Goals for 2014

In 2013, I made goals at the beginning of the year and tracked them on a weekly basis for most of the year (up until NaNoWriMo started in November).  The last few months, however, have been much less productive, and I've lost sight of my focus.  I partially blame NaNoWriMo, especially the last day, in which I wrote ten thousand words and burned myself out.  Lately, though, I've been feeling like I'm finally ready to get back to work again, so here at last are my goals for the year -- albeit a month late!

 1. Finish my 2013 NaNo novel.

In November I took a break from Ruby Ransome in order to write something completely different and fun, a sort of vacation for my brain.  I had intended to finish it during November, thinking it would be more of a novella, but at the end of November I still had more to write.  Unfortunately I was burned out and didn't keep going at the time, but I still want to finish it!  I don't know yet if I'll do anything with it, but I do plan on doing some revisions and seeing how I feel about it then.

2. Finish revising my first Ruby Ransome novel.

This really should just say "Keep working on my Ruby Ransome series," because once I finish revisions on the first novel there is a second novel to write and a third one to revise -- but finishing and polishing the first novel is my first priority with the series.  I want to start publishing this year, if at all possible.

3. Overhaul my website and blogs.

This is carrying over from last year because it really is important -- I want my blogs to get a new look, and my website really ought to reflect my work's change in focus, from just freelancing to freelancing and fiction/my own projects.

4. Blog every day.

I may regret making this a goal, but I've fallen far behind on my blogs in the past year or two, and I want to get back on track.  So I want to make it a goal to write a blog post every single day -- for whatever I blog I feel like writing for, just so long as I add to one of them.  Maybe if I can make this part of my morning routine, along with drinking coffee and checking my email and social networking sites, I'll get back into the habit of not just blogging, but also of writing on a daily basis too.

5. Make a reading list for 2014.

I haven't entirely decided yet whether I will keep all of the books on my reading list from 2013 -- I definitely will finish Les Miz, because at two-thirds of the way through I really should, but I'll probably continue to pick at it rather than reading it all at once.  The Professor and The Life of Charlotte Bronte will both likely stay on the list, but I'll see about the rest.

Those are my goals for 2014 -- a little more focused this year, I think, but that's what I learned I needed most from tracking my progress on my goals in 2013!