Goals -- What are yours?

[David DeLee]

I thought it would be interesting to start a thread about people's writing goals for the coming year. To start off I'll give you mine:

 

For 2011 I intend to write a minimum of 365,000 new words of fiction.

I believe this will take the form of four completed novel (between 60-90k each) and 14 short stories (avg. 6,000 each).

 

How about you. What are your writing goals for 2011? Let us know.

 

David DeLee

[David DeLee]

Thanks. Yeah, it's going to be a stretch for me, my best year so for is 200k. But that's the point to push myself farther than I think I can go.

[David DeLee]

Good goal to shoot for, especially considering how your world is about to change. I know, having two of my own. It's a wonderful journey to be starting. Congrats.

[cj forrest]

Congratulations on the new family member.  I wish you great commercial success on your next book project, or at least enough commercial success to cover diapers, formula, and insurance for the little guy or gal. CJ   

[Jude Hardin]

365K is only 1000 words a day. According to On Writing, King writes a minimum of 2000 words a day, and he doesn't take days off. What I'm not buying is that claim of 750 words per minute, lol. I'm pretty sure he meant 750 words per hour.

[cj forrest]

750 wpm?  It must be nice for Stephan King to know that if this whole writing thing doesn’t work out for him, and he goes bankrupt, that he could always land a job as a data entry specialist.  ;) cj  

[David DeLee]

Yes, yes, per hour. Darn typos, which is why I must have the rest of the day to edit. Sheesh.

[David DeLee]

Yes, distractions are tough to deal with. Sounds like you need to carve out a set time to be your writing time, and then not let anything else in. Good luck.

[Terrence McCauley]

I have one goal - to get published!

[David DeLee]

Ah Terrence, I'm so glad you said that. It has taken me a long time to figure this out, but a goal must be within your control. To get published you have no control over that. You can't force an editor to buy your work, you can't help it if they bought something exactly like what you wrote two days earlier, you can't help it if a publisher buys your story or novel then goes belly up before they release it. All things that happen to writer.

[David DeLee]

To get published is a dream, one I think a lot of us share. But goals are the tasks you control, the things you do to reach your dream. Work output for example, hence my goal of 365k words. The more I write and send out the better my chances of getting published. Other goals might be attending workshops or reading how-to books to improve craft. Maybe write in a different genre, read more fiction to learn from others more experienced than me.

I'm not saying you aren't doing these things, just that specific tasks (goals) lead me toward my dream (being published). Good luck.

[Terrence McCauley]

All good points, David. Unfortunately, I've had all of the above happen to me and more.

With that in mind, I'll amend my goal to say I'd like to finish two additional manuscripts this year. Almost through one and I have lots of ideas for the second.

 

Good luck to all of us!

[Cathryn Grant]

I'm also glad you started this thread ... it adds that extra bit of drive to put goals out where people can see them. My goal is another completed novel, 15 flash fiction stories, and two short stories.

 

I knew you  meant 750 words/hour ;)