Writerly Goals for 2016

"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself:
‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’
And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change
something." - STEVE JOBS

     Yes, time flies. So, I am making the best of it by getting a clear FOCUS on my goals . . .lasting, God-honoring, inspiring. Have I spent the last year in pursuits that brought joy to my heart? Absolutely! Have I done all I could to further my writing career? Not by long shot. Can I make 2016 a record year? You bet!
     I'll be sharing my successes, failures, and plans to change those failures into achievements during the next couple of weeks. Come along! Hopefully, something will inspire you, too.

Here are my successes, as I see them, inspired by Julie Hedlund's "12 Days of Christmas" Challenge:


- Attending Kristen Fulton's Wow Retreat (Week of Writing)
- Wow NonFicPic: completed 7 manuscripts
- 7 days of fiction-writing: 7 rough drafts
- signed up for Alayne's ARC class and was accepted by the Institute of Children's Literature
- Sent out at least four manuscripts
- Set up Author's Blog and planned author's Bullet journal posts.
- Completely rewrote my Peacock story per conversation with a peacock expert at our Local Zoo.
-Participated in two Twitter pitch parties, even though my manuscript wasn't accepted.
- Feeling more confident as a writer to submit manuscripts even if everyone doesn't agree on how I should revise. I'm committing to submitting two or more manuscripts per month in 2016!
- Completed 12 ms this year thanks to 12x12. . .and then some!
- Listened to a number of MG novels, since professional writers are encouraging me to read what I want to write. I fluctuate between PBs, Chapter Books and an MG Novel.
- Feeling the need to 'simplify' and FOCUS on my writing. . .I'm too scattered. Just knowing that is a help!
- I'm reading, reading, reading, and analyzing, analyzing, analyzing. Looking for the hook, the plot, the descriptions.
-More thick skinned with critiques. . .I'm enjoying the challenge of revision.
-Accepted at SCBWI's 'Falling Leaves' conference. I left there knowing I had much work to do, but had great feedback from fellow writers at our Roundtable.
-I'm more knowledgeable about the process of critiquing a manuscript. . .what to look for, and how to express it.

     That's it for now. . . More to come! If you like what you see, please feel free to sign up for my mailing list. I promise to have many posts full of writerly inspiration in 2016, including ideas for:

-A writer's bullet journal
-Lists of helpful posts for all stages of your writing life
-Ways to organize your writer's life and help you FOCUS on what is important

P.S. If you wanted to be inspired and challenged in your writing, NOW is the time to sign up with Julie Hedlund's 12x12 group. You'll be glad you did!

Children's author Julie Hedlund, challenged participants of her 12 Days of Christmas for Writers series to post SUCCESSES (rather than resolutions) on our blogs this year. She believes the way New Year's resolutions are traditionally made come from a place of negativity - what DIDN'T get done or achieved in the previous year. Instead, she suggests we set goals for the New Year that BUILD on our achievements from the previous one. I decided to participate in this Anti-Resolution Revolution! Above is my list for 2015. . .