New Year, New Goals and a Brand New Logo

NaNo2018 was an epic failure on my part. Sort of, not really, but yes a failure. I did write more in November 2018 than I did in the rest of 2018 put together - so win! - but still, I fell ridiculously short of meeting the 50k goal. 

So what happens now? 

It's a New Year -- 2019!!! -- and after a lot of thought, and I mean a LOT, I'm going to change things up a little bit. I'm going to goal set differently, more specifically but perhaps also in a way that won't constantly make me feel like I'm falling behind and failing. Here's where I start...

Goal #1 -- Write Every Single Day (on a WIP)

I know, God do I know, that not every day is going to be a good writing day. One day I may get in 2500 words. Another day I may add 5. And that's okay so long as I write. Eventually I'll finish what I've started and I'll have what I need to take the next step. 

Goal #2 -- Write a Blog Post Each Month 

Sort of like an accountability check-in. I've seen other writers do this - both the indies just getting into the industry, as well as well established traditionally published authors that I've read/loved/followed for years. But more than simply holding myself accountable to my craft, I've missed writing blog posts, missed this avenue of interaction with other bloggers and writers. Now, January didn't get a blog post but you'll see a little bit further down what I was busy with last month. Going forward though I'm going to write (at least) one blog post here each month - and at least one blog post for each of my other blogs too.

Goal #3 -- Finish Something 

Here's the thing: right now I have 4 projects on the go. One of them is and always has been intended as a stand alone novel/novella. Two of them could be the launch points for a series or other multi book/story set, I can see other possible storylines that could come from them, or they could just end up as stand alone novels too. The fourth project is absolutely the beginning of a series - I know pretty much everything that will happen in the first three books/stories, how much further the series goes after that is still up in the air. 

So the goal is to evaluate them, pick one, focus on that and FINISH it. 

But which, which, which one will it be? 

Goal #4 -- Set Periodic, Quantifiable Deadlines  

This is one that could be tricky. Or it could be super easy. These would be goals like: finish one chapter this week, or write 5000 words by the end of the month. Which, like I said could be simple or could be hard. I hope that over the course of time, having those quantifiable deadlines will increase my productivity. 

I'm also hoping that with time those quantifiable goals will become more lofty - 10k words in a month, then 5k words per week, etc, etc, etc. Eventually, assuming this works the way I want, I'd be able to set goals more along the line of This Novel done by March and That Novel written by August; you know deadline deadlines. 

(I'd cross my fingers in hope but that may make it more difficult for me to type. Cross 'em for me??) 

Goal #5 -- Become a Better Writer

One step to attaining this goal, one that will help tremendously all on its own is simply to write. To write and keep writing, and then write some more. Another part of this will be to read, of course; I've always felt that to be a good writer and to continually better yourself, you must read. (In general, the reading thing has never been a real problem for me. 😉 ) A third thing I'm going to try to do is find some online writing courses - creative writing, or novel writing, or maybe even an editing course. I've actually discovered a few through my local library that look promising, so I've got somewhere to start. 

I'm sure there's more that I can do and if, and when, I discover those things I'll let you know. 

via GIPHY

Now remember earlier in this post when I alluded to what I'd been busy doing this past January? Number one on that list was to completely redesign and launch a new website for my mother's massage therapy business - at which I'm more or less in charge of all marketing and advertising these days. The redesign is done, the site is launched and now, except for weekly/month maintenance to keep the site dynamic and up-to-date, I'm able to direct my creative energies elsewhere. 

Number 2 on the list of things I did last month came about in the middle of doing the website redesign. And it was the development of new logos for each of my blogs, and another logo which incorporates aspects of the other three to use as a social media profile photo. The logo for Inside My Mind is simple, clean, and while it may not be my forever logo, for now I really love it. 

What do you think? 

Interested in seeing the other logos? Pop over to my Facebook Page where three of the four have now been launched! The fourth will be coming in the next little bit.