Celebrating Successes from 2017

As I've done for the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to think about celebrating successes from the year instead of revisiting what I didn’t accomplish and resolving to do better (for more on this approach see Julie Hedlund’s recent blog post). Her suggestion is to use your successes and achievements as a foundation for setting new year goals.

This was a year of struggles in my personal life and they seemed to squelch my creativity and time for writing. I can claim only a few writing and reading successes for 2017, but I’m sharing them anyway, proud to have accomplished anything in the face of so much emotional change:

1. I participated in the 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge again and for the first time completed the challenge by writing 12 picture book drafts in 12 months. (No one said the drafts had to be good.)

2. I read over 300 new fiction picture books and board books as a first round panelist for the Cybils Awards. It was so much fun discussing these books with my fellow panelists!

3. I worked hard on revising a middle grade novel and am close to finishing my revisions.

4. I revised several picture book manuscripts and my agent sent some of them on submission.

5. I participated in an adult fiction book club at my local library. 

No matter how they are, taking time to celebrate successes lifts you up. I urge you to give it a try and dive into 2018 on a positive note! What are you most proud of this year? I hope you feel good about your successes!

Goals and Wishes for 2012

Even though I don't obsess over whether I've accomplished my goals for the year (see my post on Jan 1), I do like to have a few simple, doable goals to help guide me when I sit down to write, otherwise I can sit there feeling lost and directionless. So for this year, here's what I plan to do:

1. Finish my latest round of revisions for Novel #4 (The Grand Chef's Apprentice).

2. Finish the big revision I started of Novel #3 (Wild Genius). I have a great outline waiting -- I just need the time and energy to do it.

3. Start something new. It seems like for the last couple of years, I've been working on the same old projects. Good for them, because they just keep getting stronger. I've learned a lot. But I still have a huge collection of story ideas growing in my notebook that I never have enough time for.

When I look back on my goals for 2011, I see that #2 and #3 are pretty much the same as what I included last year. Aack! I think part of the problem is that I'm always revising something - the revisions never seem to stop. Oh well, that means I did accomplish one of my goals - writing more regularly.

What are your writing goals for 2012? Did you accomplish what you set out to do in 2011 or did you have some unexpected surprises along the way?

A New Year = New Realizations

At the beginning of a new year, I always wonder what new challenges lie ahead. I'm almost afraid to look back on my accomplishments for the past year, thinking it will be depressing when I discover I haven't met any of my goals.

What looking back does do is remind me of all the interesting things I've done and learned, which might be even more valuable than analyzing those goals that I have (or haven't) completed. The most important thing I've learned for my writing this year is this:

The plot is nothing until the main character's experiences and thoughts make it come alive.

Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but one of the things that has happened in my writing this year is that I've gained a deeper appreciation for how critical the main character's perspective is to the story (thanks to Mary Kole, Cheryl Klein, the Plot Whisperer, countless blogs I've read, and working hard on my own writing). It seems like something obvious and basic, but the more I think and work on this, the harder and more challenging it becomes.

Now, if only I could stop obsessing over whether each individual word fits the way the character thinks or acts, I might actually make some progress.

What important thing did you learn about your writing in 2011? What aspect of writing do you hope to get some insight into in 2012?