Tag Archives: goals

First Month Results

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

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In September, I made it to 727 out of my 1000 minutes writing/month goal. I didn’t meet my goal (this time), but here’s what I learned:

  1. Having a goal to push toward works for me, even if I don’t quite get there. I spent just over 12 hours writing last month, which came out to revisions on 3 stories and about 5 pages’ worth of drafting toward a new story.
  2. I like goals that let me daydream. Unlike word count goals, which ultimately only count the moments you’re typing, a time goal allowed me to acknowledge the thought I put into my writing and revising. The ticker keeps ticking while I think about the right way to express a thought.
  3. The flexibility was awesome. Some nights I did 10 minutes. One Sunday I hit 90. Overall, my average comes to a little over 20 minutes a day–not a bad start!
  4. 1000 seems to be the right goal for me to set. It’s clearly tough, but I can think of a few nights when I probably could have put in another 10 minutes or so, and a weekend day or two when I blew off writing to do other fun things. Next time, if I’m going on a day trip with Andrew, I’ll write in the car in 10-minute bursts.

I’m doing a modified goal this month–500 minutes–in light of the fact that the wedding and honeymoon eat up the latter half of my October. After that, I think I’ll keep shooting for 1000!

Kick in the Pants

23 Monday Jan 2012

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I’m working on taking time every day to work on this story, even if I’m tired. I didn’t get myself out of bed to go to the gym this morning, but I am going tonight, and as soon as I get back, probably even before I jump in the shower, I’ll get another session in with this story to make it better. I have until the end of the month and then we’re on to the next one, so I’ve got a week to get it as polished as I can.

Poke the Box

06 Friday Jan 2012

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The first week of 2012 is over, and I’m already glancing behind me to make sure I hit my resolutions (almost all of mine are incremental, do-this-x-times-per week things, which is good because baby steps, but it means I have to hold myself accountable all the time). Did I meet my gym goals? Cook enough new recipes? Spend enough time writing? Make time to see my friends? The answer’s yes, fortunately–the first week of a new year does wonders for discipline and optimism–but what if I didn’t look at my resolutions as a list of categories and boxes to check off? From what I can see, most resolutions boil down to a promise to start things.

Enter Seth Godin and his manifesto, Poke the Box. Godin’s main point in this book is that, while we may be talented in a variety of ways, one skill that never seems to be actively taught or even encouraged is that of initiating. It’s a pretty glaring omission, when you think about it. Without having the chutzpah to try something new, nothing would ever get invented, even in a room full of the brightest and most creative people around. Unfortunately, in many schools and workplaces, people fall back on safe and familiar. Godin urges the reader to commit to making initiative a way of life.

It’s a cool read. The book is slim and broken into neat mini-sections, so it would be easy to polish off in an hour, tops, but I’d suggest you don’t do that. Spacing it out will give you some time to percolate over things like the lizard brain (the fight-or-flight instinct that fears change), how to embrace things like risk and failure, and why you might be morally obligated to be as creative as possible. The book contains few, if any, how-to instructions. Godin’s whole point is that we need to be the mapmakers, not another handful of tourists looking for a route to follow. But even without concrete tips, the book has punch, and left me with a new sense of energy toward my job and writing.

It’s a new year, and you’re probably already charged to make it as great as possible. But maybe it’s a mistake to limit that resolve to things like, “eat healthier food,” or “reduce smoking by 50%.” Maybe it’s time for bigger adventures, and for making inspiration and innovation something we do every day. Read Poke the Box. At worst, it’ll fortify you to stick to your resolutions past January twenty-something this year. At best, it’ll make you rethink how you approach goals and prod you toward something even bigger and braver.

New Directions

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Breaking Boundaries, Goals, Writing

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It’s been quite the learning year for blogging! When I made this blog as my midterm project for my E-Pub class, I wasn’t sure what, if anything, I’d ever use it for. In 2011, I resolved to post at least once a week, using the blog as a reminder to myself to take writing seriously and make progress toward my personal writing goals. I didn’t expect anyone to read it, but while I am far from well-read on the ethersphere (blogonet? i have no idea what the universe where people read blogs is called), I have a few dozen followers, and got enough attention to land me a spot on the Canary Review as well!

What this means, of course, is that I clearly need to step things up here. Through careful research, I have determined that one of the things all the cool bloggers do is write for audiences–as in, act like there actually are people reading this thing that you have posted to the entire internet. Writing myself little pep talks isn’t going to cut it anymore.

So here’s what I propose: since literature and writing are the things that make me feel happy and inspired, and sometimes tangentially related or even seemingly unrelated creative things do, too, I want to make this blog-space that I have a virtual studio, dedicated to stories and inspiration, both in traditional and a bit more unconventional form. Posting goes like this:

Once a week: What I’m Reading, because I want to read 75 books in 2012 and I like talking about them (and, without getting too braggy, I’ve read a shelf or two in my lifetime and I think I can pick some good ones)

Another day in the week: Writing/inspiration. Something I’ve found or that’s occurred to me that is good for creativity, that I think you might think is cool, too.

As many Fridays as I can: Flash fiction. Because writing crappy short-short stories is a good way to shake out my brain, which I will need given how much editing I have to do in 2012 (see: NaNoWriMo).

I don’t want to put down specific days, because I am still doing the 2-jobs-and-grad-school thing and I don’t always know what good writing days my schedule will allow, but that’s the plan for next year. And if you are one of the couple dozen people who stop by sometimes, and you see something really cool, send it my way! Let’s make creative inspiration a community thing.

3rd Quarter Report

04 Tuesday Oct 2011

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I just realized it’s time for another report! Three months is a long time, but it still catches me by surprise. As I recall (read: as I cheat by checking the Mid-Year Report), my goals were:

1. Write fiction 5 days a week

2. Submit more/regularly

3. Continue my good habits (blogging, class work, reading)

It’s been a good three months. I’m learning a lot at the new job, and the blog is going strong. I’ve done guest posts, and am actually going to be a regular contributor. I’ve got my first official regular assignment from the Canaries: a post about a particular annual reading tradition of mine, along with a book review. I’ll let you know when to look for it.

Writing is going pretty well. I’m getting up between 7:00 and 7:20 these days, depending on how tired I am, and writing a little bit before I go to work. On a good day, I’ll write over 300 words in a 15-minute stretch, on a bad day it’s more like 100. I’m trying to take evening mini-stretches, too, to get to that nice round 500. The word goal is a little elusive, but joining 750words was a great move. I signed up for the September challenge to write every day and, except for two or three nights when I copy-pasted a blog entry I’d written the day before, I kept to it. Only made it to 750 a couple of times, but I’m writing regularly again, and I can feel the difference. I’ve revised two stories, written two or three more, and I have another two in progress on the laptop. Plus, I’ve published two articles on Dumb Little Man and written an article on the forthcoming children’s book, Maggie Goes On a Diet. That article hasn’t found a home, but I got to interview people (it was easier to get ahold of experts to interview than I thought!), and it is completed, so it counts.

I’ve stepped up submissions, as well, although I’m getting close to tapering down again. I submitted to about 25 places over the last 12 weeks, averaging about 2 subs per week. Light for a “real” writer, but better than I’ve been in a long time.

I’m glad I’m doing this report now! I’ve been feeling so-so about my writing for the last few days–tired of my characters and tropes. We’re reading so many jaw-drop amazing books in the literature seminar that when I look at my stories, they feel thin and dull. It’s encouraging to think how much more time I’ve been devoting to getting my butt in the writing seat, though. So, my goals for next month are:

1. Complete National Novel Writing Month.

2. Arrive at and maintain 500 words at least 4 days a week (can be less on other days, except for November of course)

3. Challenge myself to write differently–different characters, genres, writing styles. I’m too young and too new at this to fall into a rut. Let’s see how many different things I can do by the end of the month.

4. Post Flash Fridays. Flash is already a different thing for me, and the weekly push should help keep me on my toes.

5. Update What I’m Reading! I actually have read 10 books since the end of August, but haven’t updated a single one to the blog. Let’s get some fresh material out there.

The Search for Substance

13 Tuesday Sep 2011

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The first thing that’s struck me about my literature seminar this fall is how amazingly substantial the books are. That is, they offer something more than an entertaining story, or even a thoughtful one, and instead get at the kind of human truths that transcend their time or place. Oedipus is still current in the way that it raises questions of whether the gods are just, whether and where fairness comes into play regarding crimes and punishment, and how to understand the concept of a good man and a good life.

Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee, is about men and women and sex, and the uses of sex. It’s about animals and obligation and the problems of how to live a life that has to involve giving and receiving a certain amount of cruelty. We’re going to spend hours tonight talking about meaning, not in a “what is the author trying to say” way, but in the “how does this book change our understanding of how we live our lives” way.

Perhaps (just perhaps) it’s unfair for me to compare myself to a Nobel Prize-winning writer, but I’ve always had a tendency to set my personal bar high.  I started by getting up early to write, took the next jump to sign up for 750words.com and its monthly writing challenge (I’ve only made it to 750 twice, but I’ve written every day this month and am pushing for the full 750), and I’m gearing up for NaNo. With word count building, my next logical step is to reconsider what it is that I’m writing. Again, I am aware Nobel Prize is a smidge high for a yardstick, but on the other hand, if you fail to reach it, you’re still probably going to be turning out something pretty good.

I’ve got some writing exercises I’ll be trying out in the next few days to find a way to add more of that delicious, meaty, philosophical substance to my writing. I’ll post them here. Stay tuned!

Quarterly Report

30 Wednesday Mar 2011

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All right.  So I know the blog has technically been up since October of last year, but this January is the more fair mark of when I got started with this whole ‘develop a web presence for yourself’ thing. I’ve been trying to take my writing life more seriously this year, so I think it’s a good idea to make myself more accountable. We’re at the 25% mark in the year, and I hear businesses like to do things in quarters, so let’s give that a shot here, shall we?

Okay, for serious this time.

What I’ve Done So Far:

Blogging has gone spectacularly well, I think. I’m posting regularly, sometimes even more frequently than the once a week I planned in January. I’m updating several areas of my site–my What I’m Reading page has seen a few updates, and I even posted a mini-essay to my Stories & Things cache. Making the leap to post blogs to Facebook gave me a wild jump in traffic for a little bit, and then it fell off again. I’m reading other blogs here and there to learn about what it is that’s working there to keep people’s attention. Maybe there are elements that translate to other kinds of writing, as well.

Speaking of, writing ‘serious’ things (read, creative work that I intend to send out for publication) is a mixed bag. In January I was high on resolution-fuel, pumping out words every day like a machine. Toward the end of the month, though, I realized I was starting to get lost in the novel, and not in the good way. I had so many gaps between scenes that I was losing the thread of what I was trying to do in the story, and felt like I was just meandering. It stood at about 15,000 words then, and hasn’t grown since.

I did write the Story in a Day, but didn’t revise it, and a few pieces for my Experimental Forms class, as well as the aforementioned mini-essay, so I’m turning out some product here. I’m also keeping lists of potential article ideas to submit, and I’d estimate I sent out around 10 pitches and manuscripts this last quarter. Low as that is, it’s a step up from what it’s been in the past, so I’m smiling, albeit with slightly gritted teeth.

Where Do I Need to Improve?

The perfectionist side of me wants to say “across the board.” I’m nowhere near the ideal of getting published regularly, earning enough to make a noticeable contribution to my budget (or, um, anything), and living that daydream writer’s life. Trying to make that happen in one swoop, however, is utterly unrealistic and a bit stupid.

I want to be more intentional about my writing. I feel like I’m heading there with some of the things I’ve done so far this year, but other times even successes have felt like happy accidents. I want to be more deliberate about growing in this area, so I propose that in the next quarter of the year, I try to meet the following goals:

1. Submit 10 queries or mss/week, total: 120 pieces. This is really scary, because as you can see I normally take something like three or four months to steel myself to send out that much. I have a good list to start me off, though, and if I want to make this happen, I need to get serious. Just try for 3 months to keep that level going, and see what happens.

2. Write and revise 4 new pieces. My problem is that I like starting things, but my enthusiasm dims toward the middle, and really fizzles out when it comes to reworking a first draft into a polished product. I need to force myself to finish what I start, and take the time and effort to make it something I’d (gasp) let someone else read.

And I’m going to end the list there for now. Both of those goals are ambitious enough to keep my attention for a while, so let’s get on top of those and see what happens from now til June. Business meeting adjourned, and back to writing!