Writing Resolutions 2018 cont’d
STEP 2: ENVISION
You’ve got your chart of 2017 Accomplishments and Rat Holes. You’ve taken time reflect with your partner and glean insights from that list.
Let me pause right here to reiterate the importance of that reflection. There’s a gold mine of gleaming ah-has to be dug out of that exercise. In my annual visioning meeting last week with my co-creative partner, Julie, we pick-axed a few more gems out of the rock of 2017 worthy of mentioning…
— I dedicated myself to the memoir last year, shoving all other enticing projects (even some money-making endeavors) to the side — and that’s why I made so much progress.
— I developed a 5-step process I could count on to turn out a decent chapter draft — and it’s a process that requires time, two weeks per chapter.
— Pitching my book to agents, though seemingly premature, was a game-changer for me: it got me clear on exactly what this project is; and the positive reactions gave me a boost in confidence that I am carrying with me to completion. I will surely need it!
Why are these insights so important? If I pay attention, they’ll inform my 2018 plan — and help me do more of what worked!
So now, given these insights, what are my creative aspirations for 2018? What are YOURS?
We start with a timed free-write to get this ideas out. You know what a free-write is: doesn’t cost you a penny. It’s a brainstorm of ideas, unfiltered, uncorrected, and unexpurgated. Set your timer to 15 minutes and move your pen across the page without stopping. It can be a bullet list or paragraphs of prose, lines of poetry, or one big run-on sentence.
When the timer goes off, lay down your pen. Sit back, relax, and read your free-write to your partner. Let it sink in, just the way you did your past year reflection. Listen for your partner’s reaction.
What jumps out? Underline those items. Is there anything missing? Any superfluous noise? Focal goal vs. supporting goals?
Which, if any, are ambitious/stretch goals? What’s new from last year and what is a repeat or continuation?
These questions are critical get to the heart of your 2018 plan.
Here are the two opening paragraphs of my goal statement — you can see I get right to the point:
In 2018, I will finish Strings Attached. I will stay focused throughout the year on this project, knowing that I have many great book projects in my head — and trusting that there will be a right time to come back to them (or not).
I will embrace completion of the final and critical act of the memoir. In the process of writing through the last three or four critical chapters, I will face the important question: What am I STILL hiding? I will write those pieces. I will get to the end. I will go back and edit based on the accumulated critiques, without any major reorganization or rethinking.
Note my use of strong, active verbs.
It didn’t come out that way the first time. To my partner, Julie’s, credit, she caught me in my draft statement using ‘I want…’ and suggested the upgrade to ‘I will…’, shifting from desire to commitment with just three small letter.
Now that’s the power of a partner — to point out the blind spots and opportunities. Even a coach needs a coach!
Now, like a savory winter stew, let’s let that 2018 vision simmer.
In the next post, we’ll cull out the goals and organize them into a quarterly plan that will keep you accountable over the year.
Sound like a business?
Yes, we want your creative year to be profitable — and the principle stockholder demanding the dividends is YOU!
(Thankfully, unlike the volatile US stock market, our creative enterprise is impervious to speculation over interest rates.)
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