This is the first year I have actively chosen to take a vacation during the Christmas season since becoming a writer over 10 years ago. My family and friends know that when I come visit for more than just the day, I’m bringing work with me. But this year, because it is the last Christmas we’ll spend Stateside for a while, I planned to spend all my time with friends and family and try to leave work behind until vacation ends next Monday.

That’s why today feels like Saturday to me. Yesterday felt like Saturday, too. Since it hasn’t felt like Tuesday for a while, I completely forgot to do my Tuesday work – write this blog to post today! LOL! Then I looked at our calendar and realized that last week I wrote about both last week’s and this week’s topics. Which led me to wonder – would anyone like to know what I’m thinking about personally right now as I plan my writing life for the next year?

Sowing.

During our kind-of-annual writing retreat a couple weeks ago with my friends Kathleen and Lauraine, Kathleen gave me two books by John C. Maxwell – Make Today Count and Running with the Giants. As the three of us talked about what was going on in our lives, and reading some of Make Today Count, we came to see that “sowing” and “discipline” would be high on our list of things to focus on in 2009.

The Biblical teacher Paul wrote in a letter to the people in Corinth, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

When I read this, I couldn’t help but think about my writing. I’ve been sowing a bit sparingly the last year or two. I’ve been putting in my time, but I haven’t put in enough time to make great strides. And too often I sat down to write reluctantly, afraid no good would come of it and thinking about all the other things I could do that would give me more immediate satisfaction. My writing sometimes sounded like it, too, like it hadn’t come from a place of joy. I’d been trying to do what others said I must – a daily page count or word count, a certain number of hours, etc. – instead of deciding in my heart what I wanted to give and giving it cheerfully.

So that’s one of the things I’m going to change this year. But sowing generously will take a lot of discipline on my part. For one thing, I’ve filled in my “extra” hours with other activities. During the last three months I’ve been working to get those activities out of my life again. For a while at least…to everything there is a season, after all.

I’ve been reading that passage over and over (it’s 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 if you’re interested) trying to understand how to apply it to my situation. It sounds kind of scary hard - I have to decide what I am going to commit to and then discipline myself to not only do it but do it cheerfully, knowing that many seeds take months or years before they become plants, and even longer to bear fruit.

But the part that gives me hope, that lends an exciting air to this venture, that even teases me to make a tiny bit bigger goal than I might otherwise commit to, is the part about God’s grace being with me to such an extent that in all things at all times, I will have all I need to thrive in every good work. Even every good work of fiction!

Cool!

Do intentions count? In our heart, yes; in the real world, not so much. Intentions are your goals and objectives, and it is really important to have them. They create a vision for us and what we want from life, but they are just the beginning. You have to push beyond that and focus on results.

The world is interested in what you actually accomplished. Your results are what separate your goals from your dreams. Dreams don’t have to come true, they are things you expect to happen to you. Goals are followed by action and they are a materialization of what you plan to do. It’s not enough to intend to finish that report, do those taxes, bake those cookies, or write that story.

So often we have other people affected by our intentions, this motivates us to complete the task. You don’t expect your boss, friend, school, or family to understand that you intended to do it but didn’t. Your intentions are part of a bigger picture, a relay race with someone at the end to pass the baton to (the completed goal). Unfortunately for many beginning writers it’s more of a marathon with a lot of personal battles along the way, a solo journey with a lot of personal satisfaction at the end. At the end it is you full of pride and joy, your manuscript/article, and the new intention to get published. How, when it is just you, do you turn your intentions into actual results?

One great way is a blog like this, which works to give you the tools to focus and find the right routine to meet your goals. You are part of an environment where you don’t have to feel alone. You can train and run your marathon with people just like you.

An often overlooked but vital tool for getting results is the evaluation process. You have a goal, you have a plan, but if you don’t track your progress and make adjustments, you may have a very big gap between what you intended to accomplish and what actually got accomplished. Now is not the time to let yourself down.

I really do think that the secret to your success is going to be found in the time to take to evaluate your progress and compare the final result with your intended target. It may seem unnecessary or a waste of time, but you are investing in long term solutions. You are giving yourself the tools to streamline and improve the process.

Evaluating as you go will help you see circumstances that need adjusting for, allow you to keep people updated on your progress and reward yourself for exceeding expectations. When you have your plan broken down to measurable elements you can track your progress. By making adjustments as you go, you are more likely to have your intended results line up with your actual results. You won’t be shocked by discrepancies and you’ll have a framework that is repeatable. That is vital. How amazing to be able to have created a system that you can comfortably repeat. Success to the end.

Evaluating the final results is just as crucial. Don’t skip this step. Yes you’re tired, anxious, and glad it’s all over, but until you look at the process with hindsight it’s not really over. This step is important to ensuring you understand what went right and what went wrong. You will need this information to improve the results and tighten the gap between your intentions and actuality the next time you map out your goals. This is your chance to begin the next project with hindsight, to pull out your final evaluation on your last project and factor in the things that worked and didn’t work.

The evaluation process is a vital tool to creating a system that is manageable, enjoyable, and successful. Give yourself the time to take your best intentions and turn them into a successful actuality.

Last week I said that I ask myself a lot of questions when I’m making new goals. Am I feeling confident or nervous or discouraged - right now? Do I need a carrot or a threat or a reward - right now? The point to adding “right now” is that you may find your goals need to be adjusted as life moves and changes around you.

Day by day, I may choose to lower my daily writing goal if my husband is home sick. (I can tell you, my goal is definitely lowered if I am home sick!) I increase my daily goals when on a writing retreat. And I try to meet the long-term totals monthly, quarterly and annually by catching up on good days.

I’m a planner, so when I make my goals for the new year, I am looking at all the times I know I’ll be out of town, all the holidays and other occasions I know I’m going to want to spend with family and friends, and anything else I know is coming. In 2009, I am moving to the other side of the world! My husband will be working on Happy Feet 2 in Sydney, Australia, so not only do I have to plan around moving, I have to plan around feeling like I’m on permanent vacation!

What is on your schedule next year? What “normal” things and what one-time events (a wedding?) do you have to plan your writing around? If you make goals that are specific and have a time limit, you can find a sense of accomplishment and success. And if you look at it as a long-term flexible process, you can continually adjust your goals up or down as you need to in order to continue in a mindset of success and not failure. (This is easier said than done, but keep trying!)

I also try to evaluate which goals I want to have a ceiling and/or a floor. For instance, starting in January I’m going to try a new way to get more writing done, writing all day three days a week. (I find it difficult to stop what I’m doing and move on to something else, so I’m going to try this new system. If it doesn’t work, I’ll go back to my half day, five days a week schedule and look for other ways to make it work for me.) So I’ll have a floor of three days of writing a week, and a ceiling of six days a week.

I promised last week that I would commit to my 2009 goals here today. Eeek! Asking myself the questions above, I decided I’m confident and a little nervous, and I want the reward of finishing a couple of books as well as the carrot of taking time off to enjoy the move. So -

Finish 1 category romance and send it out by April 30, 2009
Finish a second category romance and send it out by December 15, 2009
Finish the rewrite on my single title and send it out by December 15, 2009

I’ll be moving in July, so this schedule gives me enough time to write and get all my “life” stuff done. I’ll reevaluate my goals on those dates and/or when I finish those books. If I finish early, I may want to add another writing goal. If I find myself pressed for time because of the move, I may want to extend the dates. Either way, the more I plan for success and set myself up for success, the more likely I will be successful!

What about you? What are your goals for the new year?

         Goals. Resolutions. Objectives. Whatever you call them, they are basically the same thing. And January seems to be a time of year that incites people to make them, to put unrealistic expectations on themselves and then spend the next year (or 10!) beating themselves up for not succeeding. I’m not sure why that is, but I suspect that in many cases these resolutions are unrealistic (I’m going to lose 50 pounds without changing my lifestyle or I’m going to write 5 hours every day when I really only have 15 minutes free in my schedule from 6 am to midnight). It is also possible that there is nothing holding the resolutions together, no common theme or objective. I’m going to discuss that next week. This week I want to identify what makes a good and helpful goal, one that will aid you in accomplishing it and encourage you to continue past it.

From my experience, I’ve learned that a good goal is:

• concrete,
• specific,
• achievable and
• has a time limit.
• And, to really be successful, it needs a reward attached to it, something motivating that will kick you into high gear when you start to lag and create excuses to quit.

         I’ve talked about this before, but it bears repeating. Goals have to be concrete, specific. “I’m going to write more” is not a good goal. You will never know when you accomplish it. And, if you are like me, even if you do somehow convince yourself you did it (I wrote more than I did yesterday), it is too nebulous to be maintained (everyday you have to write more than the day before? Or more than your best day? How do you decide?) So the first rule is that any goal you make must be specific.

         It must be achievable. If your schedule is so full during the week that you fall into bed exhausted every night, a goal of writing 5 pages every weekday is unrealistic. It’s good to stretch yourself, but don’t set yourself up for failure. If you get an hour for lunch each day and can eat at your desk, maybe a goal of writing for 30 minutes each workday is doable. Keep in mind that goals you make for yourself must be achievable by yourself. If the success of a goal depends on someone else (“get an agent,” “sell my book”), it is not a goal. It is a dream. Achieving goals can lead to obtaining dreams, but it is not guaranteed. Make sure your goal is really a goal, achievable by your effort alone.

         A good goal must have a time limit. There must be a time when you know if you succeeded in accomplishing the goal. As I said, “I want to write more” is not a good goal. “I want to write 30 minutes each day,” would be a better goal. It is specific, most likely achievable and you know how well (or not) you succeeded at the end of the day. To make it even better, you could say, “I want to write 30 minutes each day by 11 pm.” or “2 hours before the kids get home from school.”

         Keeping those three “rules” in mind when you plan your goals will ensure you set good goals. There is one more thing you should consider, though. I used to think it was optional, but I’m learning that, for me at least, it is absolutely necessary. A reward must be associated with each and every goal. It doesn’t have to be a huge reward. In fact, it should only be a huge reward if the accomplishment is a huge one. Treating yourself to an expensive meal with champagne for writing 30 minutes on Thursday is just a bit over the top. (I have a friend who says I’m Queen of Understatement. She might be right. LOL) That same champagne meal is much more appropriate a reward for writing 30 minutes every day for a year and completing your novel.

         Let’s not kid ourselves. Accomplishing our goals is never easy. It’s often hard work. If we want to achieve our dreams, though, we must spend the time working on those goals that will help make the dreams a reality. Keeping these rules (or guidelines, if you don’t like the word rules) in mind when you plan how to reach your dreams will hopefully make the hard work just a bit easier to plan and do. Good luck with making your goals!

I approach this blog with a little bit of trepidation. I’ve known all month that this week we were going to be talking about rewarding ourselves after the final NaNoWriMo push.

Here is my confession. My idea of a reward is kind of boring.  What did I do this week to reward myself for completing a first draft of a novel? I took a break. No obsessing at the computer, no obsessing over research, brainstorming, character development, etc.

I didn’t need a new gadget or even a new notebook. I just needed a break. Time to pick up the slack of other responsibilities pushed to the side during the crazy writing month of NaNo. I did laundry, cleaned the kitchen, and decorated the house for Christmas. I paid attention to my neglected family members. (read: I didn’t turn on my laptop once.)

So I was really glad when I read Kitty’s blog “What’s the Deal with Rewards?” on Wednesday when she wrote: “maybe, just maybe, you aren’t a rewards-oriented person.”

Ah, that’s it! I’m not a rewards person (note to future publisher: man does not live on feelings of accomplishment alone; some cash is required.) I can think of nothing that will make me push harder towards a goal other than time off.

When I worked at a publishing company we had an annual Christmas Party where prizes were given away. The best gift? A day off with pay. I didn’t even want the DVD player (back when DVD players were the new fad.) Management gave out about 5 of these “day off”prizes. The emcee would say “And the next prize is a day off….” and the crowd would respond “WITH PAY!”

So enjoy your accomplishments. Take some time to regroup. Next week we are talking about the writer’s routine of goal setting. Yes, those New Year’s Resolutions are just around the corner. We’ll help you get prepared.

         We’re done. All of us crazy writers who participated in NaNoWriMo are finished. (In more ways than one?) Many of us made it to 50,000 words. Many of us did not. As my blog partners and I talked about last week, you could be a winner even if you missed the midnight-50K deadline. Only you know. Now it is time to reward yourself.

         Do not underestimate the power of rewards. I have known, in theory anyway, the motivating power of rewards for years. I have even used that motivating power countless times on my kids (no! That’s not bribing. Is it?) But I am only now coming to appreciate and comprehend its power to motivate me.

         This has been a difficult month for me. I have had several unexpected family matters that stole my computer time. The emotional issues attached to those family matters attempted to steal even more. The story I began with such hope and excitement on November 1st turned into an object of frustration and discouragement ran like blood through my veins. By the last week of November, even though I’d continued the struggle to get to the computer and to drag scenes from my brain, I was certain I would fail. A very bleak time for me.

         Then I was reminded of a half-joking comment to make going to see the new movie, Twilight, my reward for finishing. My son and daughter planned to go see it Sunday night, November 29. Could I do it? Could I get to from 19K to 50K in a week? I tried. I really, really tried. You have no idea how hard I tried. As the weekend progressed and knowing Sunday would be full and filled with commitments, leaving maybe 2-5 hours that I could actually be at my computer, I made a decision. I would lower the “bar” to 35K. If I made it there, if I wrote 35,000 words by 2 pm Sunday, I would call this month a win. I would luxuriate in the story and family accomplishments of this month. And I would have a play date with my almost-grown-and-gone children. Oh, and those emotional issues I told you about? Well rewarding myself for a job well done, even if not perfect, combats those issues, as well.

         So, for me, 37,312 words is a win.

         And I caught sight of my next big reward. The Harry Potter movie. We saw a preview of it at the theater. It comes out in July 2009. Yep. I’m just an overgrown kid. Can’t help it. Fantastical stories excite me. The surge of excitement that preview generated reminded me of the summer of 2007. I’d made a major writing goal for myself and was falling behind. The last Harry Potter book was due out soon. I refused to allow myself to read it until I’d accomplished that goal. The book Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows motivated me that summer to reach a goal. The movie Harry Potter: the Half-Blood Prince will do it again this summer. My goal? I will have at least one book finished, polished and submitted to publishers. Only then will I allow myself to see the movie. It will most likely be the one in which I just wrote 35K, but I will decide that by January 1. December will be spent playing with other story ideas and enjoying the time I have with my family.

         What about you? What is your reward? As you decide, remember the important thing about rewards. They must motivate. Really motivate. If the rewards you choose are not something that actually motivates you, what is the use? They won’t give you that extra push you’ll need to reach your goal. They won’t pull that last, desperately needed milliliter of determination from you when you are empty and spent. They won’t be a carrot-on-a-stick that forces you to take one more step. And one more. Real rewards motivate you. So, no matter how silly they seem, find those rewards that really, truly motivate you. Even if they are incredibly juvenile, like my fascination with YA fantasy books and movies. Even if they are totally lame, like my penchant for M&Ms or chocolate covered cherries. Whatever reward actually gets you moving toward that goal is the reward you need to stick out in front of yourself. Let those naysayers and criticizers find their own carrots.

Participating in any kind of challenge has pros and cons. Are you competitive enough to be inspired by others’ progress, or will their success discourage you? Do you create goals for yourself that you have a shot at, or are your goals too lofty so they lead only to failure?

November was to be a month of challenges for me. First there was NaNoWriMo. I found last year that I am physically and mentally capable of writing 50,000 or more words in a novel in one month. This year, however, I had to make some choices about how I spent my time. It was difficult, but I decided against the hard-core approach so I could finish some other pressing projects. What I did do was to modify my goal to “write on my novel every day” because I haven’t done that in months. I won’t make it to the 50,000 word NaNo goal, but it looks like I will succeed with my modified goal.

My second goal for November was more like a culmination – my husband and I were to run our first half marathon in Pasadena, CA, on November 16. Unfortunately, fires in nearby towns worsened the night before and the marathon was called off due to extremely poor air quality. I ache for those who lost everything they owned, I really do. But it doesn’t make us any less disappointed. Regardless of the reason, we did not make our goal. So we have to modify this one, too. We will probably run a different half marathon in February. (In a silly side note, we decided today that overeating during the Thanksgiving weekend will likely spur us into action and back into training on Monday morning. I don’t usually like using guilt as a motivator, but in this case, it will be fun to overindulge enough to get to that point!)

It has taken me a long time to learn that it’s natural and healthy to adjust your goals as necessary. Part of that learning curve came through years of doing the same thing over and over – creating lofty goals I couldn’t reach, then beating myself up with guilt over the failures – and expecting that one day I would eventually succeed. You’ve heard this before – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a sign of insanity!

In my experience, you are the only person who can create healthy, sometimes challenging goals for yourself. I’m the only one who can figure out what healthy, sometimes challenging goals are best for me. But together we can encourage each other in our goals, help pick each other up when we fall, and offer each other advice on making the goals more achievable.

So tell me – what kinds of successes are you having now? What kinds of goals are you making or modifying for the future? What are you doing to actively see yourself as a success? Because that’s part of how you’ll become one.

         That’s what I need to hear right now. That I’ve won NaNoWriMo. Or that I’m close to winning. Trouble is, I wouldn’t believe you. I am so far behind in my NaNoWriMo word count, I don’t believe there is a way to recover. How will I ever get 35,000 words written in less than a week? I’m even having trouble writing these short blogs.

         Are you there, too? Have you given up hope of finishing? Or maybe you never started because you thought there was no hope of writing a story in a month. Don’t quit! Keep writing! Even if you don’t make it to 50,000 words, you will end the month with more words, more of the story told than you would if you gave up. Even if you are not participating in NaNo, if you are regularly visiting our site, you are most likely a writer. So write! That is what makes you winner.

         When you can’t write, though, when life is full of upheavals and activities that drain away your energy, when no matter how hard you try, it’s a struggle to get to pen or keyboard, when days go by and the scene in your head is still trying to find its way out, don’t despair. If you are a writer, you will write. That makes you a winner! Whether you get 50,000 words written in NaNo or only write one short story this month, if you continued the struggle to pull words from your brain, you are a writing winner.

         I’ve had an emotionally and physically draining few weeks. Family responsibilities, both routine and unusual, have taken much of my time. Family interactions have been particularly stressful this month. That has left me drained of energy, even in the few moments I have found to steal away to the computer. But, even with my lagging word count and my diminished hours, I still say I’m a winner.

         I have spent time with my Dad while he’s here recuperating from a car wreck. I’ve played games, put a puzzle together with him and made sure he ate well each day and had everything he needed. I tended to the routine and the not so routine things of my life. I have memorized all my lines for my part in our church’s Christmas play, I show up to practices, people can count on me. And I’m preparing a big Thanksgiving feast. I’m worn out, but this is just a season. A brief season in my life. As I have learned from my past experiences, it will all change again in time. The important thing is to keep the important things in focus. (We’ll be discussing more on how to do that next month. Be sure to come back.)

         The point I’m trying to make is that I am a winner even if I don’t win NaNoWriMo this year. And who knows? Maybe I will win. After all, I wrote 24,000 words in two days last year.

         Keep writing. Keep telling those stories. Keep struggling to put pen to paper, fingers to keyboard.

         Do that and you can say, “I’m a winner, too!”

ptimist woke up early in the morning, refreshed from a fabulous dream she was having about her NaNoWriMo novel.

“I’ve got it!” She smiled to herself in the mirror. “I know how to get my heroine to the train station on time!” She winked and spun away from the mirror.

     She checked her email before getting started for the day. Ugh. Three messages from Discouragement. Why wouldn’t he leave her alone?! She already had to move to an undisclosed location after he started meeting her at her computer every morning with a cup of cold water.

     She could tell this was going to be a long day of avoiding Discouragement. Couldn’t he take a hint?

     She started to write the train scene but it wasn’t coming out like she thought. It seemed so good in her dream, but now….Optimist stared out the window. She gasped. Discouragement was sitting in the tree smiling at her.

     Aargh. She closed the curtains with a dramatic flair.

     The phone rang. Caller ID showed no phone number but she picked up. She needed a distraction anyway.

     “It’s me. Can’t we talk? We used to be so good together.”

     Discouragement!  She slammed down the phone, glad that it was one of those old-fashioned phones that you can slam down with a satisfying bang.

     She called up her friend, Edify. “Edi! I need your help. He’s back.”

     “Oh, he makes me so mad,” said Edi. “You are too good for him. This has been going on too long. It needs to stop here and now. You can’t avoid Discouragement any more. You’ve got to confront him. He’s not taking any hints so you’re going to have to meet him head on. Do it at a coffee shop and pick me up a double shot skinny caramel latte while you’re at it.”

     “Thanks, Edi. You always know what to do. But what do I say?”

     “Tell him that you are writing your first draft. No one writes a good first draft. Tell him that it doesn’t matter how many words it ends up being as long as you push yourself each day to write as much as you can in that day. Tell him that you are working towards your personal best. And, lastly, tell him that he’s a doofus.

Optimist looked at the pink sticky note on her computer and smiled. She knew just what she would do. She….(check the comments section for alternate endings…and leave one of your own! )

Discouragement isn’t a topic I tackle lightly. Nor do I think the causes and cures are only for creative people, or people going through tough times, or for those who live in one society versus another. Discouragement happens when we take things very seriously and they don’t turn out as we expected or hoped. Once we’ve established our goals or hopes, we can be like a salmon swimming upstream in our fight to keep discouragement at bay.

But I’ve found two tricks to help me keep swimming! The first and most important one is to focus on gratitude. Someone tried to explain this to me in the context of church - the power of praise - but it has taken years of practice for me to “get it.” I’ve only now understood how it works to the point where I can use it like a weapon against discouragement. Focusing on what you’re grateful for - word count, your health, being able to say goodbye to a dying friend - helps alleviate some of the pain you feel from not getting what you want - a higher word count, a better job with health insurance, longer life for everyone you love.

More than that, focusing on the things you’re thankful for keeps your brain operating in a positive manner. When the messages coming in are positive, the brain continues in that vein and will work on positive answers to the problems before it. When the messages coming in are negative because of discouragement, frustration, anger, etc., the brain will work in that manner, focusing on what’s not working. This explains part of why some days seem to go smoothly and some days feel like everything has gone wrong. The phrase “It’s all in your head” refers to how you perceive the world, not how the world may be in actuality.

The second trick I’ve learned is, when a problem arises, to immediately flip the switch in my brain and tell myself that this isn’t a problem so much as it’s a challenge, a puzzle I have to figure out. Every time I try something and it doesn’t work, I’m one step closer to figuring out what does work. This works with everything, big and small, but the bigger the problem, the more creative you have to be in figuring out how to look at it in order to avoid discouragement.

So today, I can look at my tiny word count and see failure because I am not much closer to making the world a better place through my stories. Or I can see success that, even as I was busy making the world a better place by delivering food and water to a Red Cross station to help those who lost their homes in the Southern California wildfires, I still managed to get a few words pounded out on my novel. It’s a constant re-evaluation, much like the scientific method.

Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb and the phonograph, was a pro at this! I’ll leave you with some of my favorite quotes from him. And please, let us know what you do to avoid or defeat discouragement.

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.

Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That’s not the place to become discouraged.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.