Setting Goals
So I have this blogger friend who recently called me out about setting goals. Bethany you know I am talking about YOU. Now I have to start actually setting some goals, I mean real ones. I have always had goals, but not the kind where you say ‘I ran 10 miles today and tomorrow I will run 15 miles’. No, my goals are more pie-in-the-sky because I don’t actually put voice to them. If you don’t put voice to them, you can’t really fail if you don’t reach them. Bye Bye safety zone. OMG! Big sigh…
As the title of my blog clearly states writing is my passion. I have wanted to write from the day I was placed on this earth. I can write about anything and it feels like fresh air to me. My soul thrives on it. My dream is to write and actually make a living doing it.
A long time ago I put away my writing for a ‘real’ job. After many years I found that my soul was dying in the absence of writing. My blog came about as a result of my hunger to feed my soul in some concrete way.
When Amazon launched its new Kindle Fire product line they mentioned self-publishing and different avenues they offer for it. Light bulb went off! Other people are doing this successfully, why can’t I? I will tell you why. I am not writing anything but my blog right now and I have not set any goals for writing anything else. Hiding my face in shame…
Bethany, this is for you. I am going to start setting goals for my writing. I will never be the writer I aspire to be if I don’t even start. Goals will be part of that first step. If you have never visited Bethany over at projectwhitespace you should. She is such an inspiration!
So Bethany – this blog post is for you! 🙂 Thank you my friend!
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Filed in: Technology
It's funny how friends can call us out on stuff like that. I have a friend that gave me a shirt for Christmas. All is says is "Ask me about my book" and it's cute and I thought it was funny at the time, assuming it was just support to get me to write.
I had no idea how much it would actually SHAME me into writing. Whenever I wear it, I always get at least 1-2 people who will actually ask me about my book. When I tell them the name or the synopsis, they immediately ask if it's been published because they want to read it. I am forced to actually finish it because I keep getting reinforcement, albeit inadvertently.
Dang those friends!
Now there is an idea… A shirt with "Ask me about my book" on it. Talk about encouragement, well OK shame. LOL Friends… they are like diamonds – precious. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
I love that t-shirt idea! Wow! Super smart!
Anyway, yayyyyy!! So just start with baby steps. You can do this. What genre do you want to write in? I'm so excited for you!! And it's a true honor that maybe I put a spark in you or watered the seed or whatever to get you started and get you thinking about how you CAN do it. 🙂 I feel really honored by this. So much, I write inspirational posts and I wonder if they make any difference at all. I love it when I hear something like this.
Quick question (I tried to use your contact page but it said it wouldn't send). Wondering what site you used to create your caricature?
I love you too Bethany! So many questions… The last one – I actually purchased my Geek Girl caricature.
Setting writing goals is defininitely the only way to get the writing done! Good luck and I can help you if you have any self-publishing questions, etc. I've put two short pieces in the Kindle store, but the more I work on my novel, the more I think about at least trying to query agents first. Good luck! Let me know if you ever need a critique partner.
Thank you so much for your kind offer! I truly appreciate it. 🙂
Don't you just love friends who call you out? Where would we be without them…back there, I suppose. Cheers to your writing time!
I may be writing but I will still be reading your blog. 🙂
That is awesome. Having goals that you're calling out and giving voice to will help motivate you to do what is in your heart. You are such a good writer. I can't wait to hear about and help when I can with your progress. You will rock!!!
Thanks Susan! I need all the cheer leaders I can get. 🙂
If you'd like a tool for setting your goals, you can use this web application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, and a calendar.
Syncs with Evernote and Google Calendar, and also comes with mobile version, and Android and iPhone apps.
Thanks for stopping by. I will check it out.
Good for you setting goals for your writing. I am sure you will be successful and when you are ready to publish let us know so we can support and promote your work.
Thanks. I do appreciate all the support. 🙂
You are definitely right about setting goals for your writing. That's what all authors do. Have to write say, 10 pages today. If not, you will never finish your book. Have you made the outline of the plot yet? The research? Once that's done it comes down to how much to write every day.
Personally have decided I will write a fictional book based on my experiences all over the world when I get old. Will be great fun. But there is no avoiding outlining the plot, do the research necessary to get the details right. People recognize themselves on say, Fifth Avenue. So the details are crucial. Then the discipline i.e. goals of writing x amount of pages a day.
That's how for instance Fredrick Forsyth does it. He was a friend of my late godmother's and told me about how he goes about writing his bestsellers.
You know, if you say you will write a book when you get old you will never write it. There will never be a day when you say 'I am old so I need to write my book.' 🙂 I would love to read about your adventures around the world.
Oh yes, nothing better than an instigator to push us a little in life! Also, now that you've committed to it on your blog, you have to do it or we'll instigate even more 🙂
The one good thing that came from all of this is that more of my friends are going to publishing their own works as well. I had no idea I was actually 'throwing down the gauntlet' as Susan put it.