Writing Goals for 2024

First let me say, AWESOME JOB Vocal!!!

200 challenges is pretty groovy!

While I havent been able to be a part of all of them, The ones that I have done writing for have been amazing!

Im glad that there is a platform like you guys out here and keep going, Im intensely curious to see what you come up with next!

Now then,

Hmm, do I write a laundry list of stuff I want to accomplish, or do I take the time to outline my goals?

Should I just include what I would like to do on vocal or should I put in all of my goals for 2024...and on and on and on!

So many thoughts and permutations prancing around in my head with this latest challenge, and I truly appreciate Vocal for always keeping me on my toes with the writing prompts.

Some really amazing stories have come out of those prompts...also many nights of me screaming at my computer as I am trying to upload the story at 10 minutes before the deadline.

I had at one point given some serious thought to taking the 11th-hour author as a business title as I am almost always one of the last to enter a contest... it's still a nifty name, but I feel it would set a bad precedent for a business.

I have gone back and forth on this article and have revisited it multiple times......So I will start with a simple list and go from there.

What are my goals on vocal this year?

Well, a few things:

-To get all of my fiction stories consolidated onto Vocal, right now I mainly have the ones that I have created for the Vocal contests on here and I want to get all of the stories that I have been writing for all the OTHER contests that have been popping up onto Vocal. As well as some stuff that I just want to write & some odds and odds poetry.

-To upload at least one creative story per week(we will see how this goes)

-To go back and re-edit some of the work that is already done on here- the last-minute editing makes some of the stories lack cohesion and it grates on me all the way to my soul.

-To finally finish my Haunt you later story!

(That will teach me for not having the whole thing written before I posted it!)

-To write for more than just contests.

-To make more NEW artwork for my stories instead of going through my backstock of paintings.

-To publish a chapter a week of the fiction book that I am working on(although this is more of a pipedream due to my writing process, it is a little more skip around rather than write straight through), I would love to do a page a day but that would get to be overkill in my opinion.

-I also REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to move my blog AND blog audience over to Vocal as I LOVE writing on Vocal & my current blog site is getting to be more hassle than helpful, but too many of my articles are getting flagged for AI-generated content and spam so I am trying out Medium for my non-fiction articles and work- perhaps I can do a chapter a week over there...I don't know though.

Medium is very accepting so that's good, but I had truly hoped to keep everything on Vocal.

-I also wanted to start doing 1 to 2 articles per week, but perhaps I can still do that on Medium. Iv been blogging since my kiddo was itty bitty and I love it but between the kiddo and the work and everything else Iv been falling behind so I was hoping that this would be a way to get myself back to a regular or semi-regular schedule. It would also lead to more material for my upcoming books.

-I am also wanting to branch my blog out from strictly metaphysical topics, but we will see how that goes.

****As I write this, I have 10 articles & interviews with local psychics and crafters in draft hell because Vocal won't even let me submit them. I have tried re-editing and such..but let's be honest, it's hard enough to write a factual - well thought out engaging article...it shouldn't be hard to UPLOAD it too! Apparently from what Iv been reading its an issue with their AI content filter in an update, as a lot of writers are having the same issues. If so, I sure hope Vocal gets itself fixed soon.****

-I would like to do more co-writing projects

-I also want to feature artwork from different artists to go with my stories on Vocal

-I aim to also use Vocal to push myself to bring the stories that have been stuck in my head for a couple of decades to paper, well more ambitiously than last year.

I also have writing goals that I will be integrating with Vocal's platform but will also be independent of Vocal.

These include:

-A standalone Author & Artist website

-Slowly building and gathering all of my works(Art & Writing on to my stand-alone website)

-To enter MORE contests, on & off of Vocal, this year. I missed a big chunk of them last year- From September to December, I thought life was trying to take me out!!!! I'm pretty sure I died like three times and didn't even realize it!

-Some of my fiction works written into books and published (Through Celestial Imprint Publishing, it is a very small start-up company and they are wonderful!)

-Gathering Authors for a few of the anthologies that I am working on (The Anthology idea actually cropped up due in part to all of the writing that I DIDN'T publish for Vocal's Campfire Tales contest), and publishing the Anthologies

-Finishing the first run of my Metaphysical Planner and Planner Calendar

-Finishing the non-fiction works that I started a few years ago. Chiefly among those are the Tarot Journal, Crystal Journal, Spell Work Journal, and Potions Journal. As well as My books Spirit Guide Basics ,and Planetary Retrograde Survival Basics.

-Making the planner, calendar, and journal pages into easily downloadable printables

Now for some of the questions in the prompts for this contest:

How has the past year on Vocal shaped your goals for this year?

In every way, shape, and form.

I can honestly say that if I had not joined Vocal in 2022(Because of a contest & deep personal stress), I would not be writing creatively at all.

I had packed all of my ideas away in my mind to focus on other things that I deemed as more important(I cringe as I read that statement), when writing is oh so very important.

If I can get the books done that I am working on, I will be putting a Thank you to Vocal in them, because this platform has been the starting point for bringing my writing out to other people.

What genres or writing forms do you wish to explore?

As many as I can!

I like writing supernatural mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and horror.....but after writing a piece for the Romance Vocal awards from last year...I would like to make more forays into the romance genre - in the genres that I enjoy of course- as I found it fun to write romance..... An area that I had previously really shied away from.

How often will you write?

Again, as much as I can!

I need to find a routine that lets me be more regular about it. I'm more inspiration and deadline-driven, so I'm looking into ways to make it a daily habit. I may write a piece about it if I can find a good way to do it.

How will Vocal challenges help shape your creative journey?

The same way that they already have, inspiration and motivation.

There is always the drive to win, to make money, but at the end of it all..... what keeps me coming back is the challenge of writing something that I didn't think that I could, writing something that I normally wouldn't, writing something that I thought was impossible, writing something new!

Honestly, I'd love to win for a change, but my prize is actually that I pushed myself and came up with a good story.

Is there a specific piece that I want to finish or work on?

Yes, many of them. Too many to list.

So I think the first one is Haunt You Later, It was supposed to be a Halloween spooky story and then I got sick last year and then life swept me up so I haven't had a chance to finish it yet.

Also, I am currently working on turning my short story Stranger than Fiction Investigations, into a full-length novel. It is currently around 20,000 words and I would like to get it up to 80,000 words.

What do I want my impact to be on Vocal?

That's easy, it's the same impact that I wish for whenever I write creatively- to make my reader feel less alone, to promote connection, to Entertain & engage, and maybe toss a little bit of actual know-how in my stories for my readers to chew on...but that's really more of a sidebar.

For my Nonfiction work, it is much the same with more of a focus put on learning, entertaining, and separating fact from fiction. Also answering questions that are put to me so that my answers can be referred back to for posterity.

Now, will I get ALL of this stuff done this year.......questionable.

Will I get as much as I can, done this year.... ABSOLUTELY!

Will I have a new list for next year...You betcha, I'm already workin on it! And I will probably have a chunk of unfinished goals from this year too!

Well, I'm sure there is stuff that I forgot, but wish me luck for now!

I also wish everyone else good luck with their writing goals for the year!