me. Of course, in the transition from full-time office-worker to full time writer this has to become an issue, but until I feel I am at a certain standard with my writing and inner-belief, then I cannot use it as a means to forward my art.
6. What steps do you see necessary in your life to achieve these goals?
* Keep to a target of words per week
* Research and target more paying fictional and non-fictional markets
* Be more strict where I submit to
* Be more organised with my marketing
7. Each month, pick one step and work on it.
* January - Research non-fiction markets
* February - Research fiction markets
8. What will make you refer to yourself, first and foremost, as “writer”?
* Complete Hunting Jack as a novel in its own right
* Complete A Friend to Die For and search for an agent
* Establish myself as a good columnist for KIC Magazine
* Become a regular columnist for other markets
* Have stories published in paying and quality markets - especially traditional print
* Have others around me see me as a writer and not an office worker
9. What steps do you need to take on the technical front to achieve your goals (such as improving spelling, grammar, and a general widening of skills)?
* Grammar
* Internal Thesaurus
* Editing
10. What steps do you need to take on the creative front to achieve your goals?
* Get more organised
* Take on new and challenging fictional projects
11. What changes do you need to make in your daily life (interaction with friends, family, job) to make this work?
* Continue to make progress convincing my friends and family to consider me a writer first and foremost.
* Be more devoted and committed to the act of sitting down to write.
12. What marketing steps do you need to achieve your goals?
* Develop and organise the process I built when promoting Hunting Jack
* Make the process quicker and develop templates
13. How much time each day do you vow to devote to your writing?
* Weekdays - 2 hours minimum
* Weekends - 10 hours minimum
14. With what new type of writing will you experiment in the coming year?
* Technical writing
15. What new non-writing interest do you wish to add to your life this year?
* Find the time to start fly-fishing again
* Read a book on Buddhism
16. What writing breakthrough this past year made you the proudest?
* Having my first short story story published
* Having my first poem published
* Having Hunting Jack accepted as a serial by KIC as paid fiction
17. What other goals, dreams and resolutions in your non-writing life do you want to work on in tandem with your writing goals?
* Buy a new house with Gail
On a good note, Hunting Jack sold as a one-day special at the Keep It Coming Ebay Store! That’s me up to 8 subscribers now! I also had notice from the editor at Ultimate Hallucination magazine, that he went ahead and published the 3 poems I submitted early December; Limbo, Asphyxiation and Frustrating Facilitators. What with all this and Heart of a Child being published by Wildchild Publishing in February, it really is a storming start to the New Year.
Anyway, here are my Goals, Dreams and Resolutions for 2005. Others in my writing group have done the same thing and I will use this as a marker for progress I make during the year.
This list will be permanently available as a link over on the right under the Hunting Jack front cover.
1. Where do you want to be with your writing in the long-term?
* To be able to resign from my job, in the knowledge that I can support my family to at least the standard of living we have now.
* To be an accomplished writer.
2. Where are you with your writing now?
* Much further than I expected!
* 1 Short Story published May 2004 – online magazine – non-paying
* 1 Short Story accepted for February 2005
* 6 Poems published – online magazine – non-paying
* 1 serial published – online e-zine – paying
3. What project did you leave unfinished last year that you need to finish for your own peace of mind?
* First novel Work In Progress: A Friend To Die For – 50% complete
4. What creative goals do you want to achieve over the next year?
* Complete Hunting Jack to novel length
* Move Hunting Jack into new areas
* Complete A Friend To Die For
* Write 1 short story per month
* Write 2 'deliberate' poems per month
* Continue to write inspired poems as and when - impossible to place goals on this
* Write 3 KIC Website columns
* Write 3 KIC Theatre Review columns
* Look for interesting articles to write in other areas (music, travel etc.)
5. What financial goals do you want to achieve over the next year? Yearly? Monthly? Weekly? (Note: There is no need to post this information, but you should have a figure that you feel comfortable with in your own notes).
* This is not my driving force. Getting published and recognised is more important to me. Of course, in the transition from full-time office-worker to full time writer this has to become an issue, but until I feel I am at a certain standard with my writing and inner-belief, then I cannot use it as a means to forward my art.
6. What steps do you see necessary in your life to achieve these goals?
* Keep to a target of words per week
* Research and target more paying fictional and non-fictional markets
* Be more strict where I submit to
* Be more organised with my marketing
7. Each month, pick one step and work on it.
* January - Research non-fiction markets
* February - Research fiction markets
8. What will make you refer to yourself, first and foremost, as “writer”?
* Complete Hunting Jack as a novel in its own right
* Complete A Friend to Die For and search for an agent
* Establish myself as a good columnist for KIC Magazine
* Become a regular columnist for other markets
* Have stories published in paying and quality markets - especially traditional print
* Have others around me see me as a writer and not an office worker
9. What steps do you need to take on the technical front to achieve your goals (such as improving spelling, grammar, and a general widening of skills)?
* Grammar
* Internal Thesaurus
* Editing
10. What steps do you need to take on the creative front to achieve your goals?
* Get more organised
* Take on new and challenging fictional projects
11. What changes do you need to make in your daily life (interaction with friends, family, job) to make this work?
* Continue to make progress convincing my friends and family to consider me a writer first and foremost.
* Be more devoted and committed to the act of sitting down to write.
12. What marketing steps do you need to achieve your goals?
* Develop and organise the process I built when promoting Hunting Jack
* Make the process quicker and develop templates
13. How much time each day do you vow to devote to your writing?
* Weekdays - 2 hours minimum
* Weekends - 10 hours minimum
14. With what new type of writing will you experiment in the coming year?
* Technical writing
15. What new non-writing interest do you wish to add to your life this year?
* Find the time to start fly-fishing again
* Read a book on Buddhism
16. What writing breakthrough this past year made you the proudest?
* Having my first short story story published
* Having my first poem published
* Having Hunting Jack accepted as a serial by KIC as paid fiction
17. What other goals, dreams and resolutions in your non-writing life do you want to work on in tandem with your writing goals?
* Buy a new house with Gail
Colin 1:06 pm
1 Comments:
Happy New Year to you, Gail, Laura, your Mum and Dad and sisters. All the best for 2005.
Sounds like you are going to have a busy year!
I wish you the best of luck with all of you endevours and I am sure you will reach all your goals.
Regards,
Bob
Sounds like you are going to have a busy year!
I wish you the best of luck with all of you endevours and I am sure you will reach all your goals.
Regards,
Bob
