A Writer's Goals

Well, the year is just about over. Time to set new goals as a writer. I seem to have the same goals every year: write and read more, submit manuscripts to publishers, nurture myself as a writer, attend at least one writer’s conference or workshop, value my writer friends, keep the hope up. Of course, I don’t always get all of these done. Each year seems to go by faster than the last one.

The above is what I wrote a couple of years ago, but it still applies. I went over my journal to see if I had really read as much as I had hoped to in 2011. I could have done better, but, oh, well. Some of the books I read were: Moon Over Manifest, Writing as a Sacred Path, Olive’s Ocean, Between Us Baxters, Noah’s Compass, Climbing the Stairs, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, The Help, The Water Seekers, Turtle in Paradise, Between Shades of Gray, Three Quarters Dead, Under the Mesquite, and There is no long distance now: very short stories by Naomi Shihab Nye. Add one more, a nonfiction book which I just read last night: Frances Hodgson Burnett: Beyond the Secret Garden by Angelica Shirley Carpenter and Jean Shirley.

This past year was a pretty good one for me as a writer. I feel truly blessed. I got three book contracts for picture books and McGraw Hill bought subsidiary rights for one of my books. I also was a recipient of the SCBWI/Amazon.com award for a work-in-progress piece. I hope 2012 will be a great year as well. I wish you a year of inspiration and great writing.

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates’ loot on Treasure Island … and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life.” – Walt Disney