Every end of year I usually put some time aside and really think about my goals for the upcoming year. I write them out all fancy, stick them to the wall above my desk and as the year passes get increasingly depressed and worried because I am slowly failing them.
So this year I am doing things different. I still have a few goals but not as many as I normally do and this time I've selected things I actually am excited about. And they aren't as hard as I normally try to do. But that's okay right?
The List:
Read more. But not #95 books. That was way to lofty of a goal. No I'd be okay with 40-60.Read more fantasy. As a young adult I would devour fantasy books, like 10-20 books in a series type devour and this really feed my desire to be a writer. Nowadays I've been sticking to the literary fiction pool and while these books are incredible I don't read them with the same excitement as I do a really good fantasy book. So more magic, essentially, in my reading list.Write more stories that make me excited to write. When I first started writing seriously, maybe ten years ago, I was writing fun magical adventure stories that surprised me, let me build complex worlds and were just straight up exciting and fun to write. There was a magic when I was in those worlds. But then I started to really take this whole writing thing seriously and started to take more writing classes and then eventually a MFA in creative writing and I started to focus more on literary stories, and stories that were 'important'. And more recently I've been working on the revisions to my novel and a non-fiction manuscript, both of which deal with heavy topics like intergeneration trauma from systematic genocidial practices against First Nations people and mental illness, and while these topics are incredibly important to me, I need to add an influx of writing that is not so serious, and is fun. Magical adventure fun.
Become a stronger swimmer. I love swimming and I love swimming in the outdoor pool by my house in the summer. And this summer I really want to take advantage of it more. Swim more often and for longer amounts of time. Even if its just adding an extra lap a week. and bonus this goal fits nicely with goal number one because I can dry off on the beach while reading, so win win.
Finish one work in progress project. This could any one of the on the go projects I have (which in all honesty is too many), I need to focus on one until I finish. This is going to be a really hard one for me but is something that I need to learn to do if I want to continue living a life in the arts.
Sleep more. Or maybe it should be sleep like a normal healthy adult. Do not work until 3 in the morning and then get up at 7 and keep working. And don't do this schedule for months at a time. Because you know what? It ain't healthy. And I love sleep. I love dreaming. But when I work like that I don't dream. Which means I am not learning anything from that other dream place.
And this is it, if I can do all these things this year I will be happy. This year for me is going to be about getting back to things that make me happy, working less, and dreaming more. And travel. Hopefully I'll have lots of fun adventures and fun travelling.
Magically yours,
- FRan
Comments