2011 Year in Review: Writer's Goals

At the beginning of 2011, I wrote a very long post with an assortment of goals for 2011.  This post will look at the progress I made on the writer's goals for 2011 that I posted; as with yesterday's post, I'll put my updates in purple.  Tomorrow, I'll update the progress made on other goals.

Writing Goals
Let me just capture them here:

--Write in my paper journal once a week.
I did not do this.  I mainly use my paper journal when I'm away from the computer, or when I need to sort out something that shouldn't be done in as public a space as a blog is.

--Continue blogging and being open to new blogging opportunities.
I have done this.  I've been interested in transforming blog pieces into essays and articles for other sources.  I've done this to some extent.  I want to do more.  I've also written 16 blog posts for the Living Lutheran site and several blog postings for the Voice Alpha site.

--Write a poem a week: Let me define what I mean by poem, which is not what I meant yesterday, when I created my accomplishments list. I want a poem a week that is as finished as I can make it.
I wrote 48 poems, but not one each and every week.  Sometimes, I wrote two in one week.  For the most part, however, I did write one poem each week, with the exception of some travel weeks and wrestled into a finished shape.  I also wrote a lot of fragments.  I'd like to think they'll be poems one day, but I rarely go back to those fragments.

--Continue to send out submissions, both of manuscripts and individual poems.
I have done this.

--Write the short stories that my linked collection will need. Do the revising of the existing stories that the linked collection will need. Have the linked collection finished by this time next year.

Alas, I did not do this.

--Book Promotion: I'm seeing this year's AWP as a practice run for next year (this year's AWP isn't as scary, because I have family in the area and I know the city and feel confident about my ability to use public transit). I will force myself to go to Chicago in 2012, I will force myself to promote my chapbook.

Other ways of book promotion: making bookmarks. Making business cards. Creating order forms. Remembering to carry those with me. Creating a video promotion series for the book. Sending out additional postcards.

I should also start to think in terms of lining up readings. Will this be the year that my mom and I complete our goal/dream of doing a poetry and organ presentation? My mom is one of the best musicians I know.
I did a lot of promotion, sending out mailings and creating promos and lining up readings. My mom and dad moved to Williamsburg, so we didn't get to do as many projects as we might have in a calmer year.  But I feel like I did a lot to promote my new chapbook.

--Other projects: I'd like to work on some book-length projects that my mom and I have been discussing, theology books and/or worship books for small children. Could we do it? We have an audience with my sister's child. He won't be our target age group much longer.

In an earlier post, I wrote these goals:

So, I think that in the coming year, I'll try to write in my paper journal once a week. While I'm at it, let's make some other writing goals, and let me keep them small and attainable. Then, at the end of 2011, I'll see how I did:

1. Write in my paper journal once a week.

2. Write at least one poem a week.

3. Continue to blog on a near-daily basis, when I have computer access.

4. Arrange at least 3 readings to promote my new chapbook.

5. Continue to submit both individual poems and book-length manuscripts.

These goals aren't very different from the goals above; I include them because I arranged precisely 3 readings.  Interesting, eh?  I did blog on a near-daily basis, and this year, I also wrote blog posts in advance for times when I was away.

My poetry goals don't change radically from year to year, but I do miss fiction writing, and I do miss all the other kinds of writing I might be doing.  But let me remember that I did some writing that I don't usually do throughout the year, and that those opportunities took me away from fiction writing.

I did some other types of writing that I didn't anticipate when the year began.  I wrote the August prayers for a book of daily devotions, Bread for the Day.  I wrote some meditations on Sunday Gospels for the post-Easter season for Sundays and Seasons.  I served as a judge for a poetry contest.  I wrote several essays for The Lutheran.  I wrote an essay for Women and Poetry:  Tips on Writing, Teaching, and Publishing by Successful Women Poets. 

All in all, it's been a great writing year.  I'm hoping that 2012 will be even better!