Writing Goals 2012

Every January, I like to go over my goals for the year.  Posting them online sort of holds me accountable, so I’ll update my progress quarterly. Landing an agent, publishing contract, and a spot on the NY Times Bestseller list are things I want and hope to achieve one day, but I’m only putting things on my list that I have to power check off from my efforts.  I love crossing out things I’ve accomplished and don’t want to frustrate myself with stuff that’s out of my immediate control.

My Writing Goals for 2012
1)  Log in at least one hour per weekday on my writing career
2)  Write a new novel
3)  Finish/Polish/or Revise the 7 manuscripts in FINISH ME NOW, DAMN IT!  pile
(Some only need tweaks, others lack a few chapters)
4)  Attend more writing conferences and workshops
5)  Join a writer’s guild
6)  Submit something somewhere each week
7)  Write 12 poems
8)  Write 10 short stories

What are your goals for this year?

Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”

The Awakening by Kate Chopin is the story of a woman in the 1890s who felt that, due to the social and moral restrictions of her era, she would never be free to live her life the way she wanted.  Chopin’s prose is beautiful, with vivid descriptions of Louisiana scenery.  Her sarcastic wit made the characters come alive, and took the edge off the sadness in this story.

Edna Pontellier’s married life in New Orleans, with her Catholic Creole husband and the customs and traditions so different from her childhood in Kentucky, leaves her wanting more.  Her husband provides her with a stately home and posh lifestyle, but views her as more of an accessory than a soulmate, caring more about what people think than how his wife feels.  Edna loves her two small sons, but motherhood is not the definition of her existence.

Kate Chopin captured the essence of late Victorian life for women, who were expected to be perfect wives and mothers content to fulfill their husbands’ every wish and keep up the appearances.  Activities like music and art were fine, as Edna’s husband points out, as long as they didn’t interfere with her social obligations.

In the story, Edna’s very soul seems to be awakened when she starts to fall for a man known for flirting.  When she stops her Tuesday open house to visitors, takes up a serious interest in sketching, and befriends a pianist disliked for speaking her mind, her husband fears she’s losing her mind.  And when another man is enchanted by Edna, it only adds to her depression and struggle to find herself.

I totally recommend this novel as well as Kate Chopin’s short stories, my favorite of which was ‘Desiree’s Baby’.

Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks Excel chart

Since I’ve signed up for the Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge at the same time I’m learning to use Excel 2010, I thought I’d make a nice little chart to log my progress.  You can download and use it, but if it opens in Read-Only, you’ll need to save it as a copy to be able to type in your info.

52in52Blank

There’s an entry spot for you to keep up with the genres, on the right at the top.  Then you can click on the ‘Chart’ tab at the bottom to open up a pretty cool pie chart that shows how many books you have left to go and the percentage you’ve read in each genre.

You should be able to customize it to fit your needs.

If  you find anything I need to fix, just let me know.  I’ve never uploaded an Excel Doc before, so I’m open to suggestions.    Let me know if you use it.

Happy Reading!