Resolutions, Revised

Ah, resolutions. So easy to make, but they're also easy to lose in the yearly shuffle of other 'things we have to do'. I start my Januarys so full of conviction and intense, goal-oriented feelings, but I start to lose sight of that focus three or four months on. What better way to check in than to go over your New Years' goals and see if they need some tweaking to make them more achievable?

Here are the resolutions I made for 2011:

1. Finish a polished, (hopefully) publishable novel #2 and shop it around to agents.

I think I'm making reasonable progress on this one. I should be done with Torn (first draft) this month (a weekend cat lady-style shut-in may be required), and am hoping to have both Novel #1 and #2 in polished, look-at-me-I'm-pretty status by the second half of the year. As long as I'm not planning to do any agent shopping before Thanksgiving, this should be doable. I think.

2. Develop a professional website and start marketing my freelance writing & editing services.

This is still achievable (theoretically). If only I had the patience for learning WordPress/web design! I would like to be able to draw up my blog on paper and have it magically appear online. Isn't there an app for that?? It would be nice to get this one done this summer. We'll see.

3. Participate in a half-marathon or mini-triathlon.

Umm... I'm working on it? I did a 9km hike up a very steep mountain yesterday. But I suppose that doesn't quite count. Although it really should.

4. Write an adult fiction novel.

10,000 words written (last year), a whole lot left to go. This is going to be an Autumn project.

5. Find a place to nest and make it my own.

This one is not going well and I'm feeling impatient about it. But I'm confident that, if I make it a priority, my time will come for planting things and painting walls. I suppose this goal should read more like 'get a job that pays well enough that I can once again have my own place'.

6. Do some work with kids (maybe coaching or tutoring).

Tutoring is going well, although I wouldn't call my students kids (well, not all of them). Maybe it's time to look into coaching again. Although I've been doing some stellar babysitting these past few months (aka getting drooled on and loving it).

7. Go somewhere I have never been before and write a travel article about it.

I have no idea what kind of travel I'm going to get to do in the rest of this year. I may not make it much farther than the end of the train line... or I could make it halfway round the world. But I think I can certainly make this one happen. Maybe I can even write two articles... too much?

8. Help out wherever I can.*

I feel like I'm letting myself down on this one. I've started tipping at my favorite cafes (Australians don't do a lot of tipping), but that feels like a pretty lame drop in the ocean. Maybe I can combine the marathon running and the contributing to society at large? I love me some two-fers.

So... all in all, I'm still more or less on track. It's going to be a stretch to get all of the bigger writing goals done, but I'm always up for a challenge. I hope your goals and resolutions are still in your sight line!