My 2016 Goals-ish and Sorta-Plans

The new year is almost a week old, so it’s about time I started thinking about what I want to accomplish this year. Thing is, I’ve been alive long enough to know that the best laid plans often get derailed, especially when you have a family and a day job–things that often exert their priority over your personal ambitions. That’s why I’m being somewhat non-committal about these goals. I will hold to them, but not with a death grip.

I’m listing these mostly for my benefit, so come December I can look back and see how well I did. There are a couple that could impact the blog, so regular readers ought to be aware.

Reading

This is the biggest area of struggle for me, not because I don’t enjoy reading, but I have conflicting interests, namely fiction and non-fiction. As an aspiring fiction writer, I need to read a lot of fiction, but I also want to keep up with my theological interests (especially in light of the fact I teach a Sunday School class that requires a certain amount of study). That balance is not always easy to find. If I can get through between 30-40 books this year, I’ll be happy (especially given family, church, and work commitments). And if some of those–say around 10–are non-fiction, I’ll feel particularly good about this accomplishment.

Writing

I am working on a novel, but I really need to write more short stories, and get some of them published. In fact, I’m making a priority of getting published in some form (other than this blog), to the extent that I am no longer participating in any writing contests, with the exception of Janet Reid’s periodic flash contests. Janet’s are an exception primarily because she’s a literary agent. If other literary agents start running these kinds of contests, I might be tempted, but as far as I know, Janet’s the only one. Why does Janet being an agent make a difference? Two reasons. First, it’s her job to know what’s good, saleable writing, so anything I write that gets her approval helps me in my desire to be published. Second, if I can maintain a good showing in Janet’s contests, that’s a toe in the door. She’s a well-regarded agent, and others in the industry know her, and her contests. It’s not the same as winning a Pulitzer, but it’s more than nothing.

The Blog

I intend to keep the blog going, and certainly keep up the regular articles (Sunday School Notes and Who Reviews). I had already scaled back on the Music Monday and Flash Friday posts, and will continue with that policy. I’m not scrapping either of these, but I’ll do them as I have time. My hope is that I’ll write more general life-related, or “here’s an interesting thought” type posts. I plan to participate in this years A-Z Blogging Challenge and writing flash fiction for each day once again.

Twitter

I’m so hit-and-miss with Twitter these days. Some days I’ll babble away to anyone, and then I’ll go for days–even weeks–without anything but the occasional “Today on the blog” tweet. I need to be more regular. Let’s make that a 2016 goal. Ish. 🙂

Other

It would be nice to go to a writing conference this year, but it will be hard justifying the cost knowing some of the more important things coming up in the life of our family. Put that on the tentative goal-ish list. Should the funds be available.

There. How’s that for a sort-of plan? 🙂

Do you have any major goals for 2016?