Resetting Goals

Earlier yesterday I opened my 2010 goals document and took stock of what goals I had already accomplished and what I had yet to do. I do this every 2-3 months. Yesterday was the 2nd time I opened the document this year. And what I discovered was eye opening.

In January when I’d originally put together the goals list, I had very specific things I wanted to get finished and accomplish. Then, around May 1st, I’d pretty much tossed everything out the window because somehow during the course of the year, my goals had changed. Slightly at first then once small things shifted, the rest fell like an avalanche.

I cleared my schedule. Wiped clean everything from my calendar. Will I write the books I had planned? I’d like to but don’t really know at this point. And that’s okay. The ideas are still in a folder, but I'm not sure I want (or even need) them anymore.

I have bigger plans. Higher goals. More dazzling dreams. In short, I want to defy gravity and I can’t do that with clipped wings.

Right now, I’m involved with two fairly sizable projects. One is a fantasy romance. It’s been slow going for me because it’s a new genre and fantasy writing can be tedious at times with all the world building, rule making, etc. I’m excited though and I’m hoping for big things from this book.

The other project is a historical romance and so far, it’s going strong. With this book, I feel I have a chance at garnering an agent’s attention. Only time will tell.

As for the rest of the year, I only have two short pieces I’ve promised and that’s it. I’m not taking on anything else. I don’t intend to write anything else until these are wrapped up to the best of my ability, gone over with a fine tooth comb, self-edited, rewritten and fussed over until they're awesome. My concentration will be on these two books until they are finished or my energy leaves me completely LOL Sometimes, it’s not about how much you can put out during the year. Sometimes, it’s about the quality of the work and really getting to know the writing inside and out and making the book a masterpiece.

Sure, new ideas are constantly flowing. They get dumped into a Word document for a later time. For the foreseeable future, these two books are the only things I need.

Sorry if this post sounds selfish, but my point was it’s okay to reassess yourself mid-stream and change tactics. In fact, you might just find it’s exactly what you needed to do all along.

Until the next time, happy writing, reading or simply being.