So of course it’s the end of the year, and my mind turns to looking back at everything I did and didn’t accomplish. (After being prodded by Heather‘s fantastic post – talk about putting me to shame!) I usually give myself some pretty hard goals, but this year, I backed off a little. I’d like to say I’ve gotten wiser and happier with this stage of the writing journey, but yeah, that hasn’t happened yet. Actually, I think the opposite happened.
I started out the year intending to keep writing on my Nano novel. Unfortunately, after three months of torture and excuses, I realized that it wasn’t working. I don’t usually give up – I hack it out until there’s something there to fix. But this felt like writer’s block, and since I don’t believe in writer’s block, I knew there was something seriously wrong. So, in March, I put the story away. And immediately felt the black cloud lift. I may go back to it some day (I have a feeling it’ll work better as a YA) but it wasn’t the right story for me to be writing at the time.
In April I started on my YA set in Japan. It’s told from 3 POVs that stretch across two hundred years, and isn’t like *anything* I’ve ever written before. It’s been challenging, and has really stretched me as a writer, but I finished my first draft in September. After taking a few weeks break, I have been revising ever since. Originally I thought I could have it ready to query by Jan 1, 2011. Now I know that’s not going to happen. There’s still too much to do.
So, I suppose I didn’t really hit my “goals” for the year. But I still feel like I accomplished quite a bit.
On the accomplishment side, I did have some good things happen this year. I wrote and got a short story accepted for publishing. I entered a short story writing contest with a different story, and while I didn’t win, I was proud of myself for trying, and happy for the feedback I received. And I got a new job (which contributed somewhat to the slowness of writing my first draft).
Looking back, it doesn’t seem like very much, but during that time I also dusted off this blog, and joined the Twitterverse. I’m in the process of creating a website (which I hope to have up in January), and of course I’ve read 40+ books (along with all the re-reads).
So what do my goals for 2011 look like? Tune in tomorrow to find out.
How about you guys? What are you most proud of accomplishing this year?
Aw, that's really cool! Hey, a short story published is nothing to sniff at. Many congrats on the WIP, and I hope it continues to excite you! 🙂
Thanks Bethany! I'm having a love-hate relationship with the WIP right now, but I always do during my revision phase 🙂
Are you kidding? You did fabulous! That novel set in Japan sounds really good, and a published short story, that's awesome! Yes, come join the Twitterverse, you will LOVE it.
As for next year, I haven't laid out all my goals yet but I'll be blogging about them next week… I hope you'll hold me to them!
Wow, are you kidding? I think you accomplished a lot! Your YA sounds amazing, and I'll bet revising it has felt like you're juggling. That's awesome.
Thanks, Heather! I usually give myself bigger goals, so this doesn't feel like much this year, even tho I know it is! LOL.
Can't wait to see what your goals look like for next year – I will definitley help hold you to them 😉
Aw, thanks Julie! I'm hoping the YA will read amazing too by the time I'm finished with it, LOL! And yeah, it's definitley felt like juggling at times, but I suppose that's life huh?
Wow, your YA set in Japan sounds intriguing. And good for you for putting aside your other WIP – I know how hard that can be, but sometimes it’s what we need to do. Happy writing in 2011!