With 2019 only about 4 or so hours away from starting, I figured now would be a good time to share my writing resolutions list for the year! I kept it down to 5 resolutions that I feel best represent my goals and hopes for the year of 2019. I’m also planning on posting a monthly progress report at the end of every month to keep you all updated on what my progress has been. I think this will be a good way to keep me motivated and help me see how much progress I’m making as the year goes on. So here are my 5 writing resolutions for 2019!

1. Keep freelancing- At the beginning of December I ventured into the world of freelancing and have already had some success with it. I’ve been writing articles for the same person for almost a month and he likes my work so much that I have already received a small raise AND get to make suggestions for future article topics1 Definitely not bad for only a month of doing this. I am also writing content for a website- which will remain unnamed for the time being- and I get paid hourly for the work I do for them. So I basically have a job! And I don’t have to leave home for it, which has it pros and cons- future blog post on that to come. So in 2019 I would like to continue working for the people I’m currently working for and to also add on more freelance projects. I would like to find some that are longer termed and require a lot of creativity to go along with them. So here’s too hoping for a fruitful year of freelancing!

2. Join a writing group- Now I already am a part of a few writing groups. Most of them are on Facebook, but there is one that my college mentor holds on a monthly basis. While I enjoy the group he holds, it’s more for writing, sharing work and encouraging each other to keep writing, not so much for critiquing. And what I really want, especially as I complete goal #4, is to get critiques from people. I want my work to be picked apart so I can put it back together better than ever. So I would like to find a critique group that meets either weekly or monthly so I can start to gain feedback for my work.

3. Update both blogs 1x a week- Besides this blog, I also have a blog on anxiety and depression. Between wanting to write posts for both blogs, my freelance jobs, and goals #4 and #5, that in order to not stress myself put it’s best to put my blog posts down to one a week for both. That doesn’t mean there might never be more than one post a week, but I think for the foreseeable future one post a week is manageable.

4. Finish one draft of my novel- In 2019 I definitely want to complete one draft of my novel. After starting it, stopping it, working on it during NaNoWriMo only to stop doing NaNo- on the suggestion of a much wiser writer than myself- just to put it on the back burner again, I know I need to start on it again. It’s not going to write itself! I know my first draft of it won’t be brilliant, that it will probably get torn apart by anyone who reads it, but I also know there won’t be anything for anyone to read if I don’t go back to it! So I just need to get it out and go from there. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be on the page.

5. Get accepted into grad school- Besides fully committing myself to my writing in 2019, I also want to apply and get accepted into grad school. This was always a part of my plan, but I let too many other things distract me from that path. Well not anymore! I know I have a lot of work to do to get my applications, writing resume and writing samples together, but I know it will be worth it. I don’t have a set school I want to go to, I just know I want to find a good genre MFA program that isn’t my home state. This is definitely be something I will keep everyone updated on.

So there are my 2019 writing goals! I would leave to hear the writing goals you’ve set for yourself! I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year. May the start of 2019 be a great one for you!