Monday, December 19, 2011

An Obligatory Post About my 2012 Plans

2012 is coming...

...and it's time to start planning it all out... Here's a little bit about what I'll be doing in 2012...


Reading Challenges...



52 - 10 - 21 - 8 = 13

So I have 13 other books to read for the year. One of them will be The Complete E.E. Cummings. He's one of my favorite poets and I am determined to read every one of his poems. Instead of just doing this haphazardly over many years, I will make a point to read a few a day and complete the book in one year. Other than that, I have a few rereads in mind, and the rest I'll just wing it.

Yeah.... I'm going lower in my reading goal in 2012 (I'll probably break it anyways). I was originally wanting to hit 100 books total. Once I got to NaNoWriMo this year, I realized I wanted to focus more of my energy on writing. Which brings us to the next section...


Personal Writing Challenges

During/after NaNo, I realized how much time I have been wasting over the years coming up with all these ideas for stories. I would just write out the ideas, never write out complete stories or complete scenes. When I finally started buckling down (and kicking myself in the butt several times), I enjoyed it. So I see the importance of me making sure to write at least once a day, even if is just for 10-15 minutes.

Aside from writing every day, I am going to set myself a challenge... and this challenge will be the following:

I, Jessica S. at Thoughts At One In The Morning, will publish at least one novel by the end of 2012.

    Yep, you heard me! I am setting this goal and I am determined to follow through on it. I would prefer to have two of them done (my NaNo novel plus the one I was working on prior to that), but I'm going to be realistic and see how it all pans out.


    Here At Thoughts At One In The Morning...

    After hearing about my personal reading and writing goals, you're probably wonder what else is going to happen on this blog? Well, let me tell you. It's going to be awesome. There will be at least one review per week. I'm also working on some fun articles about books, reading, and writing that I hope you will like. I am hoping to have some guest posts and interviews with authors and other bloggers.

    Also, and this is the best: MORE GIVEAWAYS! There will be several giveaways next year. I have three in January. Plus, I will have one for my blogoversary (my blog technically started Sept. 2010, but I didn't take it seriously until April 7th, so that is when I am considering this blog a year old).

    I will probably cut back on memes again. It prevents me from keeping up with my other blogish duties. I'll stick with my Update Thursdays, my once a month In My Mailbox, plus one more Waiting On Wednesdays, then stop those. And as much fun as they are, I won't be doing any more Follow Fridays. And I think I'll stop my monthly recaps, it takes too much time to put together!


    That's about it! It's nothing fancy, just some of the basics. Anyone else working on 2012? I know, I'm still working on finishing up 2011 myself. I just needed to get myself together more. I have the tendency to procrastinate, so, I needed to do this. :) Happy planning everyone!

    ~Jessica

    5 comments:

    1. We have the same writing goals for next year! NaNoWriMo really does wonders doesn't it? Even if you don't want to participate next year. Good idea cutting back on the memes. I feel like giving up FF sometimes as well, because it takes up way too much time on a Friday. Good luck with the reading challenges next year. I'm still trying to work out the ones I'm doing but this e-book challenge looks interesting....I might have to borrow your post idea again this month :)

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    2. Awesome goals Jessica! I will be rooting for you the whole way!

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    3. Sounds like 2012 is going to be epic for you, my friend! :-D

      I'm thinking I'll have to cut back on memes too...I actually already have, but it wasn't a conscious decision until Thursday when I was scrambling late at night to get my post ready for Follow Me Friday...and I thought 'do I really need to do this?' I figure I'll check the question every week and if it's something I have an opinion on that I think is worth sharing, I'll do it, but otherwise, I'll put that time and energy into something else. I've upped my reading goal from this year, and I've joined an insane amount of challenges, but I'm hoping the reading won't interfere too much with my writing. I'm lucky because I work from home, so I can write all day, whereas most people have to squeeze it in before or after school or work. I'm hoping to release at least one more book in 2012 after Blue Sky Days. One of the nice things about being self-published is that you don't have to wait for the gatekeepers to approve it - once it's done, it's done and there's nothing stopping you from publishing it. I'd love to publish a few in 2012, but I won't sacrifice quality for quantity...that's what tends to give indie authors a bad name!

      Best of luck to you, I'll be checking in regularly of course! <3

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    4. Wow! That's so cool that you're setting that writing goal for yourself. Good luck!

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    5. Lan: Great minds think alike! Glad you'll be doing more with your writing. :D Yes, exactly, FF is a time robber. I love meeting bloggers, it can be exhausting to keep up with. And no problem on borrowing the idea. ;)

      Angie: HUGS! Thanks so much! You've been a great support with everything. :)

      Marie: I have SO been there on Thursday nights! I think if the question is cool enough, I might even take it and run with a whole blog post instead later in the month. :P I like the self-pub route a lot myself. It seems like you have much more control, and as long as you're diligent and do what you need to do, you can be successful. Yes! QUALITY is key. Thanks! :)

      Jenny: Thanks a bunch! :D

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    Thank you for commenting and happy reading!