Usually, I’m not one for New Year Resolutions; mainly, because I don’t believe in waiting for the new year to make goals for change. When I have something I want to change in my life, I create a goal to accomplish it, regardless of the time of year. That said, this time around it just so happens that I had a few changes that I wanted to make and it happens to be the end of the year.

Now, not all the goals I made are writing related, but I decided to share some of the ones that were. Mostly because I’m hoping that by publishing them and then making monthly assessments on how I’m doing with them, I will accomplish them.

So without further ado, here are my writing related goals:

Nurture my Creativity by…

1. Reading at least fifty fiction books this year. That is about 1 book per week.
2. Spending more time doing fun things with my family and playing more with my daughters, because downtime is therapeutic for the creative brain.
3. Unplugging from the electronics on the weekends, unless I’m inspired to write on my current writing-in-progress and I have the time to do it.

Be a better writer and develop my writing craft by…

1. Reading at least 5 books on the writing craft this year. I know I have that many or more on my Kindle or in my bookshelf.
2. Take at least 1 writing craft related ecourse or workshop before the end of the year.
3. Writing and maintaining a work journal each writing day. This will help me track how I feel about my writing that day, what worked and didn’t work, where I left off and where I was headed for the next day, analyze what might help me in the future, and record good ideas and advice.

Be more disciplined in my writing by…

1. Writing something every weekday, even if it’s a blog post or a letter (this one could help me improve my handwriting which is a personal goal of mine).
2. Not feeling too upset if I don’t write something one day because sometimes daydreaming is working too.
3. Writing at least 300,000 new words this year. That’s about 1,100 words each week day. Totally doable!

Finish writing 5 books this year…

1. The Warlord’s Daughter by February 1st (about 72,700 words written).
2. The Scout’s Captive by April 1st (about 33,800 words written).
3. The Lost Heir by June 1st (about 50,700 words written).
4. The Empty Throne by September 1st (about 3,100 words written).
5. The Rebel Queen by December 31st (about 9,500 words written).

Create an inspiring work space by…

1. Creating a slide show of inspiring quotes and pictures for my laptop desktop.
2. De-cluttering my office area and desk for better working.

Work on my time management by…

1. Using the planners I created and bought. One planner is for tracking what I did that day and the other is for planning what I want to get done.
2. Setting writing goals at the beginning of every month and reviewing them daily to see where I can make improvements.
3. Sticking with the daily work routine that I created to mesh with my family’s schedules. To be tweaked as needed.

Be a healthy writer by…

1. Keeping the daily exercise routine I started. Walking during good weather, and dance or yoga when it’s yucky outside.
2. Taking the time to make healthier meal choices and drink more water, especially during my working hours.
3. Maintaining my meditation and affirmation practice I started in 2016.

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So there you have it! All my 2017 writing related goals. 😀

I would love to hear about your goals for the new year if you’d like to share?