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How I Plan to Tackle the New Year...at Least in My Writing

So many things about me that could use improvement. Some of those things I believe are just hopeless. But at least my writing is something I feel like I can constantly work on and see improvement.

My goals this year for my writing are not so much about my writing specifically, as they are about my commitment to writing. I have a very busy and full schedule, and so finding time for my writing is exceptionally difficult. The past few months, it has been almost nonexistent because I returned to teaching full time. Add that to the list: young kids, husband, house, crafting, church involvement, AND now preparing, teaching, and grading full time. Hence...no writing.

So here's my goal: write 500 words/30 minutes every day.

I know. That doesn't sound like much of anything. And it's not, but at least it's something. That's more than I'm getting done right now.

The past few months, I realized something - I've been sitting around waiting for a big chunk of time in which I could sit down and write something substantial. Obviously, it's not happening, so I need to adjust my expectations a bit. At least if I'm writing 500 wds/day, then I'm getting in 2500 words per week or 10,000 words a month. That's a heck of a lot better than maybe 2500 words every couple of months.

I do have a couple of "issues" with this goal that I will have to somehow overcome, and that will probably be a work in progress to find the right combinations. It seems that big chunks of time are better for me because I get into the flow of my story and have a hard time stopping. I'm going to have to train myself to start - and stop - on demand. That certainly won't be easy.

Time will be another factor. I've sorta been trying to achieve this goal for a couple of months, but even a half hour is difficult to eke out of my schedule. I absolutely HATE getting up in the morning; I am not a morning person at all. But past experience of another writing experiment taught me that I'm actually most productive if I get up and write before anyone else in the house is up. I'm already getting up at 6 to make it to school on time; this means I'll have to get up at 5:30. Not a pretty prospect for me. That definitely means I need to get to bed at a reasonable hour, like 10:00, every night, which is hard when the kids don't go to bed until 8, and then I just want to crash and relax or spend time with my hubby.

But I'm sure going to try.

And lately I've written a couple of stories that I'm kind of excited about, so an ancillary goal is that I'm going to try and submit at least a couple of stories to either publication or significant writing contests within the next year.

So wish me luck.
I'm gonna need it...

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