S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Welcome back to The Writing Road as we celebrate a new year!
That's 365 days bursting with possibilities. And a fresh start is a chance to make resolutions and achieve new goals. If past failure has kept you from making resolutions this year, banish those negative thoughts. You don't need to walk in discouragement or despair any longer. God has already taken care of that.

God's mercies are new every morning!
"The LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." (Lam. 3:22-23)

Get S.M.A.R.T.
You may shake off any self-defeating attitudes, but how can you ensure success in 2010? First, be S.M.A.R.T. when setting goals. Make sure your goals are:

*Specific
*Measurable
*Attainable
*Realistic
*Time-Bound

You've written down your goals, right? After all, you are a writer.

Quotes on goals:
A goal without a plan is just a wish. ~ Larry Elder

A goal is a dream with a deadline. ~ Napoleon Hill

Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.~ Tom Landry

Good news:
Word counts, page counts, deadlines, contest submissions, agent/editor contacts are all quantifiable and can all easily become S.M.A.R.T. goals.

Let's hear your New Year's resolutions? What do you hope to accomplish in 2010? What's your plan to get there? Leave a comment and I'll put your name in for a drawing for a cute little notebook.

~Roxanne Sherwood

Writing Stocking Stuffer—New Year’s Resolution Writing Tools

“Every hardship; every joy; every temptation is a challenge of the spirit; that the human soul may prove itself. The great chain of necessity wherewith we are bound has divine significance; and nothing happens which has not some service in working out the sublime destiny of the human soul.”—Henry Fielding

Will 2010 be the year you’ll start or finish that book or article you’ve always wanted to write? Do the words “New Year’s resolution” remind you of a ball and chain? The Jerry Seinfield red marker and one-year calendar system may change your writing and idea about a chain.

The Jerry Seinfield School of Writing New Year’s Resolution Writing Tip

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Years ago Brad Isaac, a software developer, asked Jerry for tips for a young comic. The advice Jerry gave Brad applies to writing, exercising, or any other New Year's goal you set out to accomplish.

Stocking Stuffer: Large wall calendar, red magic marker, hanger

How to Use Your Stocking Stuffer: Hang the calendar in a conspicuous place. Each day that you write, mark a huge red, satisfying X from each corner of the daily box on your calendar. Set a goal to write for one week, then two, then 30 days. Is the goal to write for 3-4 hours or one hour? Nope! Give yourself permission to write ten minutes a day. The constant crimson chain compensates your craving for more X’s.

Top Ten Ways to Earn Your X’s

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1. Write.

2. Write every day, even on holidays.

3. Write when you want to write.

4. Write when you feel like skipping a day.

5. Write about every hardship, joy and temptation.

6. Write about every challenge to your spirit.

7. Write so that your soul may prove itself.

8. Write so that the great red chain of necessity—writing—binds you to divine significance.

9. Write when nothing happens.

10. Write to work out the sublime destiny of your soul.

The Word for 2009 & Information on Clarity of Night's Writing Contest

by Beth K. Vogt



My New Year's tradition continues in 2009.

In my first blog post in 2008, I shared how I don't do New Year's resolutions.

Why?

After too many years of making and breaking an annual list of wills and won'ts, I found something I like a lot better.

I focus on a word for the year.
I still remember my 2006 word: gratitude. My word for 2007 was simplify. Last year's word was content.

One word. Simple. Easy to remember and stay focused on for 365 days. Maybe it isn't that surprising that a writer like me--a wordsmith--likes focusing on a word for the year.

So, now it's 2009, and yes, I have a word. It's forgiveness. Truth be told, I think this is going to be a tough word to live out--but if I embrace the concept, I think 2009 will be a life-changing year.

If anybody else cares to crumple up their list of resolutions and pick a word for 2009 instead, consider this blog post an invitation to join me. I always found I lost my list by February anyway--but it's hard to forget a single word.

***
Clarity of Night is hosting another short fiction contest to start the year off!
Here's a brief description of the rules. Go to the website for complete information and to see what prizes you could win!

Using a photo provided on the blog for inspiration, compose a short fiction (or poetry) piece of no more than 250 words in any genre or style. Send your entry to me by email at jevanswriter at yahoo dot com before 11:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 14th (Eastern Time, United States). I'd prefer attachments formatted in Microsoft Word or Word Perfect (please see the format request below), but if you have something more exotic, you can paste the text into the body of an email. Each entry will be posted and indexed.