2022 Writing Goals and Where Do We Go from Here?
And just like that 2022 is over. It feels like yesterday I was writing my 2021 post.
As I do at the end of each year, I like to reflect not only on my writing goals. but my personal goals as well. At the same time, I like to look ahead to see where I would like to go next. Before we think of the future though, let's look back on 2022.
What did I want to accomplish in 2022?
Even though I had set some writing goals this year, they weren't on my high priority list compared to previous years. Even so, I still seemed to accomplish a few!
Published a Low Content Book-I'm going to start off with the big accomplishment this year which included self-publishing my low content book, 45 Writing Prompts for Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Writers. From start to finish, I designed and formatted everything myself. Overall, I'm so happy with the end results and to see some of the stories that have come of it.
Celebrated One Year as a Self-Published Author- I have no clue where the time went but Princess Gabriella and the Never-Ending Kiss celebrated one year of being published. If it wasn't for this book, this blog wouldn't even exist.
Designed a Story Game- This year for my birthday, I decided to write an interactive game play where you follow along in an adventure story. It was so much fun, and everyone who participated enjoyed it.
Blogging- Like last year, I set a goal to publish a post every Monday at 9 a.m. Well, once again, I did it! Some posts were harder to get through than others but for the most part blogging is still a fun hobby of mine.
Writing Competition-This year, I wanted to participate in one writing competition of at least 1,200 words. I haven't submitted my writing yet, but I have until the end of the year! I did compete in the 250 Microfiction Challenge for the third time and submitted to the 6 Word Story Challenge. Results won't be until next year-fingers crossed!
Guest Posts-I love guest posts! This year, I wanted to work with more authors within the community which I think I did a great job doing. We had two new firsts, including a short story and then a book review by guests. Go check them out if you haven't already.
New Series- I added two new series to the blog including Book vs. Movie where I compare the two and decide which format relayed the storyline better. I also added Ghost Writer vs. Ghost Writer where I have two writers go head-to-head with the same prompt to see which story ends up best.
Themed Months- This year, I wanted to have an entire month dedicated to a theme. I began the year with All Things Nordic which included a story of my time in Iceland, a book review on the folklore, and talking about the Nordic countries in general. It was so fun, I decided to have an All Things Spooky Month in October where I found out I love learning about authors and their writing inspirations.
Besides items relating to writing, here are some other things I accomplished this year!
Crystal Hunting- For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to go crystal hunting. So, this year, a friend and I took a road trip and found ourselves some beautiful quartz crystals while also going to check out the ghost town nearby.
Aerial Yoga- I've always seen photos of people hanging from sheets tied to the ceiling while twisting and twirling. Well, a group of us got to go out and do just that! I got motion sickness about 3/4th of the way through but I pushed through!
Traveling- Each year I hope to travel to someplace new. This year, a friend and I decided to hit up Portland. It was an interesting trip to say the least! Even with all the weird things that happened, I'm happy we were able to go.
There are so many more little things I did this last year, but the highlights are definitely my favorites.
What about 2023?
Now that we've looked back on this year, we also get to look ahead to 2023. Let's start with writing goals!
The Blog Schedule- The blog has been so fun to work on the last two years, but I want to work on some other forms of writing which is why I'll be posting two times per month starting January. Posts will still go live on Mondays at 9 a.m.
Short Story Collection- I've always wanted to write a short story collection based on scary stories. Over the years, I've had some pretty strange encounters I think would work perfect for this book.
A Novel- Since senior year of high school I've wanted to write a full-length novel based on a dream I had one night. I've held it off for years, but I feel 2023 is the year to get in down on paper.
There are many writing goals this coming year, but the time I need to put into each one is much greater than last year. Here's a list of some other writing goals I will also keep in mind.
Traditional Publishing
Finish a Series
Stand Alone Children's Book
How To eBook
Short Story Magazine or Website
My yearly theme for 2022 was 'I'm Feeling 2022' where I had to accomplish 22 personal goals. I didn't accomplish all 22 but it was close! For 2023, my theme is going to be 'Be the Main Character', which if you watch Tiktok, you'll know what that means! Let's just say my life is about to be more aesthetically pleasing and more comfortable while focusing on myself. Some of these things include:
Be Healthy
Travel
I already designed my vision boards which, of course, is a book decorated with butterflies!
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?
Book Reviews- Get ready to see some more book reviews as I've recently redownload Audible and will most likely be listening to a new story each week!
Randomly Generated Short Stories Series- Since I will be working on short stories outside of the blog, I will most likely have to cut back on the short stories on the site. This saddens me a bit as it is my favorite series.
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 2023 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?
See you next year with new and exciting things!
