New Year's Resolutions

We maybe half way through January, but HAPPY NEW!  They better late than never, right?  Anyways, it's a new year and for me that means a time to set new goals (or finish old ones).  Yes, I'm one of those people who makes a list of resolutions/goals at the beginning of the year.  

Why?   Well, in my opinion having resolutions or goals gives us challenges- something to work towards.  And having to discipline yourself to work toward something helps us to grow.  Growth has always been very important to me for personal reasons that have to do with the environment I grew up in.

I know that a lot of people think that it's cliche to set resolutions because they believe that most people will just end up abandoning their list anyway.  That maybe true, but I think the key to anyone achieving their goals is not just to create a list of things they want to accomplish, but to set a deadline.

From there you have to create a timeline that details the steps you will need to take to achieve get goal or resolution and the amount of time or date by which you realistically can complete each step and ultimately your goal.  So many of us skip that step and that's how we end up failing.  And there is that percentage of us who details everything out and we still end up failing due procrastination or fear.  Anyways, in the spirit of sharing and having a little bit of accountability, I thought I'd share what my goals are as they relate to writing for this year.

Writing Goals for 2015

• Write Daily: For the most, I do write daily.  It's not always writing as in working on a manuscript.  I journal, blog, freelance and even letter write.  There are those days when I'm too lazy to pick up my pen though.  Sadly, last year there were too many of those days for liking.  

• Share More:  I'm a private person by nature.  There's nothing wrong with that except that I'm going to publishing two books this year.  At the very least, I need start sharing more with the world about those books whether it's talking about how the characters came to exist, my favorite excerpts, my frustrations with the writing process, etc.  I want to take you along for the ride and not just pop up out of blue like "Hey, I wrote a book.  Go buy it!"  So, WIP Wednesday is going to be regular feature here on the blog.  I can't promise that it'll be a weekly feature, but goal for right now is post a WIP Wednesday update at least twice a month.

• Connect with Industry Peers: Although, I am a private person, I do love connecting with others who have similar interests as I do.  Last year I did great connecting with other book lovers, this year I want to do a great job of connecting with other writers.  We all need someone who gets some of the challenges we go through.  Let's face it, not every reader is going to understand the challenge of trying stick to a plot outline when your characters are tugging you into a different direction.  Another writer would.

• Finish My Books:  While I've learned that comparison is the thief of joy and every writer writes and creates differently, I'm ready to have my novels finished.  I'm not saying that I'm going to rush through the books, but I'm so close to being done with Forever Branded and half way there with the other.  What I am going to do is less self editing and more just writing.  I've come to realize that I tend to get stuck in an endless cycle of self editing, which only prolongs my actual writing process.  So, write and finish the books first, then edit.

There you have it, four very doable goals.  I'm to report that I have been doing well with staying on top of these goals since January kicked off.  I'm confident that I will continue to remain on task throughout the remainder of the year.  Did you set any goals or resolutions for this year?  If so, feel to share one or two in the comments below.

Until next time, 

K.