Happy New Year!

We made it! Here it is a new year, a new decade and we're still alive. Always something to be thankful for, you know? We spent the night watching Aliens Vs. Monsters (pretty cute, could've been better) and then played Chutes and Ladders twice, Life once and consumed lots of hot chocolate. We watched the ball drop in Times Square. All in all it was a good night. One of the most important things we did together as a family was to each make a list of goals. The court jester was not too pleased, but he joined in. Before I share my writerly goals, let me remind you of some of the simpler things in life to strive for.

Princess Kayla:
Be nicer to Rhiannon by controlling my temper. (She screams...kind of like her, uh, mom-the other one, not me!)
Be nicer to Jace by not calling him names.
IF YOU CAN'T SAY ANYTHING NICE DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL (she has memorized this)
Learn how to fix stuff like my daddy.
Learn how to change a diaper.
Learn how to pour drinks for mom and dad. (Before you worry that my six year old is mixing cocktails she is speaking of coca cola and diet pepsi)

Princess Rhiannon:
Make better grades by staying focused at school and doing my homework every night.
Ask for help when I need it.
Be more helpful by learning how to help daddy outside.
Learn how to change a diaper.
Work on learning guitar. (She got a guitar last year for her birthday when my guitar playing brother lived with us....he moved out, we haven't found another teacher)
Work on my dancing and singing.

Too cute, I had to share. I especially like that Princess Rhiannon wants to work on asking for help...it's something we all need to remember.
On to my goals...I will leave out the personal ones, and skip straight to my writing life goals. :0) I don't like to call them resolutions...resolutions are overrated is what I say. However, there is nothing like a new year to feel like you have a clean slate to make some new goals and stick to them.

1. Experience more...get out of the house. Remember those feelings, smells and descriptions to add richness to my stories.
2. Read more...I admit, I slack in this area. I tend to compare, or simply not enjoy reading for the fun of it while I'm working on a WIP. However, as I've started reading a bit more in the past few months, I found my love of it again and worked out a good balance between reading for fun and reading to tear something apart.
3. Buy one writing book...I don't think I've ever read a book on the craft of writing except for my course manual for writing for children. I'd really like to get Donald Maas's Fire in Fiction after a fellow blogger posted about it.
4. Start book reviews, author interviews and contests on my blog. Try to learn more about it so I can make it look professional.
5. Learn how to write a good query letter
6. Learn how to write a synopsis. (I know, horrible aren't I?)
7. Finish Addictions and query agents
8. Stay more updated in the business aspect of the publishing industry. Learn, learn, learn!!

I've really enjoyed reading everyone else's posts on their goals for the new year. The energy is contagious and that is a great undercurrent of power for us writers. Keep it up! Here's to a new year full of learning new things, finding new successes and laughing more often than not. :0)