Writer Wednesday: Goals Part 1

(Since it's so close to Christmas, I'm cross posting this and Part 2 with Castles and Guns. :-))

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I know it might be hard to think of this, especially if you've still got some Christmas shopping to do *raises hand*, but the end of the year is almost upon us. One of the things I've begun thinking about as New Year's Eve approaches is what I've done this year, how effective I was, and what I'd like to do next year. I'm getting a jump on my goal setting since one of the things I've learned about myself is I'm better with a plan.

I honestly think it's important as a writer to have goals and to know where we're heading. Sometimes you just might not end up where you'd planned, which has been the case with me. There are quite a few things on my 2011 Goals list that I didn't accomplished, but then again, there are also several items not on there that I did. I could easily say that if I'd stuck with what I'd planned, I probably wouldn't be where I am, but that discussion is for a different day.

So, what's first? I'd suggest going over your 2011 goals list and see what you've written down. Where are you in comparison?

• Look at where you are goal-wise today. Are you unpublished and finishing up your NaNoWriMo project or polishing a query letter? Published and working on a proposal for a new book? Right now, I'm an author on an upcoming deadline.
• What's something you have accomplished this year? Did you finish your first novel? Find a publisher? I'm published and slowly getting the hang of social networking! :-)
• What's something you haven't accomplished that you wish you had? For me, I didn't read as much as I'd have liked to, and I ended up not working on a couple projects I was looking forward to.

Now that we've looked at that, we can start thinking about next year. What are we hungry to say we've completed in 2012?

What goals have you accomplished this year (or are on track to complete)?