I make them. Yes, I am one of those annoying few who like New Year's resolutions. I make a list, get all excited, and whatnot. I love goals, and the start of a new year is a great time to make a slew of them.
Last year I made only one writing-related resolution. I wanted to complete four novels in 2010. (Not really sure why I made that resolution, since from a business perspective it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but whatever ... I made the resolution.) I didn't achieve it, actually, but I came VERY close, and since it was such a hefty goal I'm still pretty proud of myself. I did complete 3 rough drafts for separate books, and I wrote 50% of a fourth before throwing everything out and starting over. (The fourth was going to be completed in NaNoWriMo, but then I decided not to do NaNo and instead wrote a bunch of short stories that month.)
Anyway. I think I set that goal just to see if I could do it. I was (and am) trying out my creative abilities, seeing how long it takes me to write things, enjoying the relative freedom that I have right now since I don't have any contractual obligations.
This year, however, I'm going to focus more on publication and less on what amounts to creative screwing around, no matter how fun that is. I'm also setting a range of goals. Easy, possible, and unlikely chances of success, you know?
I have some submission goals which mainly consist of writing an obtainable number of short stories and then submitting them to a certain number of markets before giving up, and I have an older book sitting on my hard drive that I plan to revise and submit by the end of Feb.
I'm also going to finish my rough draft of Masquerade if it kills me.*
Does anybody else make New Year's resolutions? Do goals help you or merely frustrate you?
*This isn't exactly how the goal is worded, but ...
Anyway. I think I set that goal just to see if I could do it. I was (and am) trying out my creative abilities, seeing how long it takes me to write things, enjoying the relative freedom that I have right now since I don't have any contractual obligations.
This year, however, I'm going to focus more on publication and less on what amounts to creative screwing around, no matter how fun that is. I'm also setting a range of goals. Easy, possible, and unlikely chances of success, you know?
I have some submission goals which mainly consist of writing an obtainable number of short stories and then submitting them to a certain number of markets before giving up, and I have an older book sitting on my hard drive that I plan to revise and submit by the end of Feb.
I'm also going to finish my rough draft of Masquerade if it kills me.*
Does anybody else make New Year's resolutions? Do goals help you or merely frustrate you?
*This isn't exactly how the goal is worded, but ...
I hate making resolutions. I did make ONE this year (we won't count the fake list I made for my writing group's blog), and it was: To not take things so seriously.
ReplyDeleteWow! Wow! Shall I say it again? Three and a half novels is impressive. I love to set goals from daily to monthly to yearly. It’s kind of fun.
ReplyDelete@Jaimie I think that is a sound resolution. Actually, that was sort of one of mine last year.
ReplyDelete@Holly Thanks. I'm pretty good at writing fast, not so good at sticking with things through revision. I'm learning, though.
ReplyDeleteI don't do resolutions - I tend to just tweak things as I go :) I think we all have to find what works for us and go with it! You were certainly prolific in 2010 - hope your 2011 brings you all of the best :)
ReplyDeleteNo kidding 4 novels in a year is a lot. I've done it before (2009), but this year it was more like 1.5. Not too worried; I was doing other things like revisions, blogging makeover, life, 2 writers' conferences, etc. Good luck with your goals!
ReplyDelete@Jemi Since the whole point of a resolution is to help you accomplish something, if they don't help then why make them? Thanks for the wishes :-)
ReplyDelete@Carol Thanks!!