Happy 2012!
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| You may see these guys a lot in 2012. See goal No. 7. |
I chose 12 items for my goal list this year:
- Deadline — I’m participating in the 12 x 12 in 2012 Challenge created by Julie Hedlund at Write Up My Life. The goal: Create 12 picture book drafts in 12 months. I’ll be using ideas I jotted down during Picture Book Idea Month in November or anything that strikes my fancy. My goal is to have my new draft complete by the 12th of each month.
- Memoir — Write five pages a day, five days a week until I have the draft of my memoir-in-progress completed.
- Harry Potter — When I finish the first draft, I’m going to read the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I wrote about why I haven’t read this book here. It’s number seven on the link.
- Revise — After I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and maybe another book or two, I can return to my manuscript for edits and rewrites.
- Housekeeping — I will personalize my blog banner
and streamline the subscription process with buttons.The banner is sketched out. To better organize myself, I’ve created an editorial calendar with ideas for blog posts and hope to utilize Hootsuite more for social media too. - Baby book — I’m like a carpenter with an unfinished house. I’m a writer with an unfinished baby book. Now, I just need to gather up those notes and tidbits of information about his first years.
- Photos — I will use a photo with every blog post. I have a stockpile of my own photos and a handful of sites to find free ones. I can do this!
- Recipes — Once a month, I will use a new recipe for a family meal.
- Submissions — I anticipate at least six submissions this year. I will keep an open mind about submissions to contests and literary magazines, but don’t want to distract myself from my manuscript goal. I must write, revise, revise again and then consider submission.
- Frack — I mentioned this issue of hydraulic fracturing to obtain oil and gas deposits last year. While I would like to get involved more at a local level, I’ve decided county and city meetings and my baby sitting budget (zero) don’t go together. There are plenty of ways to stay involved, despite my inability to attend 10 a.m. meetings. I can watch meetings on TV/online; read city, county and state regulations proposals and offer comments; and stay informed on national issues. My frack blog is not a priority, but has been a good place to store articles on the topic. It’s personal research really, but who knows — maybe I’ll write a fiction piece on fracking in 2013.
- Challenges —In addition to the 12 x 12 in 2012 Challenge, I’m committing to a few others this year. For a blog challenge, I’m signing up for the Blogging from A to Z Challenge in April. I’m going to do the National Picture Book Write Week or NaPiBoWriWee in May and do the Picture Book Idea Month in November.
- Read More — It’s essential to improve my writing. My reading will include picture books, memoir, fiction and writing craft books. I have a pile of books on my bookshelf to be read and some bloggy friends have releases this year, so I’m not writing out a list. I’m keeping it fluid.
Update: Oh, I fixed the buttons on Jan. 1.
What are your goals for 2012?
Happy New Year Stacy,
My goal is to also complete a memoir….so good luck with this and your other goals:)
Great list of goals Stacy. Your April and May are busy then. I might do poetry month in April rather than picture books. Decisions! Let us know what you think of hootsuite.
Happy New Year!
I like how detailed your goals are. Wishing you much success in 2012!
My goal today is to write down everything I want to accomplish! I need to get specific too. 🙂
Happy new year Stacy!
Great list of goals, Stacy! Best of luck with all of them. I hope you accomplish everything you want to in 2012 🙂 I especially like the sound of your editorial calendar. I’m not so good with organizational calendars – a skill I really need to improve on. I would love to know how you went about it in more detail!
@Mark – good luck. We’ll be on that journey together, if you need a check in buddy.
@Catherine – I will let you know about Hootsuite, once I figure it out.
@Karen – Thanks. Good luck to you too.
@Coleen – I tried to be specific, but want to be flexible too. Ah, trying to have it all.
@Susanna – I really just sat down and looked at the days I post Monday, Thursday and Friday. Then wrote down ideas for post. For PPBs, for example, I know there are 52 weeks, so I wrote down some titles to use for those posts. The ideas I wrote down are a guide really. I want to be flexible, so I can adjust to participate in a blog hop or contest.
Good Luck and Happy New Year!
Great goals, Stacy! I wish you all the best as you work toward them over the next twelve months.
Thanks to your blog, I learned about the A to Z Challenge, and I’m thinking about joining it.
My list of 12 goals (yes, somehow I hit on that number, too! Lots of twelves this year.) will be posted as soon as I am successful with a leftover goal from last year — getting my new blog up and running!
@Erik- Thanks
@Beth- Good luck with your new site. I want to do that too, but have promised myself to write and then worry about that vision later in the year. I think I’m going to do mini-memoirs/personal essays for the challenge. An A to Z trip down memory lane … I’ve sketched out my topics already.
Great list of attainable goals, Stacy. Really like the Harry Potter reading as a kind of reward for completing other goals. And super that you are staying involved in the Frack issues!
Good luck with all of these!
Good luck with all your goals! Last year I challenged myself to submit at least one item a month and I achieved it! I am going to try and do the same this year, if we don’t submit we can’t get acceptances. I need to set a few other goals also, but haven’t decided on what they will be yet.
Wonderful goals! I like how specific you are; it makes it easier to accomplish your goals. Here’s hoping you have a fun and productive, 2012!
Happy New Year! My goal is to query the crap out of my story. Fingers crossed 😉
I hope 2012 is all you want and more 🙂
You have so many involved goals! I haven’t anything that involved. I just hope to write more and market “Annie”. I haven’t sat done to figure it out yet either. My grandson took so much energy that I’m way behind, I think. Any way that’s my excuse.
Good luck with all your goals. They are lofty indeed. I love all of them and may steal a few parts of them. It took a year to write “Annie” so I won’t try to say I’ll write a picture a month. Maybe one this year. (More likely to be attainable for me) and work more on my memoir but I know I won’t finish it so I’m not going there either.
Thanks for making me think. I’ll be getting back to you.
Happy New Year, Stacy!
What a great list! Family, writing, and community! Wonderful.
Enjoyed reading your list. It’s very balanced. Is Harry Potter your creativity break? Top of my list is saying no to things that will distract me. Now, you have my ears perked to the fracking that is going on in Ohio and Pennseylvania — recent articles talked about the increase in earthquakes in our state. I had wondered. Have a Happy New Year!
Wishing you and your family the best!
I like how you incorporated things to maintain the balance of being happy. Too many times those things get dismissed. Good luck!
Oh my goodness! What an amazing list of things to accomplish! I know you can do it! Fabulous stuff! Happy 2012!
Wishing all the best in 2012′ Stacy. I love your list of goals and have been working on mine with hopes to share soon. 🙂
What a great set of goals Stacy! I’m so glad the 12 x 12 is on them. Wouldn’t feel complete without you. 🙂
Happy New Year!
Wow, you have one detailed list and I am so impressed! These are some great goals, Stacey and very disciplined too…you go! Keep us posted throughout the year as well.
Happy 2012!
All great goals. You go, Stacy, and congrats on getting your buttons in order. 🙂
@Joanna – Yes HP is a reward and a bit of closure.
@Janet – So true about submissions. Good luck.
@Emily – I hope you have a productive 2012 too.
@Kelley – Fingers crossed for your queries!
@Clar – Good luck with your marketing. It will be an exciting year for you. I can’t wait to see what happens with “Annie”
@Karen – Thanks!
@Patricia – Oh, I don’t need to get started on the earthquakes. And, yes. HP is a bit of closure for me.
@Tasha – I left fun off the my list, because I strive to find some fun each day.
@Leigh – Thanks and love the new hair!
@Sheila – I hope to see your list soon. Thanks.
@Julie – You are too kind. I’m looking forward to it all.
@Jenny – Yes. I’ll have to check in throughout the year, to let you know how disciplined.
@Beverly – I couldn’t have done it without you.
You just HAD to mention the not-done baby books, didn’t you?
Now I feel guilty. I’m so far behind that they didn’t even make my 2012 To Do list!
OK, but really I need a scanner in order to scan in the baby pictures first. (sigh) That’s TWO more things on the list!
Happy 2012!
@Cathy – Sorry didn’t mean to make you feel guilty, but if I didn’t write it down … I might keep hiding from it. 🙂 Happy 2012.
Great goals, Stacy! I’m going to release book #4 and finish up book #5, fingers crossed! Good luck to both of us!
Nancy 😉
Stacy, I really like your list of goals-I think they are very well balanced. I love that you are writing a memoir. I also cried when I read your post about the Harry Potter books. I have a friend who wants to try E-Harmony-I am going to share your success story with her! 🙂
Hi Stacy! Your memoir and picture book goals are inspiring. I think it’s fun to have several projects going on at once… although it’s very mind boggling at times.
My goals for 2012 are to seek literary agent representation for my memoir, have a baby, write my monthly column and blog.
Oh, and take that awesome hip hop dance class once a week after I recover from childbirth. 🙂
Happy New Year!!
Hi Stacy,
I also find it helpful to write out my resolutions and goals…helps to keep me focused when life gets in the way of my plans for my life. 🙂
I’ve given you the Versatile Blogger Award…you definitely deserve it! For some reason, this comment form won’t let me paste the URL to that post, but you can go to my blog: http://www.viviankirkfield.wordpress.com if you haven’t aleady received the post in your inbox.
I look forward to reading your blog in 2012 and cheering you on with your many writing projects!!!
@Nancy – best of luck with #4 and #5!
@Kelly – I have lots of fun memories of reading the Harry Potter books with my late husband. That’s why I’ve been stuck on trying to read the final one. As I say, eHarmony worked for us. It’s worth a try!
@Angie- Good luck with the baby, agent search and everything else – especially the hip hop class!
@Vivian – Thanks for the award. And, yes, resolutions help many of us stay focused.
Wonderful goals, Stacy!! I love the 12×12 idea. 🙂