Welcome
to the first day of IWSG 2013!
The Insecure Writers Support Group is
a fabulous place where we writers can get together to share our
successes and our troubles, to help support one another when things
slow down and get tough, and give encouragement to any who may need
it. To find out more head on over to Alex J Cavanaugh, the brain
behind the whole operation. Post your own words of support or just go
and have a read of what others are sharing. You won't be
disappointed!
At
the beginning of 2012 I did as many others do and made myself a New
Years Resolution/To Do List, with its main focus on my writing
habits.
I
resolved to write 500 words a day, submit to at least one competition
a month, get properly started on my novel, amongst a whole host of
other little tasks. As the year went on I added more and more to this
list, completely forgetting about the things already on it. My main
aim for 2012 was to get something published, and I thought that
trying to take on all of these little things would somehow help me to
achieve that goal.
I
drew up a timetable for when I could fit everything in, even down to
time slots every day, windows that I could fill with writing stuff.
As time went on though, I missed more and more of these little goals
and my heart started to sink as the list of overdue tasks just grew
and grew.
I
was trying to do all of this alongside an OU course, preparing a
wedding, getting ready for my daughter starting school and all of the
other everyday things that go with life. In short, I was trying to do
way too much. Don't we all just get like that sometimes?
I
actually sat down over the holidays and wrote a proper list of
everything I was trying to do and then sat back, wide-eyed at
everything I thought I could do. I really must think I'm some kind of
super-woman. I mean I am, obviously, but it's no surprise really that
my level of output dropped so much.
The
only thing that I managed to keep going with, more or less, is my
blog. And then I realised that I'd actually achieved my overall aim,
to get something published. After all, what is my blog if not
publishing my thoughts and writing? This lifted my spirits nicely and
so I can feel positive about something from 2012.
This
year I've decided to take things slow and steady. I'm not setting any
ridiculous goals for myself, just one or two that I think will be
manageable. I'll post more on these over the next couple of days and
have some tabs to keep track of my progress. Already this year is
starting on a positive note.
What
have you taken away from your writing in 2012?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't believe in 'ridiculous' goals....just ones you haven't achieved...yet :) Some things just take more time than others. It's like the old saying goes.."If you can dream it, you can do it"
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's definitely 'slow and steady' that will win the race. Getting better organized was one of my big take aways from 2012.
Best of luck to you!
Patience is also something I'm working on this year. Taking the time to do the bigger projects which will inevitably take longer than the short pieces.
DeleteThanks for stopping by.
One of my main goals for 2012 was to get published too. I worked on bits and pieces of my novel focusing the whole time on finally getting published, but somewhere along the way I got distracted and lost sight of the steps it takes to get to publication. I think keeping 2013's Resolutions simply is an excellent idea! ^^ :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck Heather. :) Maybe 2013 is the year we will both get published! :D
I hope so! Good luck, and thanks for stopping by.
DeleteA shorter list that you can accomplish is better than a big one that overwhelms. Hope 2013 is YOUR year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alex. I'm hoping for more encouraging IWSG posts this year rather than just talking about my troubles.
DeleteExcellent post, Heather. When I read your goal of writing 500 words a day, I thought to myself "Wow, that's ambitious!" Combining that with other goals, no wonder it was hard to reach them. Good goals are flexible goals so I'm glad you're finding more balance this year already.
ReplyDeleteI just hope I can maintain that balance. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI over load the to do list too and then get depressed at being a failure. But then when I look back over what I have accomplished, I feel better.
ReplyDeleteI didn't accomplish too much last year really, but I'm going to change that this time.
DeleteThanks for commenting.
manageable goals is the key!! Best wishes for 2013!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lynda, I'm going to try and keep the list short and simple this time.
DeleteGood for you. Small and attainable goals are the way to go.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try and keep them small and simple too, and not get too carried away with things.
DeleteThanks for commenting.