It's 2009! Time for resolutions.

Welcome to 2009. I still do not have a rocket pack, or a flying car, or sneakers that fit themselves. This isn't quite the future I was hoping for 24 years ago. With the beginning of the New Year it is customary for one to make some resolutions about how one would improve oneself during the coming year. Let's examine this a bit.

According to Merriam Webster, a resolution is something that has been resolved. Digging a bit deeper I found that to resolve means to decide firmly. So it's customary to decide firmly to do something in the new year. So, if I want to be better about writing, I should resolve to write more. Of course, if I leave it at that, like most New Years Resolutions, it won't happen.

For a resolution to really happen, you have to create goals to go with it. As we all know, a goal really should be S.M.A.R.T.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

I know that I need SMART goals to get things done in my life. I accomplished NaNoWriMo because it was a SMART goal. Well, I wasn't sure it was realistic when I started, but it turned out to be. So, I need to create a SMART goal that will cause me to write more.

The one I came up with was "I will write at least 500 words a day."

Ok, is that specific? Yes, I do think it is.

Is it Measurable? It's pretty easy to count words and see if I've gotten to 500 or not, so yes, it's measurable.

Is it Attainable? I don't know? When can I say I've attained this goal. It's kind of a never ending thing isn't it. There's never a point where I can be proud and say, I've attained the goal. So, maybe I just need to amend it to be 500 words a day this year. Ok, now on Jan 1st 2010 I'll be able to say I've attained the goal.

Is it Realistic? I would say so, but I really should think it through. Is it reasonable on Wednesdays when I'm barely home? Well, I'm usually home from 4:30 till 6, so I could do it then. So, it would often be doable on Wednesdays. I also have to spend some time this spring editing my book. It's not realistic to me to write 500 words and edit on the same day. Sometimes it is, but not always. Let's say spending equivalent time editing counts towards to goal. Editing is an integral part of writing, and I think I need to accommodate it. So now I have what I think is a realistic goal.

Is it timely? Well, I gave myself a time frame when I made the goal attainable. So, yes it's timely.

So, this year I resolve to write more. I am setting a goal of writing 500 words or doing equivalent editing every day of 2009.

I'm also setting a secondary goal of getting my book in a publishable form my May 15th. That will give me a couple of weeks leeway so I can get it in to create space by the June 1st deadline to get a free copy of my book. January will probably be spent with more time editing than writing.