Eighteen Months

My plan was to move from accounting to paid writerhood in 18 months or less. It’s been 18 months. I have a free blog, a writing coach job that pays a little, and a marriage. My life has improved over that time, but I’m not a paid writer. I decided months ago that I was okay with not working as a commercial freelance writer, which was my original goal. That goal was ambitious and specific, and I wonder if what I have now measures up.

I have several goals for 2010, including writing a novel, but although that is fairly ambitious, that goal and the others still don’t seem to have the same cohesion. Even my overall goal for the year, 200,000 words, doesn’t really satisfy. It’s output, and I know I can do that, but what am I really aiming for, here?

{At this point, I saved my draft, played backgammon with my husband, and slept on it.}

I am aiming for a life with ample room for writing. I don’t yet know if I’d most like to be a novelist, a professional blogger, or some other kind of writer. I do know that I want writing to be as important in my day-to-day life as it is in the one I imagine.

Last year, I took a dry run at goal setting. I learned what I needed to learn, and this year I’m making full use of my new skill. Today I have a blog. By this time next year, I’ll have a blog, a novel, twelve essays, and a record of my experiences, both cranky and content. Plus, maybe, a poem. That will be a good time to leaf through my files, pick a direction, and go.