Each year in January I sit down and formulate my goals for the coming year. These are not resolutions, this is an actual to do list. In setting your goals yearly, it is important to have a vision of where you wish to be in the future - perhaps 5 or 10 years from now, then goals become the steps you will take to get you there.
Your goals as a writer may include the number of hours a week you will devote to your latest project. It might also include dates when you hope to have larger pieces completed. It should also contain some marketing - how often you will post to certain social media sites, up-date your website, etc.
Often it seems that we forget an important area - reading. When writers inform me they are too busy to read, I know there will be a challenge for them. As writers some of our learning is done through the process of reading and analyzing the work of other writers. This is an important step that often times is forgotten.
This year I challenge you to not only commit to reading a certain number of books, articles, etc, but to also review or comment on what you've read. Let's make this a year of continued growth for all writers.
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D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, House of Glass, Book 2 of The Exodus Series was written with coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.
D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole and, Perception. The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.
She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com
You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook
5 comments:
Nice advice! I am part of a small writers' forum (stringingwords.freeforums.net). Many of us commit to reading a book a week each year. I've also started a short story reading challenge. It's wonderful to be able to look back at what you've read in the course of a year.
Excellent advice Jean, writers must read the work of others. It's how we develop our all important 'ear' for what works.
Jean, I agree, great advice. You're so right it seems reading books takes a back seat when trying to to do everything else. And, it is sooo important to read what works.
I also like the idea of setting to-do lists of goals. It takes action to achieve.
Great Advice Jean. I love the idea of a to do list instead of resolutions. With reading and writing it's like the chicken and the egg. It doesn't matter which came first as long as they both keep going.
I also set goals in the new year. Lately I've been doing a monthly spreadsheet of writing/editing/marketing goals and then check them off as I go. It gives more structure to me.
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