Ah, that pie in the sky made of delightful sweet dreams
created by the ambitious determined young and those still young-at-heart. My
dreams and goals overturned a few years ago and went up in smoke. Guess I should have been wearing blinders so
that my eyes would have remained on the goal.
What to do now? Can I clean up
the derailed train wreck and start anew?
After doing some research about setting and keeping goals, I
was reminded of a few pointers I had failed to follow.
1) Create accountability.
Now there’s a problem for me. Who
to trust with my writing goals? Who will
not laugh or criticize my dreams? Who
will encourage me and give ideas for new topics or how to make a story better,
and help me stay on the schedule I’ve set for myself? It would be nice to have a
few writers nearby to meet with once a month to discuss writing projects and
encourage each other. A small intimate
group of five or six writers would be comfortable.
2) Believe in oneself.
Oh, another tripping hazard. Can
I really write a novel that others would want to read? Would a publishing house
buy the manuscript?
3) Reason for pursuing this goal? Ah, that’s a difficult question for me to
answer. My selfish side wants to boost
my ego and see a book with my name on it as the author. Part of me wants to do it for the fun and
excitement of a new adventure. Part of
me wants the novel to help bring tourists to a forgotten ghost town and its
surrounding area.
Many things that I have accomplished and experienced in life
were the result of my fluttering like a butterfly. When opportunities appeared,
I jumped in just for the experience.
It’s an exciting way to trip down life’s road but on the other hand,
most goals are never met. So then, can this butterfly change into something
that flies a straight line and can remain on course to reach a particular
destination? Or will my dreams remain as pies in the sky?
Thanks for sharing Shirley. I'm a goal setter so I like hearing how other people do it and are faring with their goals.
ReplyDeleteI know our Women Word Weaver's help and encourage one another in the areas you mention. Would it be possible for you to find a few InScribers or other writing friends online and form a small online group. Our WWW meeting in Barrhead, AB meets on Monday and I am chairing this first meeting of the new year, which we all look forward too. (I need more prep time before then.
ReplyDeleteThese writing friends hold me accountable. They help me believe in myself, and we have discussions about existential question like, Why am I doing this anyway? I'm offering a prayer, Shirley, that you will find someone, maybe a writing buddy, to connect with over breakfast. (I have a breakfast writing buddy and we do test each other for accountability and check the other one when either of us starts the negative talk. We laugh a lot too, because every good writer needs a sense of humour. Blessings to you.
I understand Shirley. My local Christian writers' group disbanded and I really miss them.But I do still have a local group of writers who meet once a month. But I still have to do the work of getting my writing in on time and this last month. I failed to do even that.
ReplyDeleteDon't give up. I'll be praying you find a group.