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Resolutions: 2012 review and 2013 goals

2012

Last year, I set some goals for myself.

  1. Get an agent (which means stop picking at my novel and just send it out already).
  2. Finish my already-started novel, A Handful of Wishes.
  3. Have at least fifteen stories out on submission at any given time – currently I’m at nine.
  4. Get in shape, and then stay in shape.
  5. Learn how to neatly and nicely-looking lattice a pie.
  6. Date a rockstar (doesn’t matter who).

I’ve revisited them throughout the year, and now I’ll do the final wrap-up.

  1. I haven’t gotten an agent yet, but I did send out a bunch of queries.
  2. I didn’t finish A Handful of Wishes, but I did finish a novel for NaNoWriMo (although it’s only about 50,000 words right now and needs a ton of work).
  3. I never made the fifteen-story mark for submissions; I think the most I ever had out was twelve.  However, I had eleven acceptances this year, which really depleted my stock (not a bad thing!).
  4. I got a gym membership over the summer, but I haven’t been using it as much as I’d like.  Working a temp job really through me off; I refuse to work out if there are more than about seven people at the gym, which means going after work wasn’t an option (I prefer about 10 am).
  5. Most of my kitchen stuff, like most of the rest of my stuff, is currently in storage, so I didn’t make any pies this year, let along lattice them.
  6. The closest I came was seeing a guy from the local band Three Years Hollow at the gas station.  This band is awesome, by the way, if you like heavy alt rock bands like Breaking Benjamin or Chevelle.

2013
Before making my resolutions for the new year, I read a post over at Write It Sideways about how to effectively set goals.  The author suggests using SMART goals – goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (at least that’s how we defined them at the school where I last taught).  So, for example, rather than saying I want to read more, I should make my goal to read 100 books this year – it’s specific, measurable, attainable, and within a certain time frame.

With that in mind – and possibly overlooking the relevancy component – here are my goals for 2013.

  1. Publish my novel, The Lone Wolf.  I’m going to try the small press route, and I’ve already identified several potential publishers to query.
  2. Average a short story acceptance each month, with the majority of them in paying markets.  I’m really proud of my acceptance rate, but I’ve reached the point that I’d like to be compensated for my stories.  While pro markets would be ideal, token would meet this goal as well.
  3. Put out a short story collection.  I have three in the works, with about half the stories written for two of them.
  4. Get another novel ready to query – either 2012’s NaNoWriMo novel, or the one I’ve been working on for a couple years, A Handful of Wishes.
  5. Read 100 books this year.  That’s the goal I set for myself last year, and while I was making great progress for the first half of the year, I fell off at the end and only read 79.  I only include books I finish in this list.  I’ll hopefully be in grad school part time starting this summer, and hopefully working full time, so this will be a challenge, but I think I can do it.
  6. Kayak the entire length of the Hennepin Canal.  It’s about 100 miles, I think, and requires quite a bit of portage, but it’s definitely doable.  Assuming I get a job so I can buy a kayak, that is.
Mouth of the Hennepin Canal, taken October 2012

What are your goals for 2013?

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