Monday 13 January 2014

Goals: 2014+



Today I thought I'd talk about this year's goals, and changes I've made to my "Goals" approach in general. You will see if you check out my Goals page that it no longer has a year attached. While I have listed a fair few goals, some of which I don't intend to accomplish this year, there are many more goals that aren't listed. But I thought I'd leave it how it is until I've achieved some of what's on there. :)

In the last two years, I think I've tried to achieve too much. In 2011, I managed to achieve every single goal I had set myself (and there were many). In 2012 I had less success, while still achieving many things. Last year was the "worst" yet, even if I did get two new novels written, as well some other goals achieved. But last year in particular taught me that what had worked well in 2011 wasn't working anymore. I guess I burned myself out. And I knew a change was in order.

As I've mentioned previously, 2014 will be a year of revision. During June and November, my traditional main writing months, I plan to write new stuff, but only to add to existing manuscripts that aren't finished. I have a few novels that aren't far off being finished, but some of them have been languishing in "unfinished land" for literally years now. So I want to knock those off. But the main focus of 2014 will be my attempt to get at least two of my novels revised, hopefully to the point that they can be sent out to beta readers.

For now, I am nearly done revising my novella, and when that's done I'll start reading through my first novel draft to be revised. True, I haven't decided which one to work on first, but I'll make that choice and then I'll use March (NaNoEdMo month) to revise whatever title I chose.

Obviously you guys will come along for the ride, if you so choose, and see how well I stick to 2014's resolution-style goal-setting. :P

19 comments:

  1. I'm with you. I've probably got about 4 complete novels that I've never even taken a stab at revising. I've always just moved on to the next thing and planned to come back, but never did. So I'm hoping to really dig through my backlog of stories and see what is worth fixing in revisions and what I can chalk up to a learning experience.

    Good luck!

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  2. Revising sounds like a plan - make it so!

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  3. I like the idea of a year of revision! And you're such a productive person, Trisha. Definitely inspiring. If we could all be like you!!! <3

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  4. A year of revision is a cool idea! It's good to adjust goals and try new approaches, because as you said, what works one year might not work the next.

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  5. Good luck with your 2014 goals, if things haven't been working then revisions are the way to go.

    I think I need to consider some solid goals for myself rather than maintaining a 'maybe this, maybe that' approach. Perhaps they'll increase my productivity.

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  6. Good luck with your goals! I agree that having too many can backfire. Go you that you have so much to revise and edit!

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  7. Good luck with reaching your goals. I don't like the idea of putting pressure on oneself to get something done in a certain year or by a certain date, since it can lead to feelings of failure and such if not accomplished on time. Revision can sometimes feel more creative and exciting than the actual writing process.

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  8. getting those goals down is one of the best ways to start!
    and it sounds like you have a solid plan. looking forward to reports of your process!

    happy monday!

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  9. Good luck! I'm doing a year of revising too. I have two novels I want to polish and query. Yikes!

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  10. Best of luck with all of it. I find both your ambitions and your output to be very impressive, indeed.

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  11. I need to make a list of goals. Crossing stuff off is empowering. Thanks for the idea!

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  12. Haha, yup, we are in the same boat. ;) It must have been something about 2011. Gravity or something scientific. . . Good luck with everything this year, I know you can do it!

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  13. I think this will be a good year...I hope, anyway!

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  14. The year of revision. Seems like that's every year for me. :) Best of luck this year, Trisha!

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  15. I think I need a year of revisions too--although new ideas keep popping up, and this one is begging me to write it, even though I, like you, wrote two novels last year and need to get them spiffed up!

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  16. I think goal-setting is the best way to accomplish just about anything. I set goals just for my weekends to make sure I don't laze about for two whole days, and I tend to feel a lot better when I get them done. I have larger goals too, including a bunch of revision like you mentioned, but hey, one step at a time. ^_^

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  17. My goal is just to finish some of the short stories I've started and get them submitted. Somewhere. Sounds almost too easy, right?

    .....dhole

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  18. Good luck on all your writing goals this year! ♥

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  19. Good luck with everything. I used to burn myself out, but I make more realistic goals every year. Also, I'm more disciplined than ever to follow through with them.

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Thanks for your words, me hearties! and don't forget to leave a link to your blog somewhere I can find it!