I'm a planning nerd. A fresh new date planner makes me weak in the knees and a Gantt chart makes me positively giddy. Much of that comes from my days in the corporate world where yearly budgets and marketing plans were part of the job. So when I switched to writing, I took some of that nerdiness with me. 

How does it work for a writer? 

Mission statement
When I first started, I wrote out a mission statement: write stories with the honesty and heart to touch readers. 

I didn't say be a best selling author or make enough money to buy that dream car. I can fantasize about those all I want, but they're not within my control. But being the kind of writer who produces meaningful stories, that I can control.

I know, you're thinking, "seriously? you wasted time on that?"

There have been many times over the years that I've doubted why I continue to do this. When rejections pile up or a crappy review hits hard, I look at that mission statement and adjust my focus.

What will I accomplish this year
I need goals. Goals motivate me and keep me focused. At the beginning of each year, I look back at what I accomplished the year before, what didn't go to plan and why. After that, I make a list of the things I'd like to accomplish. Those, my friends, are NOT my goals for the year. I have big eyes when it comes to wanting to do. There are so many story ideas, so many projects I want to take on. Goals need to be attainable, otherwise you're setting yourself up for frustration and failure.

I take that wish list and give it a healthy reality check. I factor in trips that I already know about or anticipate happening, other projects that will take chunks of time, family schedules, and the biggest factor, my process. There are writers who can crank out a book in 6 months or less. That is not me, that will never be me. Okay, never say never but I'm pretty sure that's not in the cards for me.

I pick apart the wish list and take the three or four projects I want to focus on. That usually includes finishing up with a previously started manuscript (I seem to be on a schedule that has me in the final editing at the beginning of each year), starting something completely new, and then I'll add one or two additional projects that I've been wanting to tackle (maybe it's a first draft of a book in a new-to-me genre, or starting research on yet another project). 

Where do I want to be in 5 years
Here's where I allow myself a bit of fantasizing. Some of what gets put in this section I can control, some I can't. But even with the items I can't control (making a best of list, securing new contracts, etc), I know the steps to get there. Those are the carrots that push me to past the speed bumps.

What resources do I need to achieve those goals
​Here again, I generally start with a wish list then switch out the princess glasses for ones grounded in reality. What kind of marketing/publicity support do I need and what are the options? Do I need to redo my website or have photos taken? What about attending writer retreats/conferences? Any research trips? What workshops or webinars do I want to attend?What time do I need in order to achieve my goals? 

Having a business plan and revisiting it at the beginning of each year is me taking myself seriously. It's what I need to stay focused and move my writing career forward. 

Yesterday, I sat down and set my goals for the year. 2021 will be fun! 

Every January I pick a word that will be my guide for the year ahead. Usually I end up with a couple of ideas and let them percolate a bit before deciding on the one. This year, however, the word presented itself, fully formed and ready for action.  

​My word for 2021 ... 

Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

I'm not sure about the "quickly" in the definition. Recovering from the challenges of the past year (more if I'm honest) will be a slow, steady endeavor but resilience is about not giving up. It's about taking the lessons and using them as momentum forward. I don't consider myself tough. 

Resilience will be picking myself up after a fall, maintaining hope when the knocks come, finding the positive when it's easier to see the negative. But most of all, resilience will be about not being defeated. Because I can and I will!

I admit, I struggled with reading during 2020. Not for lack of amazing books but for lack of focus. I started this book on January 1, 2020 and immediately fell for the delightful essays. So much so, actually, that I wanted to savor the book. I rationed the essays to one a night.

A few weeks ago I hit another mood slump which also translates to a reading slump. I plucked this book back out of the bookshelves and read a few essays. It's a lovely book that will remind you that life is made up of little moments and that joy is everywhere if you open your heart. 

From Goodreads:
Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights is a genre-defying book of essays—some as short as a paragraph; some as long as five pages—that record the small joys that occurred in one year, from birthday to birthday, and that we often overlook in our busy lives. His is a meditation on delight that takes a clear-eyed view of the complexities, even the terrors, in his life, including living in America as a black man; the ecological and psychic violence of our consumer culture; the loss of those he loves. Among Gay’s funny, poetic, philosophical delights: the way Botan Rice Candy wrappers melt in your mouth, the volunteer crossing guard with a pronounced tremor whom he imagines as a kind of boat-woman escorting pedestrians across the River Styx, a friend’s unabashed use of air quotes, pickup basketball games, the silent nod of acknowledgment between black people. And more than any other subject, Gay celebrates the beauty of the natural world—his garden, the flowers in the sidewalk, the birds, the bees, the mushrooms, the trees.

This is not a book of how-to or inspiration, though it could be read that way. Fans of Roxane Gay, Maggie Nelson, and Kiese Laymon will revel in Gay’s voice, and his insights. The Book of Delights is about our connection to the world, to each other, and the rewards that come from a life closely observed. Gay’s pieces serve as a powerful and necessary reminder that we can, and should, stake out a space in our lives for delight.