2019 Goals

It’s almost time for the obligatory plans/goals etc etc…… But this time it’s different….. he says!

On a serious note, I have been very disgusted with the amount of time I have wasted this year on procrastination. Too much TV, films, sitting at my computer doing nothing much. I used to have kids or family as an excuse but I haven’t had that for a long time. My youngest is now 15 and my wife works as well so I no excuse for not writing other than I obviously haven’t got the right motivation. People always say if you wanted to do it you would do it, and they are right, I want to achieve my goals but I don’t have any excuse for why I haven’t achieved them.

The biggest form of procrastination that I currently do would save me a great deal of time and allow me to start achieving something. So… I need to stop watching TV in my office, I can save that for family time or watching with my wife. When I am in the office I need to be either writing/reading or playing my games (limited time as well) This is the only way I am going to achieve what I want to achieve.

So, how do I get to where I need to be?

1. I am not happy with my writing and although I would like to get some kind of direction from a teacher I cannot afford to do any courses. I think I need to start using some of the “how to” books I have bought to improve my writing.
2. I need to start entering the short story competitions in the writing magazines I subscribe to, this will help me greatly with managing a word count and is a great experience. It also allows for the opportunity to get published.
3. I started watching the Brandon Sanderson course videos on youtube and found them to be helpful. I need to schedule in time so I can get these all watched as they should help with my writing.
4. Plan out and develop a novel from the start and regularly work on it. Aim for a finished draft by the end of 2019.
5. Blog more…. I need to ensure I am posting on here more as it is regular writing even if it is in this journal style. Maybe a weekly post on progress as this may push me to ensure I have achieved something as it will be going up on here. Of course that may also mean posting the blog in palces so that I actually get people to read it and perhaps push me to update.

Thats the plan for now and it will need some further planning so that it’s likely I can follow through with it. I am good at planning and say I will do something but maintaining it over time has always been a challenge.