Like so many people, I entered 2020 with a set of goals that was almost immediately decimated by the arrival of COVID-19. Here’s a list of things I meant to do in 2020 and didn’t:

1. Revise Silent Grove – I brought the first few chapters to my critique group’s writing retreat in January, but when things got rough, I had to put this dark story aside.
2. Write a fantasy novel – I started Working Title: Gold Dust Story during April’s Camp Nanowrimo, but it wasn’t quite the right time for this story, either.
3. Attend an SCBWI writers retreat – these were all cancelled or moved to virtual, so that didn’t happen
4. Plan a trip and travel – Had a trip all booked for Aruba at the end of March… guess what happened to that

But I did get a lot done this year. These things weren’t on my official list, but I’m glad 2020 gave me the space to do them!

1. Waiting Room on Wattpad’s Paid Stories – This was a huge step forward in my writing career and has made me reconsider how I’m pursuing publication.
2. Wrote The Last Time We Met – I’m still in the process of posting this to Wattpad, but it is complete. Writing an 80K novel during a pandemic, about a pandemic, is no small feat, and I’m proud of myself for doing it!
3. Read over 150 books – Considering how hard it was to concentrate during the first month or so of the pandemic, I’m proud that I’ve read so many.
4. Got my finances in order – Who knew all it took was not being able to eat out, shop, or travel? With refunds from the Aruba trip and a writing conference, I paid off my student loans, opened a retirement fund, and it might be possible to buy a house at some point in the next few years. I’m so thankful that my job was never threatened by the pandemic and that I’ve been able to not have to worry about money on top of everything else going on.
5. Adapted to the new normal – This isn’t anything specific, but many things. For a while it felt like there was something new each week. I managed to set myself a new workout schedule (since my gym, yoga studio, and kickboxing studio were all closed), innovate ways to connect to patrons at the library, and keep my spirits up.

So, that’s not too bad, I think. I’m actually surprised now that I see it all written down.

I did some 2021 goal-setting with my critique group and I have plans for this new year… but what will the future bring?? Hopefully:

• Organizing: Mainly, my clothing closet and my craft closet, but I also want to organize all my writing odds and ends that are overflowing from my file cabinet.
• Reading more from my TBR instead of whatever shiny new book crosses the circulation desk at the library
• Watch less TV (so as to have more time to blog, market, and write)
• Finish/Revise: I’m looking at Into the Mist, The Silent Grove, and Animal Nature. I want manuscripts that feel complete to me (Animal Nature is complete, but it needs to be about 20K longer).
• Outline/Write: I have several manuscripts that could use an outline to help me write them to the point where I have a manuscript that feels complete to me (The Nostradamus Project, Animal Nature 2, Gold Dust Story)

I have a few other minor goals that go along with some of these, but these are my major goals that I can’t wait to start working on! Do you have any goals planned for 2021?