Writing Goals - 2024

 I spent most of today in my pajamas looking through what I accomplished in 2023 as far as writing goals and then looked ahead at 2024. I follow Sarra Cannon on YouTube and she hosted a livestream all about planning writing goals in 2024. I had also downloaded a couple other planning/reflection tools from Abbie Emmons and Katie Allen. But Tracy, you say, it's January 13th - aren't you a little behind? Nope, no I am not. I have been trying to shift my planning and goals from the typical New Year's resolutions to something more spread out. I find the time as we go into the darkest part of the year the best time to plant seeds, see what takes, and get really curious about what I really want. I think of Spring as the time for things to come alive - specifically February 1 - Imbolc - the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox as a ripe time to see what seeds are sprouting.

I suffer from shiny new thing syndrome, anyone else? It is so easy for me to just keep adding and adding until I cannot successfully complete anything. I still enjoy working on different things, this is especially helpful so I don't get bored or feel like I am in a rut. I am like this in nearly every aspect of my life. I collect things and try them on for awhile and then find a new shiny fun thing and leave the other one behind. I am attempting to leave that habit behind and try something new. Finish what I start. 

I can finish things - after all in March 2023 a book I had worked on for nearly 2 years was released. SUCCESS!! It was hard and honestly towards the end I wasn't sure I would ever really get it done. Something about questioning everything I had done instead of trusting that there WOULD be mistakes and also, I did the best I could and it WAS really good.

Now, I have the writing bug. I dreamed of being a writer since I was young. I wrote plays and short stories as a kid. I stopped writing stories and moved on to angsty poetry in my teens and early twenties. I wrote for an amusement park newsletter and over the years I would write things here and there - mostly for school. In 2018 my sister had me accompany her to a writing group in Olympia, WA and what happened there was MAGIC!! I loved it. It woke something up in me that I had forgotten existed. For the next few years I would write in group when I could. The facilitator of the group followed the process from the Amherst Writers & Artists born from Pat Schneider and her book Writing Along and With Others as well as another author Deena Metzger and her book Writing For Your Life. I looked forward to writing in group so much. As COVID hit - the groups went online and with that more community. I was meeting people from all over the world and discovering writing again.

In 2021 I decided to take my first workshop with Natalie Goldberg. My aunt had suggested it based on a conversation we had and I thought, why not? This would open up a whole world that I didn't know I was missing. Reading Writing Down the Bones and other books by Goldberg and a whole group of people who do writing practice - which includes sitting, writing, and listening (no good, no bad, could be the worst thing ever). I was able to do my first intensive writing retreat with Natalie in December 2023 and I absolutely loved it - 5 days of the practice. It gave me a kick in the pants to keep going.

So, I am looking at 2024 with a critical eye. What is realistic for me to accomplish? What projects do I have in my head? What do I really want to do? I have already set some intentions about writing - as in I want to do my morning pages each day (1-3 pages of brain dump in the AM), and I want to #write24in24 however that works out. That gets me writing, but what do I want to do with it - if anything? I do have a couple projects in my head and several others kind of nudging me in the background. I would really like to submit a few pieces this year whether poetry or short story or essay just to see what happens. I am also working on another book in partnership with others and that is still a ways off but research and draft writing are both needed for the project to continue.

Today was about looking at the year, at what I would like to do with my writing, and taking a serious look at how I spend my precious time. 

My Goals

1) Submit 2 pieces this year for contest or publishing

2) Write 24 minutes a day

3) Conduct Oral history interviews about the Washington State Archives with former archivists and/or employees

4) Start my memoir (short essay style - 5 finished pieces)

5) Work on the fiction idea started in 2023 - does it have juice? Get it plotted and outlined.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Changes - Going Home

Image
Well, it has been a minute since I posted anything. As I am typing this, I am staring out the window of our new apartment in Columbus, Ohio. For many of you, you may not know that I am from Newark, Ohio. I was born and raised in Ohio. When I was young, I dreamed of seeing the big wide world and so when we left Cincinnati, Ohio in 2007 and moved to Washington State, I did not dream we would return to my home state. Columbus was the big city for me growing up. We came here to do our back to school shopping sometimes, we would come to gospel meetings in various churches (Canal Winchester, Hilliard, Worthington, Broad St, to name a few) in the greater Columbus area. We frequented a place called Children's Palace to occasionally get a new toy. As I got older, I would come to Columbus to visit the zoo, go to a show, go clubbing, visit friends, cruise High Street, and of course visit COSI. I had a violin teacher in Bexley.  My brother played indoor soccer in Westerville. I had friends who
Read more

Traveling with Strangers

Image
Okay, maybe not COMPLETE strangers. How many of you would just take a 10 day road trip with a friend and someone you don't really know? Would you sleep in the same space with them to save money? I did that. Maybe it was the way I was raised, but I have no worries about sleeping in spaces with strangers. Okay, not COMPLETE strangers...again I emphasize that. I know that for some of us, myself included we have bodily functions and certain rituals that keep us from being in close proximity to others especially ones that are not part of your intimate circle. Even then, you may not consider anyone into that part of your world, not even your significant other.  For someone who has a difficult time being with people for more than a few hours - this was a challenge. When I moved to Washington State, my circle of friends got smaller. I started spending a lot more time alone. It was a shift from being in a larger family and then being around friends and in social situations. It would not be
Read more