Yearly Wrap-Up (Part 3)

Alrighty then, we covered reading goals and how to keep on top of your yearly writing goals by jotting down the books you've read ON your goal sheet.

And we covered writing goals, knowing full well that they could change at the drop of a contract. *hint, hint* Hey, I'll try for all the karma I can get. :-)

So what other goals can you put down on your yearly list? Remember, this is a list that you will be referring to every time you put a book you read on the list--skim the goals.

Here are a couple of my 'other' type of goals:

--Attend one conference--I went to a local SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference in town. Next spring, it will be in Oklahoma City

--Return to a healthy lifestyle: eat smaller, eat healthier, and kick the kidlet's butt on the Wii Fit exercises! And exercise 3-5 days a week. --I did all of this, but not consistently. I was exercising on the Wii Fit until the kidlet got out of school for summer vacation, and then, PFFTT! After that, the Wii console was exchanged and I just started unlocking the levels again when I started jogging.

--Critique when needed--I don't belong to a critique group any longer, but if one of my online friends needs a quick crit, then I'm available.

--Judge three unpublished writing contests (online only) and the Golden Heart--I judged eight contests, plus the Golden Heart, plus one published one.
--The Golden Heart is RWA's contest for unpublished writers. I love this contest as all you do is read the submission (roughly 50 pages & a synopsis) and award the entry a number between 1 and 9. I really enjoy judging the GH because I can sit down and expect to be wowed!
--The published contest is harder because you have to read the entire book, though it is a simple numerical score.
--The eight unpubbed contests take the most time as you have to read the submission and judge it according to the criteria set up by the contest committee for each particular chapter. The submissions run the gauntlet of publishable to newbie writer just starting out, but I've always come away from the judging experience learning something. Try it you might enjoy it, too!

--Use online calendar to record Tarot daily draws, chores, reading and writing goals --A couple of years ago I bought a Tarot deck and book. One of my characters used the Tarot in her plans of revenge--I never finished that story, but I keep drawing my daily Tarot card. One--it's just fun, Two--it forces me to go to my online calendar to record my card. . . and I have a list of my monthly goals posted on this calendar. Plus it reminds me to document what I have been doing with my day if I haven't been writing. It forces you to be accountable for your writing or lack of.

On Wednesday, I'll post how I deal with monthly and weekly goals.

Until then . . .

Write on!