Looking Forward to 2024
How is it that 2023 is already over? It feels like it just began! Yet, here we are again, for the fourth December in a row, going over my writing goals as well as some other fun adventures.
This year felt a bit different than most as I shifted from intense goal setting to more leisurely activities. It was a nice pace of change, but I will be happy to get my momentum going again come 2024. Even so, I accomplished so many things. So let's check them out.
What did I want to accomplish in 2023?
This year, I wanted to sit back and relax more than in previous years, but that didn't mean I got to cut back on writing.
Celebrated Two Years as a Self-Published Author- Back in January Princess Gabriella and the Never-Ending Kiss celebrated two years of being published. My low content book, 45 Writing Prompts for Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Writers followed a month later celebrating it's one year being publication date.
Blogging- This last year, I switched to publishing every other week to work on some other projects. I managed to stay on schedule with the regular biweekly Monday posts.
Guest Posts- Once again, I worked with some lovely self-published authors as well as illustrators who were able to share their work on the blog. I love seeing what everyone is creating and what stories they can tell. I can't wait to see who else I connect with.
New Series- I decided to bring back 5 Authors Who Write Horror as a regular October blog post. Seeing how authors tick and come up with their ideas is fascinating to me and I would love to continue this series each year moving forward.
Novel- Last year, I decided I was going to enter a writing competition in which I needed to write a short story of 4,500 words. As I was writing and one conversation with my mom later, I realized it was more than just a short story. It's a trilogy. Over the last year, I have been plotting, outlining, and slowly getting to know my characters as I write my story. The story itself I find to be unique and the situations they find themselves in are sad, yet relatable. It's going to take time, but the final story will be one I can't wait for others to read.
Writing Sessions- At the beginning of the year, a friend of mine was also working on some short stories, so I thought it would be fun to have a weekly writing session. We stopped briefly for the summer but now with the winter months ahead they will kick back into gear.
Besides items relating to writing, here are some other things I accomplished this year!
Traveling- I always try to go somewhere new each year, and this year we went North to Glacier National Park. We spent a few days there and had a wonderful time seeing what nature has to offer. I will definitely go back one day.
Books- This year, I decided to give myself a goal of 20 books to read to get back into the swing of reading. Well, I not only completed the goal but also read 21 more for a total of 41! This includes an array of young adult, fiction, and nonfiction. My top picks for the year go to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and A Beast So Fierce.
Hot Air Balloon- My roommate asked if I wanted to help set up a hot air balloon. I couldn't say no! It was a fun afternoon spent chasing a floating barn and learning how to operate everything.
These are some of the highlights from the year as not all could make the list.
What about 2024?
Now that we've looked back on this year, we also get to look ahead to 2024. Let's start with writing goals!
The Blog Schedule- The blog has been so fun to work on the last three years, but I want to continue working on my novel. So the schedule will remain the same with biweekly posts going live on Mondays at 9 a.m. Don't worry though! I have tons of ideas and most of the next quarter planned.
A Novel- I want to continue working on my novels and plan to have the first written, formatted and ready for querying.
Querying- I want to begin the process of querying my novel for traditional publishing. You heard that here first! I want to traditionally publish my novel. I think the idea is unique and something most folks would be intrigued to read.
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.
Finish a Series
Stand Alone Children's Book
How To eBook
Short Story Magazine or Website
My yearly theme for 2023 was 'Be the Main Character' where I wrote down everything that stood out in a story format within 5 broader goals. I think I did a pretty good job sticking to it. For 2024, my theme is going to be 'Untitled', because even though I do technically have a title for my novel it will be considered untitled until I have it published. I will also be working towards a house this year in which I want to own a title and until then I am untitled.
For my vision board I hope to have a physical playhouse with each room relating to my goals. I think it's a fun idea and will be easy to put together.
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.
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 2024 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!
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