It’s another new year, which can only mean one thing – it’s time to set some goals! 

No, I don’t mean resolutions. If you want to know more about my feelings on resolutions, then you can read my post here.  

As someone who loves lists and plans and bullet points, I’ve decided to set myself some goals for my writing this year. Last year was a pretty good year for me, compared to the blur of the years before – did I complete any of my WIPs? No, but I did do some more writing for fun and kept up with this blog (kinda), which is a huge deal for me. I spent so long after having my baby not having any confidence in myself or my writing abilities, that it just felt so good to do something for me. And this year I want to build on that even more. 

The goals I’ve set myself do come with a caveat – I’m not going to punish myself or feel guilty if I don’t manage to achieve them all. Would I like to tick everything off the list? Absolutely! But I also know that I need to bear in mind that life with a toddler and two dogs and a husband and a job can be busy, and sometimes, it’s just not possible to achieve everything. I guess what I’m saying is that these goals are more like a roadmap than hard facts. 

So, without further ado, I’d like to present to you my writing goals for 2023: 

Earn £500 from writing or freelancing this year 

Submit Arts Council funding application

Finish first draft of Wars of Taisea book 1 

Finish Eyes in the Dark short story

Finish Bleeding Gums short story 

I’ve also set myself a stretch goal of finishing a collection of short stories I’ve had rattling around in my drawer for about a year now. But I deliberately didn’t set this one as a main goal, in case I started work on everything above and found it too overwhelming as it is.

I’ve already set up a spreadsheet where I can update my progress and keep myself on track – I’m also pleased that I’ve already made some headway with a couple of them. The Arts Council one in particular will be done by 17th January, as that’s the deadline, so I can hopefully tick that one off nice and early!

Hopefully I can utilise this blog as well to keep myself accountable but as I said, if they don’t get done then they don’t get done. Now I’m off to have a bath and then work on a couple of the above – or maybe just read a little more of Foul Lady Fortune because it’s SO GOOD!

Have you made any goals for this year, writing or otherwise? How do you keep yourself on track? 

Z xx