This year was my fourth year of noveling, blogging and generally devoting my life to the written word. According to my Writing Progress Spreadsheet, my total tracked word count for the year is sitting right at 120,000 words, an accumulation of a novel, National Novel Writing Month, regularly posting to two blogs and some web fiction. No little accomplishment, I’d say! I’m pretty proud, considering I managed to do all that while also giving birth to my second child, losing my home, an out-of-state move and the everyday struggle of keeping my house from exploding into a ball of toddler-induced flames.
There are a couple of other things that have made this year an amazing one in terms of my writing ventures. First, the move allowed me to finally let go of my old business that wasn’t making me happy anymore to pursue writing as full time as my munchkins would allow me. I’ve even recently claimed 8 whole scheduled hours out of the house each week to dedicate solely to my novel. Second, in my new hometown, I have been so blessed to have finally found a support system that most writers only dream of. I have two critique partners that I meet with once a week, each of them bringing their own strengths to our group, and already we have accomplished some incredible things together. I love them like sisters.
I can only hope this year will bring even more progress and fulfillment. Here are some things I plan to achieve in 2013:
- Enter The Sandy Contest
- Participate in a Savvy Authors Workshop
- Edit my current novel to completion
- Query agents (and get one!)
- Write the 1st Draft of a new novel (during National Novel Writing Month)
- Continue regular blog posts on Hugs & Chocolate and on my personal blog
- Post regular web fiction here and on Wattpad.com
With any luck this year will be a big year for my writing career. After years of my back and forth feelings about publishing, I finally feel ready and excited about the prospect. But my heart has always been in making my stories available in a way that I can interact directly with readers so I’m excited about bringing new fiction to online readers as well. I hope you’re excited too!
To stay up-to-date with my progress and to get updates about new fiction online, be sure to also find me on Facebook at http://Facebook.com/jamieraintreeauthor and on Wattpad at http://Wattpad.com/jamieraintree.
What New Year’s goals have you set for this year? I wish you all the creativity and perseverance in reaching them! Here’s to another great year!
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Jamie Raintree
I write Women's Fiction, or what I like to call everyday fairytale love stories, appreciating the seemingly mundane moments in life that are truly magical. I am currently working on completing my first novel and until then, I post original fiction online. I live in Northern Colorado with my husband and two young daughters.
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Wow, you are an inspiration Jamie! You’ve accomplished so much in the midst of chaos and I love your clear and detailed plan for the year ahead. Good luck to you!!
Thank you so much, Nicole! I feel really lucky to have a supportive family. I couldn’t do it without them. I hope you have a great year!
You’ve done so much! Great goals for 2013. I’m with you on revising a manuscript to completion. My main goal is to submit this year. That means making the time to research places, etc.
It’s that getting to the end that is the hardest part! I’ve written so many drafts and done editing but sticking to it until I’ve edited it to death is something I have not yet done. And researching can be so grueling so I feel your pain! Let’s stick to it this year and get those submissions out there!
What a clever idea to include blog posts in word count. Now I wonder if I should include all the words in my lessons for MS Word for Fiction Writer course. Oo, awesome with sauce on top. See on GIAM and we’ll reach our goals together. High five…
I count any writing related to working on my craft. I figure it all counts in my growth as a writer. So why not include all yours too! Get creative with it! It’s so cool at the end of the year to see how much you’ve really accomplished!
I love seeing your progress! You’ve come far as a writer and I feel lucky having been around since you started writing online.
As for me, I wish I had the dedication to start, and keep, and online journal. I guess my problem is that I never know what I want. Where I want to take it. What my goals are. That sort of thing, ya know. For now, I’ll stick with reading, but hopefully when I have a desktop again, I can get something going.
Thank you. I really couldn’t have done it without your support. It means more to me than you know. I look forward to seeing you writing regularly again soon. You’re too talented to keep it bottled up. And you have fans too!