Writing Goals

I don't often post about my direct goals. This is not because I don't have any; most people who know me know that my problem in life is not being directionless. It's the opposite. I have too much I want to do and I put a lot of pressure on myself to do it.

At this time of year - the pointy end of things when we're leading up to the busy time of Christmas and summer - I tend to get all reflective about what I want to achieve next year. And whether I've achieved what I wanted to this year.

My goals for 2010 included becoming a writer (as in, articles and blogs), writing a manuscript, renovating our house - and raising a happy toddler. Tick, tick (times six and a half!), tick and tick!

In terms of my writing, 2010 has been the beginning of it all for me. I started the year a little vague - I wanted to write, but what? and by February I had begun writing for Kids Book Review; in March I was typing my first manuscript. The ideas began flowing, and I was - and still am - convinced that I should be writing for children. (As a side note, I'd love to write for adults too, but thought I'd be better off starting with one part of my dream at a time!)

Writing, though, can feel a bit open in terms of time. I have all the time in the world to complete a manuscript, right? It doesn't matter if I don't work on it today, or tomorrow; there isn't anyone waiting for it. I don't have a deadline. It's very open-ended.

It's that open end that bothers me sometimes. I'm not a procrastinator; I like to do things right now. Today. But when there are a hundred other things that are demanding your attention right now, it's hard to get around to the open-ended things.

It's hard to ask someone to look after your child while you do something that, right now, is purely an interest doesn't even have to be done right now.

That's why I wanted to set some more specific goals for myself.

By the end of 2010, I'd like to have finished my junior fiction manuscript. I'm halfway through it, and just want to get it done. There are so many other ideas floating around in my mind, which I'm jotting down and then pushing aside, and I want a chance to focus on them.

So. If I finish off my work-in-progress this year, I can start fresh in 2011. I can begin editing that manuscript after a break from it over the Christmas period. And I can let my mind wander through other ideas.

More novels. More non-fiction. More hassling and nagging publishers giving publishers the opportunity to publish my work.

Let the writing begin again!


Megan