Writing goals for 2013

A new year, a new opportunity to work towards my writing goals. In 2012 I learnt a massive amount by taking an editing course, attending a writing festival, and picking up hints and tips from writers, editors and agents via the internet and social media. This year I want to make sure that I make the most of every opportunity and continue to develop as a writer, so here are my goals.

1. Work hard

This may seem to be self-explanatory, but I have sometimes been guilty of spending far too much time talking about writing than actually doing it. Nothing is going to happen in my writing career without a lot of effort, so I'm not going to slack off this year.

2. Spend time creating an excellent submission package

I'm not going to say that this is the year I'll get an agent and a publisher (although I hope it is), rather that this is the year I'll work on my novel, synopsis and submission letter so they're all of a high standard.

3. Take opportunities to meet other writers

Social media makes it easy to interact with other writers, as well as people in the publishing industry, but it's not the same as actually getting together in person. Last year I really enjoyed the writing festival I attended, as well as gaining a lot from it, so this year I'm going to keep my eye out for similar opportunities and attend as many as I can afford.

So those are my writing goals for 2013, and I'll blog about how they're going as the year progresses. What writing goals have you set yourself this year?

Getting in the habit

Another piece of wisdom I took away from the Festival was this: write every day. No matter if you only write a bit that ends up being scrapped, just write.

Have I written every day since then? Well....no. There was one day when I told myself I didn't have the time. I did, I just couldn't bring myself to think about my novel after a long day at work. Even though I wasn't writing, though, I made myself sit down and think about where I want this rewrite to go. I planned some character developments and wrestled with a plot point. Ok, I didn't sit at my laptop, but by the time I got there the following day I had something concrete to put into practice.

Until this rewrite is finished, I pledge to write every single day. Even if it's just one word. Even if it's a note to myself scribbled on the back of a napkin. This novel has the potential to be published, possibly even to be great within its genre, but it won't get there unless I take it seriously.

My writing space

Another snippet about the post-Festival changes I have made! One thing that occurred to me on the train home was that I haven't felt comfortable writing since I moved into this flat in May. My desk was in the living room, although my laptop usually ended up with me on the sofa as ever-increasing piles of paper, books and other random items built up on the desk. Coupled with the proximity to the television, it was never a proper writing space.

On Monday I thankfully had a day off, so got to work creating a much better space for myself. I had very little in the spare room ever since I moved in, in the hope that I could attract a flatmate to help with the bills, but that doesn't seem to have happened. Now I've moved the furniture around and made a space for a bigger desk, and suddenly I feel positive again! Having a specific space for writing is all psychological, but that doesn't make it any less important.

Slash and burn!

At the Festival, I received specific advice about one of my novels from two literary agents and an editor, and one of the suggestions was this: make sure you know what you want from the story.

I think this has been one of my greatest problems with this manuscript - I haven't been entirely sure where I'm going with the story, or which part of the story is most important. On the train home I had an epiphany about my writing, realising that I have been including so much back-story in my novels that they have become a huge part of the novel themselves, to the extent that the story itself was getting lost. To that end, I have slashed my novel, removing all scenes that were purely back-story, putting only a few aside for part of their content to be salvaged.

This has left me with, at best, 35000 words. This is half of what I want the finished manuscript to be. I have a lot of work to do. But you know what? I'm excited! More excited than I have been about my writing for ages. And that's what counts.

Sensible blogging

One of the workshops I attended at the Festival was about blogging, led by Nicola Morgan. Nicola is an author and experienced blogger, who I first came across through her blog Help! I Need A Publisher! Her advice was clear, practical and invaluable, and has led me to rethink my own use of a blog.

Unfortunately, I missed the beginning of the workshop because I was having a one-to-one session with an editor, but I still learned a lot from the half I attended. Some of the main points that I am taking away are these:

• Have a clear, practical URL - I've gone back to using my name, as it's the simplest and most relevant option.
• Stick to one subject - my last blog was a mixed bag, but this is going to be about writing and everything connected with writing.
• Keep it positive and interesting - I'm a fairly upbeat person and whilst I can get a bit depressed and self-deprecating when it comes to my writing, I know nobody wants to read something that will make my depression contagious! They also don't want to read posts that are boring and so mundane that they put people off.

I'll do my best to stick to the last point - feel free to tell me off if I don't!