Hello and a very happy new year!
It isn’t every year that I get to make the first post of the year on the first day of the new year. How exciting! 2020 was certainly a roller coaster ride of a year but it’s officially 2021 and that means the perfect opportunity to start over fresh. I have lots of exciting things I’m wanting to embark on this year and I’m thrilled to finally kick everything into gear.
Before we go over the yearly goals and my goals for January, we must first go over the goals from December.
Participate in Indiecember 💚
I love Indiecember and I’m happy to announce that I have succeeded in winning. Now I’m waiting eagerly for the participation prize so that I can add it to my cork board.
Make 1 Year Plan for 2021 💚
This one was a no brainer. Planning is what I do best and this year I intend to go about splitting my goals into a quarterly format so that way I’m only focusing on so much at once. Needless to say I’m excited to put all my planning into action.
Make Fanfiction Plans 💚
I have indeed made plans for all my fanfiction based things. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything with my fanfiction but I’m really excited to start posting everything I managed to stock up on over December.
Exercise 3 times a week 💚
Luckily my pesky tattoo was healed up by the beginning of the month so I was finally able to start putting my exercise machines to good use.
Upload Remaining 2020 Photos 💚
There ended up being more photos than I had expected to upload but I did get everything taken care of. I also stumbled upon a photo of my siblings and I from 2010, back when I was still taller than all of them so that was a nice treat. My husband and I also ended up doing a few fun things over the month so it made the album close off with quite a few sweet memories.
Enjoy Christmas 💚
I do believe this goes without saying but this Christmas was one of the best Christmas’ I’ve ever had.
And that does it for 2020, no need to ever go back. Nothing but a bright future and new memories to make ahead of us now.
Of course with it being the start of a new month I have some monthly goals to share but with it being the beginning of a new year I also have some fresh yearly goals to share as well although first I should go over the failures and successes of 2020’s yearly goals.
Paint my office
After two years I was finally able to paint my office and start decorating it the way I wanted to. It was an awesome feeling and now my office feels like its own space instead of just another part of the house.
Read at least 48 books
Thanks to Indiecember I was once again able to reach this goal. I even dabbled in a few genres I wouldn’t usually read.
Begin a healthier lifestyle
I am very happy to say that this goal was a success even though I know I can still do better and definitely plan to in the coming year.
Start doing YouTube again
This goal went up in flames before it even began. Despite the constant pestering of my siblings for me to take up making YouTube videos I don’t think this goal will be made a reality for some time.
Finish Reaper
Perhaps my biggest achievement of the year was finally finishing my first book. I’m over the moon that Reaper is finally done, certainly far from finished but the story is all there at long last. Ever since completing this goal I feel like it’s really opened up so much more for me.
As many ups and downs that came with 2020 I would still call it a success. That being said I’m eagerly looking forward to 2021 and moving on from the last year. Now that we have officially gone over everything that 2020 covered, it is now time for this year’s goals!
2021 Goals
Finish editing Reaper
I think 2021 is my year, or at least that’s what I’m hoping for. I plan on finishing up with editing this year and finally jumping feet first into the query trenches.
Finish The Queen’s Guard
This is actually a goal I hope to have done fairly soon. I only have roughly 30,000 words to go before I can say that my second book is done.
Outline Lullaby
With Reaper deep in editing it only makes sense to start outlining its not-so-delightful little sequel. I’m so excited to get started on this project!
Outline The King’s Court
Depending on when I am able to finish The Queen’s Guard, I would like to take the time during my month away from that MS to outline the sequel. This isn’t as high of a priority for me as outlining Lullaby but it definitely something that would be nice to have around.
Finish Pirate Story
I’m really hoping to accomplish this goal in February. During NaNoWriMo a certain character decided he didn’t quite like the role he was playing in the story and kind of disappeared so there’s a need to go in and rework my outline before any more writing can be done.
Read 24 books
This goal shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. It’s become something of a yearly tradition for me to have this goal on my list just as a helpful reminder to take a break from writing and read a little. I know my number is smaller than usual but I have a lot more writing wise I’m trying to accomplish this year.
Get serious about my health
Whereas I did a good job during 2020 with starting on my journey to getting healthier, I want to get more serious about it and not allow myself to slack off as much.
Remodel the living room
We’re not doing any painting just yet but my husband is building us two entertainment areas, we’re going to be moving some furniture into the living room, hanging stuff on the wall, and even setting up our chess board. I’m so excited for this and I’m really hoping it’ll be done rather soon but we’ll have to wait and see.
Work on secret project
My secret project is something only those closest to me are aware of. I’d love to share it with all of you but that would defeat the purpose of keeping my identity a secret. Sorry that’s all I’m really saying about it, the important thing is that I know what I mean and am working towards making it a reality.
Regularly refill my well
Last year I figured out that I can refill my creative well more easily if I work on my fanfiction. This year I want to get better about posting on my fanfiction. This means getting better about regularly refilling my creative well in order to prevent burn outs.
Make Memories
2020 was a nightmare of a year and didn’t leave much room for fun. We managed to do a few things but I’m ready to wash 2020 away completely with better, happier memories.
When I told my cousin about my plans he accused me of trying to put too much on myself at once. I don’t think this is too much on my plate seeing as I’m not trying to conquer everything at once. If anything, having so much to occupy myself with has me feeling excited and ready to get this year started.
With that being said it is now time to share my goals for January and the first helping of what this year has in store.
Winter Quarter (December - February)
January Goals
Edit chapters 1-7 of Reaper
With each step taken, the closer I get to reaching my goal of publishing this book. Reaper is still a far cry from being done but I’m not giving up. It’s a surreal feeling to find myself at this point especially when I think about how this time last year the book wasn’t even finished.
Finish The Queen’s Guard
Thanks to NaNoWriMo this book is already half way through. I’m getting the feeling there’s only about 30k to go before this book is finished as well. I know it’s not going to be easy, trying to finish one book while editing another but I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out a system that will work. Hopefully by the end of the month I’ll be able to say I’ve written two books.
Read two books
I haven’t made my 2021 TBR yet so I don’t quite know what books I’ll be tackling this year but with all the writing I’ll be doing, I’m eager to have that escape into someone else’s story.
Exercise 3 times a week
As I mentioned above I plan on getting more serious about my health this year. That includes being more strict about exercising and the dreaded diet.
Add 2 new recipes to my cookbook
November and December had me lacking a bit but now I’m back on track and excited to get back to cooking. I’ve even started looking into recipes I can make in my cast iron.
Prep fics
I know I did this back in December but I only prepared enough to get me through January. Now I have to prep for February and hopefully get a little further ahead even though a month’s prep is my minimum.
Start Secret Goal
Today is actually the day I start putting into motion all the preparations I made during December for this goal. I’m excited yet a ball of nerves all at once.
Clearly my yearly word thus far is “excited”. There’s nothing wrong with it seeing as 2021 is the chance to crawl out of the pit of darkness that was 2020. That word is bound to change as the year goes on but for now I’m feeling pretty good about things.
Until next week!
✿ Happy reading and writing to all and to all a good day ✿
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