Getting my 2025 journal ready for the New Year. Looking over the old in the process.
Working out today (on my iFit incline trainer), the trainers are constantly talking. (It was bitter cold today. I’m glad I have equipment at home for days like today.) I find some of discourse repetitive and annoying. After all, if I’m climbing mountain trails, I want to be in a zone where it’s silent. But today, as he was talking about goals, he said something that resonated.
Becoming fit isn’t a one-time goal that you achieve and then move on to something else. Fitness is a lifetime goal.
Much like writing.
Writers set goals all the time. My perennial goal is to journal every day. I start out with best intentions, hot and heavy. Plus, you know, it’s not an unachievable goal. A page out of the Hobonichi takes about 15 minutes of my time, either by writing some prose or poetry, sketching, etc. (However, if you notice the above photo, there were some lost years. We’ll refer to them as owning the b&b years.)
As with NaNoWriMo, the National November Writing Month, the goal is to complete 50,000 words in November. Participating in NaNoWriMo is a commitment. After all, nearly 1500 words a day isn’t anything to sniff at. My first years at it, it would take me hours to complete each daily goal. With many years of practice, it became much easier.
I always set editing goals (fix this novel in three months, etc.), but then Real Life gets in the way. I rarely if ever accomplish my editing goals. This is on me, I know. I have to plant my butt into the chair and stay there. I have to concentrate. Modern life is fraught with all kinds of diversions that are hard to ignore.
However, I have never given up. I haven’t resorted to using ghost writers or AI. I prefer to struggle through on my own. In fact, I think it is necessary to struggle. I want people to critique my work and show me where I might try something different, or where I might have taken the wrong path. Writing (or any art) takes years and years to hone. You don’t just write a novel, type “The End” on the last page, and call it a day. You don’t just publish your work and rest on your accomplishment. Writing is a day after day, lifetime pursuit.
Yes, there are small writing goals. Small, easily achievable goals make the work seem not as daunting.
Basically what I’m saying is keep pushing on, keep pushing through. Pat yourself on the back at times, take a break at times. Don’t beat yourself up any time.
If this is your journey, make it a lifetime one.
Oh. And Happy New Year!
