Excelsior! Goals for 2020

A decade has ended and it is time to look forward and plan for the future, again. Unfortunately, I didn’t do too great with my goals from 2019.

2019 Goals

• Improve my writing

• Set a regular writing regimen

• Lose weight

• Review every book I read

• Go backpacking

Really, the only one of these I accomplished was ‘improve my writing’. And I’m okay with that. My writing has greatly improved and I plan to continue to do so. It’s a bit of a bummer that I failed at all of the other goals. But, let’s not dwell on these and instead look onward to my goals for next year.

Goals for 2020! Yeah!

This year I’m going to be more realistic with myself. I know that I will not review every book I read. Some are just not worth the effort. But I do need to focus on my weight and I want to continue on my path as a writer. So, here are my goals for the year:

1. Lose 20 Pounds

Last year I really wanted to get up into the mountains and eventually backpack over night. This did not happen, mostly because I am not in shape and can’t handle the physical strain of carrying a full pack up into the mountains. So, this year I’m going to take a goal that will get me moving in the right direction. I will work to healthily lose at least 20 pounds.

2. Publish 2 Short Stories

Everything you need to know about this goals is right there. I am going to continue to tweak and submit my stories. I look forward to collecting masses of rejections, but I also hope that some of my work will start to appeal to editors of anthologies and genre zines.

3. Draft a Novel

Next, I would like to finish a full draft for a novel. I have done this once before on a story that will never see the light of day. It is extremely rough and I doubt that I would be able to do much with it. But I also have two other novels that I just never finished. Plus, I’m getting the urge to expand a recent short story. So, there are a few contenders that may end up being my first serious attempt at a novel.

And that’s it! It’s a shorter list than last year, but, I think, a much more attainable one. Do you have any goals/resolutions for 2020? Let me know down below in the comments. Maybe we can work together and reach our goals!