2017
Memorize 36 Bible verses
Hehe ... if you count individual verses I memorized instead of passages, I may have reached 36. That wasn't quite what I set out to do, though. I memorized Psalm 19 and some individual
Read 50 books
I didn't make this one this year; I only read 40 books. I made it to 50 in 2016, but only by binge reading a few children's books. ;)
Make a 2017 playlist
I did this, but I ... didn't keep up with it throughout the whole year :P I love the idea of a song a week, though to look back on.
Write 2 entire drafts
I updated Andora's Folly twice in 2017 (once for publication and once for the paperback release) so that gets me to my goal right there. ;) I also drafted about 40,000 words on the sequel to Martin Hospitality, but it's on hold for more planning. I was supposed to finish the first all of the Behind the Act before the year was over but ended up taking a break for my wrist. I'm guessing I'm around 50,000 words on that one. So two revision draft and two half-written first drafts is my total :P
Use my journals
I journaled my trip to Washington and Oregon this summer. I almost always try to journal my trips, but I'm so horrible at summing things up, that I rarely finish it out. This time I did finish! And I took notes from the OCW conference. In the same journal, I used a different section to journal dreams. That's turned into keeping a brief running list on my phone because again ... it takes me a long time, I'm longwinded, and my wrist is sensitive right now. Other than that, I don't think I started any new journals. I did collect a few more that need a purpose though :P
Attend a writer's conference
Check! I attended the Oregon Christian Writers summer conference in Portland. It was extremely good, so I encourage you to look into it, even if you have to travel like I did. (They have an under 23 discount!) The keynotes of 2017 were Frank Peretti and Tessa Afshar, both of whom were phenomenal. I'm unlikely to attend again in 2018, but I'm keeping it on my radar.
Publish 2 items
I actually did this ... but it feels like so long ago! Martin Hospitality was released February 4. Andora's Folly had a July 29 Kindle release date and a December 9 paperback release. So that's almost three publications since I went through the process that many times. ;)
Now for the 2018 goals!
2018
Poems, passages ... I want to continue to spend more time on memorization. A handful of new things to recite at the end of the year would be a big accomplishment for me!
2016 // 50 books ... with cheating :P
2017 // 40 books
2018 // 40 books
This year I want to focus on books I own and have never read. I don't want to have to read children's books to make my goal! Hopefully scaling it back a little, I can fit in some more serious books.
I have three sets of Great Courses on writing topics. They're video college lectures, more or less, and I've learned a lot from the one I've nearly finished. I'd like to keep up with them this year with some notetaking so that I can progress and keep up my education. Since I'm not having to do college or anything, I figure it's the least I can do.
Overall, 2017 was a very different year for me, but not a bad one. I'm looking forward to seeing what all 2018 holds. Thus far I'm guessing it will continue to surprise me. Thank goodness it's all in God's hands! What is one of your goals for 2018?
Only 5 books??? How will you survive?? Good on you though, I need to try and focus on books I already have as well. I'll be excited to see you back into publishing something again! Happy New Year, I hope you had a great Christmas as well. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know! It will be good for me, though. And I've already won a giveaway of 2 books, so the year's looking pretty bright! xD
DeleteThanks! Hopefully I can figure out what to do on the publishing front. I feel like the sequel to MH should still be next, but I don't know if it's ready to be written yet D:
I did, thanks. :)
Oh, I love the song of the week idea! I should totally do that this year (though how do I limit it to one song)!
ReplyDeleteI hope you are able to achieve your goals! Have a blessed 2018!
Thanks! I like the idea of a playlist for each year--it's something neat to look back on. I just didn't keep up with it quite as well as I hoped. ;)
DeleteThank you! I hope I am too hehe. God bless your 2018 as well, Sarah! <3
My goal for 2018 is to try and get The Broken Prince published so we'll see how that goes. Good luck in the new year! <3
ReplyDeleteYay!! That's such a tremendous goal, and it'd be so amazing if it works out! Thanks :) Best of luck to you as well. Publishing can be exhausting, but it's so worth it!
DeleteI do monthly playlists, but they end up to be really small, so maybe I should try a yearly playlist instead. How are you only buying 5 books this year?? Although maybe I should do something similar so that I can actually get to reading all the books I have that I haven't read yet (oops). Good luck with your publishing journey this year!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea since your problem isn't keeping up with it ;) That was my issue :P And once I got behind "catching up" was a little tricky. Oh well. I think I'll do it again this year and just add songs as I feel like it. :)
DeleteHehe ... well we'll see if I can stick to that. It is super extreme, but I impulse buy books a lot, so it will be really good for me xD And yes. Conquering the TBR already before me would be awesome.
Thanks!! I'm excited to see what happens. :)
It looks like you had a pretty good year related to goals! Publishing 3 things is crazy! Happy new year. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah it went okay, especially considering I kind of forgot to look back at my goals that often ;) I know!!! Doesn't even seem real xD Thanks :) Happy new year to you too!
DeleteI love the idea of making a playlist for the year with a favorite song every week! I might have to try that.
ReplyDeleteYou should!! I thought it was really fun even though I didn't finish mine out really ;) I'll probably do another one for this year and just add songs as they strike me.
DeleteGreat goals! :D I didn't reach my reading goal for the year either. :P You were closer to yours than I was to mine. My goal had been 70 books, and I think I only read 38. So I'm going to lower my goal for this year. ;P
ReplyDeleteYou do the Great Courses too?! I'm doing three sets of writing topics as well! :D Which ones are you doing? (If you don't mind me asking) I haven't finished mine, and one of my goals for this year is to finish them. :)
Thanks! Yeah reading ... hehe. Hopefully we can both reach our more realistic goals this year ;)
DeleteYes!! Oh my word, how funny that you do them too xD I'm finishing up the Building Great Sentences one. Then I also have Writing Great Fiction and The Art of Storytelling. :) That first one is pretty technical, but I've still learned a lot about intentional writing. I'm interested to try the others, though!! Which ones do you have?
Haha, I know, right? Oh cool! I'm have Building Great Sentences and Writing Great Fiction too! And I also have How to Publish Your Book. I really like them, and I'm learning a lot! :)
DeleteCooollll!! I can't decide which one to start next hehe
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