A Personal Vocal Media Writing Challenge for 2022

I have a bad habit of getting exciting about new projects, starting off strong, and then sitting there, wondering where all the energy and passion went. Even before depression became a constant companion, I struggled to stay motivated on projects and goals long term. As I've discovered, it's kind of a family trait, but it doesn't have to be one I live with any longer.

I want to welcome every writer to join me in creating your own personal Vocal Media writing challenge for 2022. I was inspired by Trisha Dunbar's My 22 Vocal Writing Goals for 2022. I joined in late 2021, but I haven't written much. I want to change that and rediscover writing as something fun and exciting versus just a job.

For me, joining Vocal Media was a chance to spread my wings and write outside of what I usually do, which is usually extremely boring and tedious whitepapers. They pay the bills, but it's the kind of work that zaps all the pleasure out of the creative process.

So, I'm committing to making more time for fun writing. My personal goal has four parts:

1. Submit to at least 10 different communities
2. Start a fiction series of stand alone stories that all tie together
3. Have a total of 75 published stories by the end of 2022
4. Have at least 30 subscribers by the end of the year (currently, I'm at 8 with four published stories)

At the end of 2022, I plan to write a follow-up post linking back to this one showing how I did. Honestly, it's not about succeeding or failing. It's about trying. Of course, it'd be incredible to pull this off.

At the same time, I'm also starting several new writing projects for myself. So, it'll be a challenge just to keep track of everything going on. My overall goal for 2022 is to move away from writing for other clients and write only what I want to write, and of course, what my audience likes to read.

Right now, I'm excited, but nervous. I don't want to start off strong and then come December, wonder why I'm not even half way done with my goal.

I hope that this single goal on a platform that I never even heard of until last fall will transform this shy writer, uncertain of her abilities, into the writer I dream of being.

How I'm Keeping Track

The one thing I have always done well with is tracking progress. It's the actual "doing of the task" that doesn't always go so well. Personally, I love using a spreadsheet, but use whatever works best for you. I use LibreOffice, which is completely free. You can also use Google Sheets, which is free and cloud-based.

My first step is simple. I'm creating a spreadsheet with a list of all Vocal Media communities that I might write for. I currently have 28 communities on my list. I have them color coded, so when I submit an article to that community, I'll shade that title in the community's color.

I'm also tracking dates so I can see how many articles I post per month on average. I'm planning to start my goal in May 2022, which gives me 8 months to complete my goals. This averages out to just over 9 stories per month or just under 2.5 stories per week. Obviously, sometimes I may write more or less, but I still want to see the overall average.

Finally, I'll be watching my stats to see which types of articles get the most engagement. I want to use this information to see what readers prefer so I can narrow down my focus as I move into 2023.

Will you join me? What are your goals for 2022? Commit to your own goals with a pledge post and start making more time for yourself to achieve the goals you dream about.