The random—and not so random—musings of a quirky Regency romance writer.
No one with that many people in her head can possibly be normal...

Friday, January 1, 2010

Writing Goals for 2010

As a writer, I think it is important to look further down the path than a few hours. This is true of stories and life. Looking back at 2009, I realize I accomplished very little. I allowed too many useless distractions to get in the way. This year, I will not.

What did I do in 2009 that's worth mentioning?

I did win NaNoWriMo and it was my first attempt. I wrote 55,000 words in 30 days. Still, I wanted to finish that novel in '09 and I didn't. It sits at just over 72,000 words with nary an end in sight.

I also blogged. A lot. I started this blog in March and wrote a total of 91 posts. I started my book reviews blog (Romance, Old School) in April and wrote 47 posts. I started a few other blogs but was not as faithful a writer to them.

I participated in blog tours, author interviews, and online giveaways and contests. I made many friends and met many fellow authors. I learned a lot about review ethics and how some people have none. I've been hurt, I've been praised, I've been constructively criticized and through it all, I've learned that to trust is not always a stupid thing and that the injuries others inflict will only affect me if I let them.

In 2010, I plan to
  1. have the first draft of my fantasy novel completed and in the hands of various critique partners by January 31st.
  2. finish the edits on my Regency romances Angel, Deception and Intrigue and submit them for publication.
  3. write no less than 200 words per day. This number will be garnered from new manuscripts, edits/revisions on older manuscripts and first drafts, and short stories/flash fiction.
  4. write one flash fiction piece every month. This may seem like an easy goal, considering flash fiction is 1000 words or less, but believe me, cramming an entire story into so few words is a true challenge for me.
  5. critique at least one novel every 6-8 weeks for a fellow author. I have been terribly lax in this area.
  6. read two nonfiction research books. I know two is a small number but I tend to use nonfiction texts as reference rather than reading them from cover to cover. This year, I will read two from cover to cover.
  7. keep up with writing book reviews. Those to whom I have promised reviews, fear not. They will be written and posted. I apologize for the delay and hope you will forgive me.
I have also decided that the e-book versions of my current novels will stay at $2.95 each, both in the Kindle Store and at Smashwords.com. I like that someone can read one of my books for less than $3. They are also available at Barnes & Noble for the same price. :o)

So those are my goals for 2010. What are yours?

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3 comments:

Jeff Caminsky said...

Congratulations...at least you have an idea of what you want to accomplish, and disciplined yourself enough to organize your thoughts. Most of us simply have a vague notion of doing better next year...which promptly fades under the press of events.

Paul Mitton said...

Nice set of goals, Jaimey. I like the way you've actually put a section for fellow writers in there - critique something every 6 - 8 weeks.

A lot of us, me included, just set goals to write so many words a day, spend x hours editing per day - all for ourselves.

We tend to lump the services for our fellows - critiquing, editing, writing synopses and so on - into a vague, unallocated lump.

I feel quite embarassed at lacking a social conscience now. I'm going to head on back to GR and amend my goals to include a set amount of time this year for helping those who help me so much.

Have a good year!

The Heartless Gamer Girl said...

Thanx, Jeff and Paul. I'm a little surprised myself that I was able to get it all down in writing. Now all I have to do is accomplish them, LOL.

Paul, I just hope one critique every 6-8 weeks isn't too much for me. I think I can handle it as long as all I do is read and critique rather than read and fix every spelling error and typo I see. I have a tendency to do that. It makes the whole process rather overwhelming.

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