New Year's Writing Goals - 2011

It’s another New Year, so I have another new list of writing goals. Some are the same as always – they carry over from year to year. But some are more focused, so they seem like new goals to me. So, in the tradition of New Year’s resolutions, here they are:

Writing Goals for 2011 –

Do some journal writing every day, or as often as possible (at least 4-5 times a week). Ideally I’d follow Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” journal exercise from her “Artist’s Way” program, but it’s hard to stay committed to writing first thing in the morning, especially on days when I have an opening shift at work. But I often work a lot of closing shifts, so I’ll write pages in the morning on those days.

Write posts for this blog as often as possible (at least 1 per week). I really want to keep up with a writing blog, and I’ve started my previous blogs with good intentions, only for them to fizzle out after a few months. So I plan to stay committed to this one, as a way to keep motivated for my writing projects, and to track my progress. And a bonus would be to have some readers, and maybe even some feedback, too.

Work on writing my 2 novel projects, as often as possible (at least 3-4 times a week).

- Teen time-travel novel (untitled right now)

- Adult time-travel novel (also untitled right now)

I’ll work on character profiles; plot/story arc notes; notes on setting; notes on time period details; new scenes; and rewriting previous scenes as long as those scenes move forward. I also want to do some journal writing about any feelings or new ideas I may have about these projects.

Research agents and editors for teen and adult novel submissions, online and in the 2011 Children’s Writers and Novel Writers Markets. Right now, I’m still in the early stages of my projects, but when they’re ready, I want to have a list of possibilities.

Re-new my SCBWI membership – I always attend their writing meetings at B & N each month, and I want to also focus on the upcoming conferences. I hope to attend the NYC conference in February if possible, and I always attend the local conference in June – this year, I want to make sure to prepare the first 15 pages of my teen time-travel novel for a manuscript critique.

Check out the Verla Kay Blue Board site, and other writing/author websites and blogs whenever I have the time. It’s a good way to feel more connected to the vast online writing community.

Read more books on writing and publishing, for information, motivation and writing improvement.

Work on my various fanficton story ideas and works-in-progress, for fun, but also as a way to improve my writing, and to keep to story deadlines I’ll set for them.

And I want to be able to share my writing progress with writing friends, and reader friends too, for feedback and critiques, if any of them have the time and are interested in reading. I miss the Wildwood Writers group that I was part of with Michelle, Lisa, and Rich, and ideally it would be great to be part of a critique group again. But I’d be glad to be able to have a similar situation online, if that’s possible.

So that’s my list of writing goals for the New Year. I really want to hold myself to keeping these resolutions, so I’ll be back here to report my progress during the year.

Here’s hoping for some good writing progress, and maybe even success, in 2011. Happy New Year!