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Monday, January 13, 2014

My Writing Goals for 2014

2013 was a great writing year for me, but one that took away time from other aspects in my life. (And how fitting I'm writing this post on the 13th!) I will attempt to make 2014 a year more about balance and organization. I even started off the year with a very clean and organized house. That also includes my online home. Hopefully organizing everything will help me make better use of my time.

Now for my writing goals!

Novel #1 - Revise and query. This is a paranormal romance I wrote at the end of 2011. I didn't like the ending I had scribbled down, and so it sat for a while until I was ready to come back to it. There are hot vampires and some unusual demons. I believe it has a great hook and will be highly marketable. Plus, it made me laugh and cry. That's a good sign.

Novel #2 - Revise and query. With a bit of POW! and a lot more ZAP!, I'll be marketing my superhero novel. I've been a comic book geek since I was a kid, but only recently have I started researching the genre by reading novels. Mine is very different from anything I've read. I hope that's a good thing!

Short stories - Write 6 / Submit 6 for the year. I would love to be able to do one every month, but with working on two novels, I won't have the time. I didn't have any acceptances the last half of 2013, and it depressed me. I was aiming high for an acceptance by a SFWA approved venue, though. I was short-listed a couple of times. That's closer than I've ever gotten before.

The A to Z Blogging Challenge - I've been going back and forth about it, but due to my time restrictions especially in April, I will not be participating in the Challenge this year on this blog. BUT I will be sharing the Challenge with my fellow Untethered Realms writers. We'll each have our days on the UR blog. I'm excited about it. I'm so honored to be a part of this talented group.

NaNoWriMo 2014 - I want to say yes. Let's make it a tentative yes. We'll have to see where I am with my novels in November. The novels have priority this year.

Balance writing, marketing, and home life - Home life comes first. No more grumpy mommy because she didn't get enough sleep. Writing comes in second. I wrote a lot last year, but I spent even more time marketing and networking. This year, I want to set weekly goals for writing. If I reach the goal, I can add extra time to networking, but only if I get my writing work done first. Balance is difficult for me, but I know it's vital to making me a happy person.

Don't forget to check out my post about sticking to your writing goals on the UR blog!

What are your writing goals for the year?

23 comments:

  1. Seems like a decent and doable set of goals for you! Looking forward to your new novels!

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  2. So it's going to be a productive year for you! And busy! :) Enjoy the year.

    I forgot about the A to Z. Damn. I might have to skip it this year as well.

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  3. Good luck with your goals! I love the sound of both the novels you plan to focus on this year. (And yes, something being different from everything else you've read is definitely a good thing!) Balance is always such a tricky thing to figure out, so out of all your goals, I'm wishing you luck with that most of all!

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  4. Every year I think about NaNo, get started and fail in the first week. I may give it a go again this year, we'll have to see.

    Balancing family life and work life is a tricky business. Good luck with your 2014 goals!

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  5. Hi Christine .. good for you for having that clean slate to start the year off - makes life so much easier ...

    Sounds like a well thought out plan for the year .. I'll be doing the A-Z, but not NaNo ..

    Enjoy the year - cheers Hilary

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  6. It can be so hard to balance everything that needs doing. I'm aiming for one week blogging and working on my novels, followed by a week that is sourly about the novels, so far it's going well :)

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  7. Hi Christine, you sound so well organised!
    Your goals sound realistic and achievable. Everything of the best for 2014!
    Writer In Transit

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  8. Sounds like you've got some great goals. And I'm impressed with how productive you are.

    I think balancing everything is the key. That's one of my goals too this year so I have more time for my writing.

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  9. It sounds as if you're well organized, and sensible to put family first and writing second. I'm really bad at marketing so I want to improve this year. However, I'll never manage to fit in loads of networking, and certainly not NaNo. You are amazing to fit all these things into your life.

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  10. I love the A-Z but had to skip it in 2013 due to time constraints. Not sure about this year. I want to participate, I think it just depends on how life shakes out.

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  11. You have some great goals. I hope you are able to obtain everything you set your sights on. Best wishes for an AWESOME 2014!

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  12. Those look like great goals! I like what you said about balancing home life with writing and marketing. That's one of my goals for the year as well. The kids are only young once...

    Have a great week!

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  13. Thank you all. I managed to get some writing done this morning, but now time to pick up the boy. He missed school. (And so did I!) Have a wonderful Monday!

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  14. You will be busy polishing and querying!
    Thanks for sharing the Challenge even though you won't be participating.

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  15. I'm going to try to balance things a bit more this year too. A bit more focus too.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  16. Good luck with your goals! I know you can do it! And having balance in your life is a good thing. :)

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  17. Balance is a tough one. It's something I struggle with, too. Good luck!

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  18. Good list of goals - best of lucking cranking them out this year!

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  19. Great idea to do a group attack on A to Z. I like your goals. I'm determined to delve into short stories this year.

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  20. I love the idea of balance! I'm trying for that too. And I love the idea of sharing A to Z! I'm not going to do that this year and I know I'll miss it, but I think I need a break from that to focus on writing and family life.
    Best wishes in all that you do for 2014!!

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  21. Best of luck with your goals. Balance is the one thing that's hard to remember to do sometimes. :)

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  22. It's great you've got such a good idea of where you want your writing to go this year. I hope you achieve the balance you need too, sometimes working at a slightly slower pace allows you to appreciate the fact you're writing!

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  23. Hi Christine,

    Balanced and realistic goals is the way forward in 2014. Your goals for this year certainly seem doable.

    I like your priorities. As for the alphabet challenge, you might be surprised to know that neither my human or I will also not be involved. In our case, we ironically promote the darned thing.

    Moving swiftly past the "Mork from Ork" challenge, 2014, I wish you the very best, no matter what you decide.

    My writing goals are to make my human character, Gary, a little more realistic.

    Pawsitive wishes,

    Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar! :)

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