Sunday, January 1, 2012

The Spirit of Writing Goals Trump Actionable Lists

The spirit of my goals are my 2012 writing goals.
I'm going to fly in the face of conventional wisdom for a moment and state that nebulous aspirations are just as--if not more--important to writing goals than yearly navigational checklists. (Gasp!)

That's right. 

Because I believe that you need to know what state of being you want to be in, or view your work from, before you know in which direction to head. And all that comes before envisioning all the little steps (or epic leaps) it's going to take to get you there.

The spirit of your writing and the manner you embark upon doing it should matter. That should be the way in which your proceed, the momentum that carries you towards your goals--be it successfully starting a new
blog, writing your fifth novel or landing a few more clients--and it should be the ultimate goal. 

Proceed as the writer you wish to become.

I've given quite a bit of thought to what I want 2012 to mean to me as a writer and what my buzzwords will be.




This word means so much to me, as words are wont to do for writers. I want to experience my topics further and discover their different aspects. I want to actively hunt down these experiences, as well as be in the moment when they occur. 

Through this I also aim to gain experience. Further the quality of my writing, life, knowledge and career.

Endeavor to be fresh and enhance the old.





This one is simple. I want to love what I do and actively participate in getting (or creating) writing jobs that I love. 

I intend to replace gigs that I don't love and use that time to be a happier writer.

The goal is to wake up every day excited and eager to tackle projects that await my attention. 







Be it vanity or (as I like to see it) a love of productivity and new horizons, achievement is extremely important to me. Doing better, connecting better, writing better, living better are all huge goals that are summed up in my mind as one act: achieving. 

Or, as Charlie Sheen would put it, winning. (Yeah, I'm still not over that.)

It's not about besting anyone, it's about being the best writer I can possibly become. In my mind, this is possible through experience and love.

Don't worry (or worse, get bored). I haven't fallen off  into the spiritual deep end. I do have one of those well-thought out, itemized road maps for this year. I'll even be posting the list on its own page soon, to keep me more accountable and remember to share my experiences.

I just had a block in writing these goals down, until I knew how I wanted to experience getting there. Now I know how to proceed in that direction. Bring it, 2012. 

What buzzwords capture your writing goals for 2012?

3 comments:

  1. I like this way of looking at goals. Act now like you're already experiencing the results - and you will.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Marie Anne! Works better for me than plodding through a list of goals, feeling inferior or unsuccessful until I meet them all. It's harder to accomplish anything that way.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Proceed as the writer you wish to become."
    LOVE that.
    Perhaps it's a bit like dressing for the job you'd like to have.
    Ambitious and spot-on.
    Thanks for sharing the link with me. I enjoyed this one!

    ReplyDelete

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