I have begun this new year by documenting the writing goals I have achieved. Looking back and comparing where you are at the end of this year can help you work out what you want to achieve the following year.
Last year, I aimed to rewrite and publish a novella that I had worked on for some time. I came to the conclusion that it has too many flaws at the moment, so am putting it on the backburner to develop a story involving a character from one of my short stories.
At the beginning of this year, I found Deadlines for Writers – a monthly challenge which offers a prompt, word count and deadline for writing a short story or a poem (two separate challenges). Every month you upload your story and hopefully four others read and comment on it and you read and comment on four other stories. It has been an amazing discipline and I am pleased to say that I have achieved the required 12 stories in 12 months. The ability to have others read your work is a boost and I have found several characters that I would like to take forward into longer stories. I would highly recommend that you check the website out if you want to write more short stories.
I have had approximately 7 weeks of work as an administration temp. That has been over several months. My conclusion is that it is now difficult to make a living through temping. I may join a couple more agencies in the New Year.
I wrote 4 blog posts – could do better!
I took a couple of writing courses and enjoyed a plot summit with Daniel David Wallace. This has spawned a helpful Facebook group.
I wrote two short stories and submitted them to a magazine. Could have written up to 5 but some of the themes I found challenging. Waiting to hear back from the editor.
Goals and dreams for 2025
Finish at least one novella and publish it
Learn Scrivener
Begin blogging regularly – aim for a monthly roundup for the first three months then review
Continue 12 stories in 12 months – and add 12 poems in 12 months too
Publish the first 12 stories
Find some stories to put together for a collection
I will report regularly on my blog for accountability.
What have you got planned for 2025?
