2021 Writing Goals and Where Do We Go From Here?
I cannot believe how fast 2021 flew by. It honestly feels like yesterday I was writing down my goals for the year.
Since 2022 is only a few days away, I want to be the cliche person I am and quickly reflect on the end of last year to see what goals I hoped to achieve in 2021 while also setting new goals for the new year. Check out how to structure goals and bucket list items in this awesome step by step post on creating a vision board!
What did I want to accomplish in 2021?
When it came to writing I wanted to accomplish a few things and surprisingly I added more along the way.
Publish a Children's Book-I'm going to start off with the big accomplishment this year which includes self-publishing my children's book, Princess Gabriella and the Never-Ending Kiss. It took all of 2020 to get it done but didn't make its debut until February 2021. It hit the Best Seller charts in less than 36 hours! This is a huge accomplishment and something I can now cross off my bucket list.
Publish a Short Story- Amazon decided to launch a new program this year called Kindle Vella. I decided to be one of the first of many authors to publish their short stories or works in progress on the new program. You can check out my short story Team Lightning Against the Virus now! If you are interested in publishing your own story on Kindle Vella you can see how my experience went here.
Dream Journal- I dream every night and sometimes those dreams lead to very good stories or spark a great idea which is why I wanted to start writing them down. At first, I would try everyday but then I realized I didn't remember my dreams as much as I thought. So, I transitioned to writing the dream down later in the day if I felt it made an impact on me. Somehow, I was able to fill an entire dream journal with a few good concepts I will use for future short stories.
Blogging- When I began the blog, it was only supposed to be my author's website, but it has turned into so much more! I set a goal of publishing once a week on Monday's at 9 am. Including this post, I have not missed a Monday! In fact, I even posted twice on some weeks.
Writing Competition-I wanted to participate in at least one writing competition which I did back in November this year with the 250 Word Microfiction Challenge. It was tons of fun and I will most likely participate next year too!
Guest Posts-In the spring of this year, I decided to start a new series where guest authors would come on and talk about their journey of writing and self-publishing. It's been fantastic to speak with other authors and see their process. So much so, we had our very first Author's Week here on the blog featuring 3 children's book authors.
New Series- I also incorporated two other new series on the blog including Friend Adventures and Childhood Memories which is something I also love writing about.
Other- I'm also in the works of other great writing projects I hoped to start this year but know I wouldn't have time to release until 2022. So, lots of behind the scenes!
Besides items relating to writing, here are some other things I accomplished this year!
Ghost Hunting- I've always been obsessed with ghost hunting shows and wanting to do it for myself. This past October a few friends and I went to the local cemetery where we were taught how to use the special equipment. It was so much fun, and I can also cross this off my list of things to do.
Dog Sledding- Ever since I was little and watched Balto for the first time I knew I wanted to go dog sledding. Last year in our goal setting group, we all threw 3 to 5 bucket list items in a bowl and drew out one we would do together. Well dog sledding was picked and we had to wait a whole year before going so there would be snow. It was a blast and we learned so much about the dogs. There were even 4-month-old malamute puppies there!
New Job- At the end of last year, I quit my job of 5.5 years and decided to do something new. Well, I got an amazing job with an incredible team. Happy I made the choice.
Traveling- Each year I hope to travel to someplace new. I wasn't able to accomplish the last part of it, but my friend and I did travel to Yellowstone for a 3-day fun filled adventure where we saw tons of bison, elk, and a mama bear with her cubs.
I can't believe all I accomplished this year! So many things! I wonder what else I can try to fit in before the year is over:)
What about 2022?
Now that we've looked back on this year, we also get to look ahead to 2022. Let's start with writing goals!
The Blog Schedule- I've been enjoying the blog so much I decided to continue with posting on Mondays at 9a.m.
Dream Journal- I will also continue with dream journaling as it's fun to look back and see what crazy ideas my brain comes up with while asleep.
Guest Posts- It's been amazing working with other authors, and I want to continue doing so into 2022. So I plan to do another Author's Week sometime next year!
Low Content Book- I've been planning on doing a Low Content book since May of this year. I finally nailed down what it will be and plan on getting it published on Amazon before the end of the new year.
Writing Competition- I want to participate in another writing competition of some sort. This time a short story where I have to write at least 1200 words.
A Themed Writing Month- Back in June of this year, I thought of the idea of having a themed month for the blog. For the month of January, I hope to do just that!
These will be my main focus for writing as they are smaller goals to some bigger goals I have in the works including:
Traditional Publishing
Low Content Book
Finish a Series
Write a Fiction Novel
Stand Alone Children's Book
How To eBook
Short Story Collection
Short Story Magazine or Website
Besides the items relating to writing above, I have so many more goals and bucket list items I want to do in 2022. In fact, my theme for the new year is 'I'm Feeling 2022' where I have to do 22 things before the end of 2022. Here are some!
5. Get Rid of Apple TV
13. No Fast Food
16. Read at least 5 books
20. Drink from a Coconut
I'll be getting together with a few of my friends at the beginning of the year and we will be going over our themes. I'm going to make mine into a game board which should be fun!
Coming and Going on the Blog
We aren't done talking about writing yet! Even though I love all my series on the blog I want to add or change things up a bit. So, what does that mean?
Friend Adventures- I will be getting rid of my series Friend Adventures as it turns out most people don't like to be so spontaneous, which is totally fine! It was fun while it lasted.
Rating Series- I will be adding a rating series on the blog which include trying out products, sites, or materials made to support authors. I hope along the way I find some items I will also want to use going forward! Chedck out the first one here!
Subscriber Participation- this past year was great with subscriber participation so I hope to do more surveys and things where you can be involved.
Free Product- I would love to create a free writing product for all new subscribers for joining the blog as a way of saying thank you!
Final Thoughts
I can't wait to see what 2022 brings with it! Tell me in the comments what you hope to accomplish as far as goals and bucket list items. How do you go about completing them?
You can check out my past goals and updates and see how well I did. Do you have any that overlap?
See you in the exciting new year where we start the blog of with a themed month!
