The New Year is right around the corner, so I've been going over my plans for 2007. I'm not going to make any new resolutions, but continue with the gradual changes I've been making for the last couple of years: stay on a heart-healthy diet, exercise daily, eliminate material things I don't need, and keep things simple and minimal.
One of the arty stuff catalogs I get in the mail had a plaque in it with a quote from artist and author Sandra Magsamen: "The best way to predict your future is to create it." I liked that so much that I taped those words to my work monitor for the new year.
What words, plans or goals are you taking with you into 2007? Share them with us in comments to this post by midnight EST on Sunday, December 31st, 2006. I will draw one name from everyone who participates and send the winner a signed copy of my January release Plague of Memory by S.L. Viehl, along with unsigned copies of some of my favorite novels of 2006: Closer by Jo Leigh, Tied to the Tracks by Rosina Lippi, Talyn by Holly Lisle, Shadow Touch by Marjorie M. Liu, Tripping to Somewhere by Kristopher Reisz, and Bound by Sasha White. Giveaway open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.
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I just sent out my first promo postcards for my soon to be fabulous illustration career. So all my goal center around promoting myself and improving my arty skills.
ReplyDeletePlans for 2007: figure out if I should stay in the field I'm currently in or switch to something new, try not to over analyze everything, and improving things that need improvement (vague, I know) ;).
ReplyDeleteNo mottos yet, I seem to analyze those too much ;)
-aj
My plans for 2007: finish both of the novels I'm working on, finish school, get into college, and work on my self motivation. I seem to have a hard time convincing myself to do things that I need to do.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have "plans" per se, because anytime I make a "plan," life tends to throw a barrage of wrenches my way. (As opposed to wenches, which I really wouldn't mind so much.)
ReplyDeleteI'd like to complete the revision of my urban fantasy novel and start the agent hunt come 2007, along with continuing to promote my e-publishing career. (Which includes writing, as putting out more stories for people to read is the biggest promo out there. *g*)
I'm going to get my Nano novel finished and sent off to be ripped to shreds by the publishing world. I'm also going to write and finish two more novels that are lurking in my brain.. all the while losing weight so I can finally look as fabulous as I've always wanted!! No more excuses.. this is my last year before the big 3-0!! Its gotta be a good year!!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY NEW YEAR PBW!!
I don't know who said it (I found it on someone's comments at Forward Motion and it is apropos for all aspiring writers) but:
ReplyDelete"You have no right to keep your imagination to yourself."
Which, to me, is a perfect quote. It is empowering. My mantra for when I think my writing is shite. It encourages me to improve, to know, that out there, people do read my stuff (though not many at the moment) and enjoy it.
As for plans, this year is editing, rewriting and to send off an inquiry letter to agents in February. That at least I will do. The rest is for short story submissions - another must - to update my website for story links, and be more aggressive in my attitude toward this soul-destroying, rejection-filled, publicly-humiliating, but magical, soul-affirming career that has chosen me.
Oh, and the ubiquitous eat better, exercise more, and, for the Gods sake, lose some weight, Fat Guts!
I think that about sums it up.
Happy New Year everyone!
After simple survival?
ReplyDeleteGet my rear in gear and query.
The bestest New Year to you, PBW.
:) I think I like the term goal better than resolution.
ReplyDeleteMy major goal for this year, is to get my story finished and get it submitted. I got the first draft completed during NaNo so am doing revisions at the moment, filling in all the plot holes I left in the mad crazy rush to get my word count in during the last few days of November. Hopefully I'll have that done during the first part of the year.
Other goals - go to the gym three times a week so I can actually justify the monthly fee I'm spending. See if I make it to the end of January before something more important comes up. :)
I also want to get out and about more. I'm finding that I'm spending an increasing amount of time in front of a computer screen.
And do more baking LOL, it's one of those things that I wish I had more time to do.
LesleyW
Kick-start my writing again. Last year was a pretty barren time in terms of fiction output. I plan to focus on producing the best fiction I can, and then getting it out for submission.
ReplyDeleteAnd I plan to get back to the gym of course...
D.
don't put me in the drawing. :o)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to lose weight. Honest. I even did sit ups and squats last night. I'm going to get back to the healthier eating I was doing before Thanksgiving attacked me.
I'm going to stop procrastinating so much. I'm going to get more organized. I'm going to meet each of my deadlines early or on time. I'm going to pay off more of my bills.
Writing goals: finish and rewrite my first book, rewrite it in English, and send query letters to agents. Rewrite four short stories and write some more short stories. Start looking into English short story market.
ReplyDeleteOther goals: graduate, get a new apartement, get a job.
Excellent New Year to everyone!
Write a book. Get into university--or reject all my offers and reapply for 2008 entry (but must decide by March).
ReplyDeleteI finally made some decisions about my career, and so 2007 is going to be a year devoted to working my way towards the life I want. It's going to be boring as hell I bet, but worth it.
ReplyDeleteGet off my lazy behind and rewrite that short story that got positive comments last year.
ReplyDeleteRewrite my Nano novel from '04. It's been sitting & waiting for me to give it attention for two years now. Time it got some.
Finish the first draft of its sequel and write that of Pigeon Among the Cats. That's been fermenting long enough now.
Lose weight. I'm up to 89 kilos, which is rather more than ideal.
Think about starting on that novel-writing-IDE I was planning last year. It should be a fun project.
I'm going to skip my usual list of resolutions (lose weight, exercise, work hard) and set specific goals:
ReplyDeleteResume work on my Two Year Novel, working through each lesson.
Submit the best short story and the best poems I wrote this year to three publishers.
Read and follow "You on a Diet, The Owner's Manual for Waist Management".
Use the belly dancer video Santa brought me.
Start the New Year right with a book give-away at my blog, featuring hard-cover copies of "Talyn" by Holly Lisle and "Afterburn" by S.L. Viehl.
I plan to go on a diet this coming year.
ReplyDeleteI like the quote and really like your list. Simple and direct. I would add one thing for me personally, write more and draw. Not because I want to be published and my drawings are on kindergarten level, but because both activities keep me mentally sane.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
This New Years I plan to start 2007 out with a resolute mind set. I have in mind to finish wrting and submit a few books I've written and held onto. To finally take those dancing lessons and learn do atleast one Salsa and one Ballroom dance. I plan to remain calm this year and not let myself get drawn into confrontations or to worry myself needlessly. And most of all, I plan to be a better person, and appreciate those around me who are have been with me through thick and thin and not complained a bit.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to everyone this New Years and may the positive thoughts and joyful celebration last in your heart thoughout the year.
Finish Sword and Scabbard and Rogue Pawn, and write on a consistent basis. My kids have resolved to get into shape and neither drive, so I'll be along for the fun. The family that sweats together stays together?
ReplyDeleteWriting goal: blog more consistently. Small goals are best for me at this time. Even short stories are out of my output range at this time so... just freaking WRITE.
ReplyDeleteOther goals:
Get to a healthy weight, because although 175 lbs. on a 5'7" small-boned frame is better than the 200 I was back in September, it's still not healthy.
Make good food choices and eat enough calories throughout the day so I don't turn into psycho-starving-cranky-monster.
Spend more time talking to my husband where we're not both chained to our respective computers.
Play more with my sons.
Finish the purse I'm knitting.
Ah, 2007.
ReplyDelete1. Get my Employment Authorization Document. Finally. *cross fingers*
2. Find a job, preferably in publishing.
3. Move to a nicer apartment.
4. And all the while, write 10 pages a day.
5. Always have material to read at weekly writers' meetings.
6. Submit! Submit! Submit! I have too many pieces lying around in my drawers which I need to "polish one last time".
I resolve to:
ReplyDelete1) finish two books this year - one is already begun - and
2)work out more days in the week than not. That's pretty much all I can control, but if I'm slow and steady I should get the results I want.
I have several: Move home. Eat healthier. Reconnect with family and friends. De-stress.
ReplyDeleteNo timetable planned except to just get-r -done!
Pam
I don't know who said it, but:
ReplyDelete"Though you cannot go back and start again,
You can start from now and have a brand new end."
Happy New Year to you and yours, PBW! =D
I resolve to be nicer, read more, writer more, publish more, and keep going to the gym.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, and find a guy like Jack Reacher and Ducan Reever.
:-)
IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY TRY AGAIN!!!
ReplyDeleteI will need this saying going into 2007 and will need it to work so I am repeating it over and over.
I think I'd like to find a writing schedule that sticks in 2007. I'm happy with my output but still... I'm sure I could write more. Or better. Or both. ;)
ReplyDeleteAs for words, I discovered this year a citation from Eleanore Roosevelt that I think could be applied to many areas of my life, writing included, so I'll try to live up to it: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt."
ReplyDelete-Shakespeare
I hope the New Year brings much health, happiness and prosperity to you and yours!
Peace,
Jill
Obtain an interesting and fulfilling job that will enable me to overcome this inertia and will provide me with a creative outlet that I can enjoy.
ReplyDeleteWrite three book proposals this spring for my agent, and revamp a ST for my epublisher. And quit smoking as soon as I finish this book....
ReplyDeleteI don't have any plans for 2007. Can I still be in the draw? :)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to rewrite my current WIP, polish it, and make it shiny for the agent hunt.
I'd like to also finish another book that's currently not done (I have a few), and write a completely new one.
Reorganize my darkroom and resume my photography work.
Change jobs, as the one I have drives me bonkers. And pays nil.
I have a good feeling about 2007. :)
Cheers,
Erin K.
I plan to procrastinate less.
ReplyDeleteBut I seem to plan that every year.
Eat healthier, exercise more. Read even more books and do the project that has percolating in the back of my mind for the last year.
ReplyDeleteDiane
2007 is going to be my year. Well, that's my plan, anyway. I have several goals - one of which I share with my hubby - get out of debt!
ReplyDeleteMore personal goals are to provide better critiques to the members of my writing group, get more organized, and get at least one of my WIPs ready and submit it.
I'm also considering applying for Viable Paradise. Scary, but those I've talked to have said the experience is quite valuable.
I have tons of smaller goals (who doesn't?) but if I can achieve those, I'll count myself a very lucky lady.
Pearl: Good for you. Best wishes and good luck; I hope your DIL appreciates and embraces your efforts. :-)
Happy New Year, everyone!
I'm going to take things as they come this year. One thing at a time.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year PBW and thanks for all the posts!
ReplyDeleteProfessionally: I plan to finish my Nano novel -- first draft and revisions and outline second in time for the next Nano.
Personally: I plan to continue to declutter and donate to have more time w. my family and room for the items I cherish. And, I like Vicki P.'s idea of excercising more days than not :).
JulieB
"Things are going to be different. It's going to be a better year."
ReplyDeleteIt's that simple.
I currently have six sayings hanging around my moniter, but I may add the one you mentioned because I like it so much.
ReplyDeleteThe proper function of a man is to live, not exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.--Jack London
Writing well for me means not worrying about writing well at all.--PBW
Every act of self-discipline is an act of self-love.--???
Fear less. Do more.--???
My father always said, "No plan B. It distracts from plan A."--Will Smith
Do or do not. There is no try.--Yoda
I'm currently working out my plans for the new year. I haven't decided whether it will be a big push writing year or a gradual increase. I have two books that I want to get written, even though they aren't due until the following year. I want to be able to take my time with them. I also have two other projects that I need to get written (for my own sanity) and one revision. Actually, as I'm writing this I realize I need to make a big push. Sigh. *ggg*
I am also going to change my eating habits. I'm not going on a diet, since it implies something temporary. I received a Dance, Dance Revolution machine for Christmas, so I intend to add it to my exercise options to go along with the rowing machine. :)
I plan to attend only a couple of conferences next year and will take time to visit family. I think that about covers 2007. I basically seek balance between life and productivity. :)
I'm really going to try to be more organized and put some order in some aspects of my life that need it, and finish a lot of things that are still pending. I think I will try to focus on small goals at a time.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to everyone! And that this new year be better than the previous one, with lots of love, hapiness and good health to all.
I really love the quote Jordan posted: Every act of self-discipline is an act of self-love. I'm going to post that one by my monitor and read it every time I find myself looking for an excuse to skip excercise. :-)
ReplyDeleteHere is a quote I love but don't know who authored it: Every dream is given to us with the power to make it come true.
My goals for 2007: To continue eating healthier by eliminating processed foods and added fats while focusing on fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds as my main food ingredients. To excercise daily. To spend more time with family and friends. To read more. To write. To silence my inner-critic and connect with the present opportunities for joy and creativity. To get more rest. To declutter my mind from negative thinking and use the space for a greater sense of peace.
I also have a little list of projects to do around the house that will result in me enjoying my home more and being better organized.
All the best to everyone in 2007!
Claudia
I'm thinking Gabriele has a book to finish.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I will just once more prod the pro short story outlet that has had my story since 7th December. December 2005, that is.
Increase my reading interests by concentrating on a varied selection. Take a writing course which would enable me to learn how to finally grasp writing essentials and master this difficult goal. Become a helpmate to my friend who lost her husband and needs all the support she can get.
ReplyDeleteMy goals are
ReplyDeleteeat healthier
schedule a massage once a month
finish 10 year back log of scrapbooking
gently encourage my DH to get the kitchen remodel started
I am not going to do the weight lost thing I am just going to resolve to have a more healthier lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
ReplyDeleteMy goals for the new year are to write and knit everyday. Also, I want to destress and unclutter my life.
Mine stay the same every year(2006 answers)
ReplyDelete1.Meet two new people and make good friends.
(Nicole and Sheila)
2.Go two places I have never been.
(New Mexico, Colorado, and Cozumel)
3.Help someone I know
(Arranged meals, cleaning, day care, and donated funds for a dear friend that became sick and missed over a month of work.)
4.Help someone I don’t know.
(Worked with church several weeks for Katrina victims)
5.Spend more time with family.
(Added game or book night with boys. Latest book Eragon)
6.Learn something new. (How to grow a garden from seed. Boys loved this)
My plan is Spanish in 2007.
I really want to be committed to writing every day... even if it just on my blog. Maybe that will lead to some fiction - who knows?
ReplyDeleteI also want to make it a goal to treat my loved ones with more respect and care. If I've learned one thing this year, it's that you just don't know when things will change. I want to take the time to cherish everyday moments with the people I love.
For me, there are really only three things:
ReplyDelete1) put in more effort in my academic work so I can graduate with a decent degree
2) stay on top of my work when I start my professional training so that I can actually pass my qualifying exams in 2008
3) finish the first draft of (one of) my WIP in 2007
4) stop procrastinating.
Needless to say, number 4 is the most urgent one!
Happy New Year, PBW!
My biggest goal is to spend more time with my family.
ReplyDeleteAside from my usual goal (write more than last year!) this year I want to achieve a sustainable writing rhythm. Instead of writing like a crazy woman for two months and then going fallow to recover, I want to write every day, find a schedule that works and stick to it.
ReplyDeleteHappy new year, PBW!
Michele L
Spend more time with my family. My oldest son has developed a fascination with cooking, and I hope to teach, as well as learn, something new. I plan on learning how to play the PS2, so I can spend more time with my younger son as well. I'm also making a commitment to have more us time with my husband, to talk or have a romantic dinner, or whatever.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful Happy New Year!
Crystal B.
2007?
ReplyDelete1. Keep off the 35 pounds I lost in 2006 by continuing to eat healthily and exercise regularly.
2. Re-revise a novel or two and begin querying agents.
3. Learn to multi-task (ie, learn to write and revise without going on a bender of either!)
4. Learn to pray more.
My goal is to get a good resume together & start looking for a better paying job! (Long overdue!)
ReplyDeleteI also need to start excercising regularly again even though I hate it!
Hey there! I just finished reading "Afterburn," which was my first book of yours :) I really enjoyed it, particularly the characters and the little ways you made their world come alive. I look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteAs a writer myself, I have a quote taped to my monitor that I cut out of a Harley-Davidson print ad. The text reads: "Someday. I'll do it someday. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. See? There is no Someday."
My goals for 2007 are twofold. One, I want to continue writing new stories that appeal to my readers, and two, I want to revisit some old stories of mine to see if I can't rework them & get them into print.
I've decided to set self-publishing on the back burner this year and focus on getting a good contract with a respectible e-book publisher (my genre is really popular in e-books right now), and see if I can't sell more stories to anthologies and collections.
Take care! And thanks again for "Afterburn" ... Happy New Year!
My goals are the same as last year...eat healthier, lose weight, exercise more etc.....I made a great start in 06 and want to continue in the new year
ReplyDeleteMy goals for this year:
ReplyDelete1. Finish my A.A. degree. (That'll be fairly easy as I only have two more classes to do in the upcoming semester.)
2. Start my Bachelor's degree. (Trickier, since I still haven't figured out what I want the degree in.)
3. Work my way through Holly's "Create a" clinics to solidify what the heck I want to write next.
4. Knit lots. (This one is vague, but I hope to end up with at least one original pattern out of it.)
5. Write lots of truely awful fiction, NaNoWriMo-style, just so I can get into the habit of making words come out.
I hope the New Year is a wonderful one for you and yours. Thank you for writing books that I love to read. :)
Oh, so many goals! Turn in all contracted projects, write two spec books and sell 'em, NOT work holidays next year and take a real vacation. Preferably camp around the Sol Duc hot springs and hike hike hike! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteBuffysquirrel said:
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking Gabriele has a book to finish.
Several, actually. But A Land Unconquered (I know it's the one you mean) is on top of the list. And I promise, new plotbunnies have to go in the the Future Projects folder to breed subplots, at least until Nano 2007. :)
Turn in all three contracted books as early as I can. Finish a partial for a mainstream novel, just to prove I can make the complicated plot and subplots work. *g* Finish four novellas and get them turned in. Come up with at least one "new" idea and write the proposal.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to work on completing a manuscript and submitting it. No more saying I'm gonna; I'm just going to do it.
ReplyDeleteI like to give my goals for the new year a theme, that way I always have a mantra/idea to hold with me when I flounder and need direction and can't remember the exact goals I started the year with.
ReplyDeleteSo my one-word theme for 2007 is focus. I've got such a limited amount of time to do a lot of things. I need to focus my energy on what it is I want to do with the time that comes my way. Otherwise I end up wasting it. This applies to the writing, the health stuff, the job, the family, etc.
Plans/resolutions for 2007 (and you know what they say about plans):
ReplyDeleteExercise more
Eat less sugar
Become a more effective teacher
Be a more attentive parent
Enjoy life
I don't need a goal to write. It just happens.
ReplyDeleteBut I do have WORDS:
but when I try to imagine a faultless love
Or the life to come, what I hear is the murmur
Of underground streams, what I see is a limestone landscape.
W.H. Auden (May 1948)
I want to finish my WIP next year, graduate with 2nd Upper Honours, find a job I like, and live everyday to the fullest.
ReplyDeleteIn the words of Nike, "Just do it." That mostly works for me :-)
ReplyDeleteI want to get a new agent, get a deal, and finish the book I'm currently working on. I also want to finish working on our master bathroom AKA That Room We Don't Speak Of.
ReplyDeleteTo go back to University.
ReplyDelete2007 promises to be a big year for me. My plans in no particular order: Finish my novel, buy a condo, start a family with my DH, continuing pursuing publication for my oodles of short stories, and apply for a couple of graduate programs for fall of 2008. I'm exhausted already. . .
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of goals, but then I do always tend to overschedule myself:
ReplyDeleteLose the fifteen pounds I gained after knee surgery.
Test for my second degree balck belt in taekwondo (assuming my repaired knee will let me)
Finish the last of my house projects and put the house on the market.
Find new house to buy.
Lead the company which I used to work for but now own to new heights of financial success
Oh, and find time to write, of course.
/** word verification: doabe. That's awfullly close to "doable". I think I'll take that as a positive omen. **/
My Goals for 2007:
ReplyDelete1. Find a publisher for my first book (after giving the publisher that currently has it at the bottom of their slush pile the chance to say yea or nay).
2. Turn the novella I wrote for your ebook challenge into a novel and try to find a publisher for it (which may or may not end up being the publisher I sent my first book).
3. Finish the sequel to #1.
4. Start on the sequel to #2.
5. Blog more.
6. Exercise regularly and eat more healthy foods and less junk.
7. Get more organized.
and lastly
8. Travel more (I have a passport and I'm not afraid to use it!)
Hope you have a Happy New Year!
Ann
My Goals
ReplyDelete1 Get Organized
2 Clean Out the Basement, and rent a dumpster
3 Work more on my jewelry and make a catalog, also but more effort into selling items
4 Finishing Designs for my kitchen and Bathroom remodel
5 Quit Smoking
Happy New Year
Plans: invest in a treadmill and start a workout routine. Travel--I want to make it to Britain this year...research, of course! *g*
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, PBW!!!!! :)
Revise Grady's story and actually submit things this year. Why, yes, I am the biggest procrastinator in blog land.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, everyone!
Yeah, my new year's resolutions are a bit of a mixture between ones I've been working on and some newer specific ones. Such as, continue eating healthier and exercising at least 5 times a week to lose the last 23 pounds of my 53 pound goal, learn how to better manage my time, work on my writing skills, and be more adventurous. ^_~
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I hope you enjoy your evening! ^_^
Write more than 500,000 words; write my WWII thriller; edit my medieval adventure; enter at least 10 writing competitions.
ReplyDeleteLots of love to you for 2007!
Just a better outlook on life, which Ive gained in the last couple of months. Other goodies have followed - the ability to maintain a diet regimen more than 12 hours, the ability to think about writing again, and the occasional productive session.
ReplyDeleteWith a three year old - the Klingon (it's a pun) - and a five year old finally old enough to fend for themselves some of the time, I'm finding the time I didn't know I had to get things done. It's a great feeling.