Goals

4 posts
A fire blazing against a night sky with the text "Do you banish the night, set the world alight?"

Do you banish the night, Set the world alight?

Goals Planning
Forgive me, friends in the Southern hemisphere. enjoy your longest day while we shiver over here! 💙

It’s the longest night, the shortest day, and now is the time to go to ground, huddle in blankets, tend the fires and look to the stars. This is when I think about what’s to come, a seed sleeping in the dark dreaming of the time when I’ll sprout, then burst forth, ready to reach for the sun.

This is when I reassess who I’ve been and want to become, and make plans for the future. I don’t do “resolutions” but I feel that mapping out the solid, informed steps to the things I’d like to have happen in my life is a smart way to make sure I don’t drift aimlessly through the year to come.

Plus, it’s fun! I love the feeling of possibility.

I mentioned this over at my Ko-fi, but I use a printable planner that I put together a while back in order to get a handle on my planning and to enact it throughout the year, The Magickal Life Planner. I used to sell it but after printable planners fell out of fashion over digital ones, I backburnered it. I prefer paper, though, so I still use it and find it extremely helpful!

So I’ll be putting mine together for the New Year and I decided I’d invite some folks along to do it and share our insights if we want. You can join me live in Zoom to do yours, or watch me fill mine out then do yours later. I’ll provide the link for downloading the Planner plus a few extras for you that I’ll talk about in our chat as well, when you register.

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Dec 30, 2024 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpcuivpzojE9BEQctHl5OaaEZ34gQ20Mtb

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. If you don’t receive a second email from me [Christiane] shortly after with your downloadable planner, let me know and I’ll get it to you!

Are you ready to fight, Turn the wrong back to right?

Things are ready to get much more unpleasant here in the US, come January. That will shape much of my planning for 2025, and likely your planning as well. Having a solid, thoughtful, and most importantly flexible roadmap laid out will help a lot; it’s a useful distraction, a way to stay focused on the things we [mostly] can control. It’s empowering in a time that will be ruled by people who want to take away our power. It’s not at all revolutionary to plan for the future…or is it?

Planning is making a powerful statement of confidence. We are here. We’re not going anywhere, dammit. We are actively fighting for a beautiful future.

It’s exhausting to think of the fighting we may have to do in the future, even before that fight has started. In part that’s because we’ve already been fighting. Rising fascism, the strengthening of patriarchy and the rolling back of protections and advancements for those who need them and deserve them the most, late stage capitalism, the efforts by the rich to crush the general population firmly back into the role of serfs. Those things have always been there but they have begun to gain even more power, and it’s not hard to see the direction that not just the US but the world is tilting toward.

We need to stand together even more than ever. We need to use what privileges we’re lucky enough to still possess to protect those of us with less than ourselves. As Vali would say: we’re stronger together. My planning will include more mutual support, more donations of whatever I have to give, more kindness and righteous anger when needed and even more speaking out and standing beside those who need my strength. I’m older, I’m chronically ill, I’m poor. Still, I’ll do these things to the best of my ability because that’s what my personal moral code demands.

The ideas in my stories come directly from my own beliefs and morals. I write what I want to see in the world. I want equity and compassion and community, so that’s what I talk about and what my characters represent and defend. It’s that simple.

It’s going to be hard, friends, but we’ll get through this if we take care of each other. We’re all we have right now.

I’m grateful for you.

My supporters are the best! If you’d like to read my thoughts about the craft and business of writing before anyone else, or just throw me a couple of bucks for some tea, you can do that here: https://ko-fi.com/threeravenspress

A gold trophy spills out many golden stars onto a field of light blue. Text reads: Focus on the Wins

Let’s Focus on the Wins

Goals On Creating

I’ve been working on what I think will be a short story for a bit now. [A Small Light in the Darkness: you can track my writing progress in the sidebar] It’s been slow going because it’s been hot outside, I haven’t been feeling my greatest, and it’s hard to concentrate while the world feels like it’s falling apart. Even as I’m typing this I’m feeling the sweet, seductive siren call of a nap pulling at me.

But that’s okay. Not the reasons why I’ve struggled with writing much, but that my output hasn’t been where I’ve wanted it to be.

Productivity comes in its own time. There are lots of reasons why you might struggle with the ability to create like you want to, from having to juggle a job and family to–like in my case–deal with a disability that often saps my strength and makes it difficult to focus. Add to that the weight of what’s been happening politically, possible financial struggles or a million other valid and pressing challenges, and it can feel like a real battle to get anything creative accomplished.

It doesn’t make me bad at my job of writing to need to go slower than some other authors do, or have less output. We’re all unique and contrary to the beliefs of some, this isn’t a race or competition of any kind. I write my best when I’m focused, well-rested, and unstressed. Trying to push through pain or exhaustion in order to meet some idea of how much I “should” be writing in a day won’t give me my best work. So instead, I try to set healthy and realistic goals for myself, because I acknowledge that I do perform better with goals of some kind, just not ones that make me feel like I’m in some strange literary footrace, except it’s fingers on keyboards.

When I do get down on myself for not living up to some arbitrary standard or goal that someone else dictated, I like to play the game of “But what have I already accomplished?” You can play along with me, if you like. July, the middle of the year, is a great time to play this game–but really, anytime you need to be reminded of what you’ve already done, no matter how small, this is a fun thing to do.

Mid Year Accomplishment List 2024

  • Condensed entry: all the tasks that went along with finishing A Third Kind of Madness [editing, cover, layout, blahblah]
  • Published my third novel, A Third Kind of Madness!
  • Attended and participated at Balticon 58, including being a panelist and doing a reading from ATKOM
  • Virtually attended the Nebula Conference and was a panelist
  • Participated in the Weeknight Writers: Editing event as a panelist
  • I joined the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer’s Association as an Associate Member! Joining SFWA was a HUGE goal
  • Now have all three of my books carried in my local library system as well as in some other libraries
  • Invited to a SECRET [for now] project that I’ll get to tell you about SOON!

I’m sure that I’m missing some things, but this is still an impressive list for a someone who has only been a published writer for a few years, if I do say so myself. Is it the powerhouse that some new writers have? No! And it doesn’t have to be! Accolades as a new writer generally happen because the writer is very good, AND very lucky. You can be the best writer out there but if you aren’t lucky enough to be spotted in the piles of other work, no one will ever know it. It takes a LOT of work–or luck–to be discovered. It takes even more to start to get recognition for what you’re creating and what you can offer to the reading and writing communities.

Looking over my list, I can feel assured that I’m not letting things slip through my fingers, and I’m on a good schedule. Three books in four years, as someone with an unpredictable chronic disease? I’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about!

If you are also struggling with feeling like you haven’t done enough, I recommend this exercise. It really does give one perspective on, well, everything. don’t forget to count the small successes, too. They’re just as important! And feel free to share them in the comments because I’ll definitely be cheering for you.

A hand holds a camera, the viewscreen facing us. It displays the logo for SPFBO inside the screen. There is a small icon of the cover of the novel In Sleep You Know in the left lower corner, and the text Take A Risk.

SPFBO and Being Brave and Bold

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Goals In Sleep You Know

One of my pledges to myself this year was that as soon as I was stable enough, health-wise, I was going to start making up for all the things that I’ve missed out on thanks to being sick – and to be brave and bold and go for opportunities, even if I’m unsure how they’ll work out for me.

It’s not that I’m risk adverse. In fact, I’m laughing as I type that, because anyone who truly knows me absolutely knows how bold and occasionally rash I can be. As the Eleriannan might say, “audentes fortuna iuvat” – and that’s been proven true for more times than I can count. Being brave and bold gets you more than sitting around waiting for things to fall into your lap, y’all.

All this is my long winded way of saying that I entered In Sleep You Know into the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off or SPFBO 9, which is a contest designed to put a spotlight on, as the title suggests, self-published fantasy novels. It is organized yearly by Mark Lawrence, and this is the ninth year. Three hundred book submissions are divided amongst ten blogs, who read, review, and eliminate the selections until they find the one book they’ll put into the final round.

The second round is where all the judging blogs get the finalist books to review and make a decision between. At the end of the process, a winning book [and also a winning cover, in a separate, concurrent contest] will be chosen and crowned the winner of SPFBO. Yay! The entire process takes about a year, so expect occasional updates as things progress.

I’ve gone into this with zero expectations in any direction other than finding some new reads, getting some exposure, and making some new writing and reviewing friends/contacts. The experience is worth it! [though of course I want to win, but truly that’s not the reason to enter]

If you want to see all of the entries and what blogs will be doing the reviewing – which I highly recommend, get you some new reads – you can go here [there’s also stats about SPFBO and other interesting info] and here [a gorgeous visual layout where you can see all the covers and click easily on each story’s link].

In other brave and bold news:

  • I’ll be participating in the Broad Universe members Rapid-Fire Reading at Balticon! As soon as I get the scheduled time and details I’ll make sure to post them.
  • I decided that I’m going to start taking a writing class monthly, to continue to hone my craft and re-invest in myself. The one for June is going to be Embodied Characters, taught by my brilliant friend Marianne Kirby! It’s being hosted by Neon Hemlock and if you’d like to take it too, the link is here – https://www.neonhemlock.com/neon-salon
  • I started going back to the gym this week! This is a huge deal because I’m trying to regain strength and stamina that I lost while I was mostly housebound. I’m glad to report that I’m not nearly as weak as I thought I might be!
  • I had an iced chai latte with almond milk and it didn’t wreck my guts. *throws confetti*

What brave and bold things have you done lately? I want to know! Hit reply and leave a comment so that I can cheer you on, too. 💜

Today’s brave and bold soundtrack: D-Day by Agust D. Stream it here: https://open.spotify.com/album/446ROKmKfpEwkbi2SjELVX?si=t4gM9tqBT6ysbTDP3tz3JQ
Sculpture of tall poles that taper at the top like hair against blue sky and pink clouds. Text says "reach for the sky"

2023: Reach For The Sky

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Goals On Creating Personal

First and foremost, Happy New Year to you, my readers and supporters – without you, I’d just be yelling into the void and listening to these voices in my head instead of writing their stories down to share! You are the reason for everything and I hope your year to come is filled with everything good and fulfilling. 💜

Even before this time of the year – the annual musing on endings/beginnings days – got here, I’ve been thinking about what I want to change about how I’m living. It’s reflected in my Word of the Year, which is Embrace. I’ve been living a life with many restrictions since before the pandemic started, when I had my first emergency surgery and subsequently had my diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease. Basically, I was out of commission from the end of August 2019, then when started to get healed to the point where I was able to live a life again, everything went into lockdown. Surprise! Then my health began to spiral downwards again, so I wasn’t interested in doing much anyway.

Ironically, during this time I did write and publish two books, the first ones in the Eleriannan series. So despite being restricted, I continued to create and grow. However, 2022 has been the most challenging for me since the end of 2019. I was sick and miserable, unable to do much or feel safe in leaving the house for anything but short errands. In fact, the last time I did anything fun or challenging was when I was a vendor at the Baltimore Faerie Faire back in April. That was a blast, and I’m so glad I did it, because not long after my body went into a Crohn’s flare and there I stayed until my eventual surgery in September. Then there was the second surgery in November, and a recovery that’s felt like an uphill climb.

Finally, finally, I feel like myself again. Well, mostly? It’ll take time to regain stamina and strength, but I’m feeling re-energized and more alive than I have in ages. That bodes well for you as a reader, because I’m back to writing daily, making steady progress on Stories of the Eleriannan #3, which I’ll be talking about more in coming days! My writing schedule has been kinder and more in sync with my current abilities and energy levels.

Image of Min Yoongi aka SUGA of BTS dressed in white in front of a grey wall. Text/caption reads "I think I'm also gonna try something really big this year"
I’m following your lead, Yoongi.

Back in August, I wrote a list of Reach For the Sky Big Achievements that I want to happen in my writing career. These are goals that the parts of my mind that are rational and nay-saying look at and just bust a gut laughing at my audacity. But you know what? I’m a huge believer that if you don’t put it out there, it won’t happen.
I think I’ve written about these goals somewhere in public before, but again, it hurts nothing to put them out there again. I mean, I’m sure some people will read this and also laugh at my audacity. It’s cool, go ahead! It is audacious, and that’s the point. If you don’t dream about a seemingly unreachable future, how can you even get halfway there?

So in no particular order, here is my List of Future Achievements:

  • published short stories that I’m paid for
  • several bestsellers [by some unidentified metric]
  • to be a panelist at cons [ult goals are Balticon, Nebula Conference, World Fantasy Con, Worldcon]
  • to be a Guest of Honor at any of the above
  • to win a Nebula and/or Hugo
  • to run a writer’s class and be paid fairly for it
  • to get 50+ positive ratings on each of my books
  • to have created a body of work

Reminder: I said these were reach for the sky. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t out of reach. The important thing, in my opinion, is to create goals that are HUGE and RIDICULOUS. Aim for things that seem impossible, then structure your plans so that every step in that direction brings growth. Even if you never make the big goals, you’ll have an amazing outcome.

And let me say this, because it’s important: this is what works for me. You don’t have to have goals like these, or goals at all! I am a very goal-driven person and I use manifestation energy to great success, but I know not everyone works like that. For every method there’s a bunch of people who do it differently, and it’s important to use what works for you.

So how do I plan to work toward these goals? I’ll be sharing my steps with lots of personal detail and insight over on my Ko-fi, in the Writer’s Life and Craft tier. Successes and failures included! I hope you’ll join me over there. Even the free tier often gets updates that I don’t post over here!

Do you have any “Impossible” goals? I’d love it if you’d share in the comments!