2025 Writing Goals
We are seven days into 2025, and it already feels like quite a whirlwind! On the last day of the year, the shower in the en suite of our primary bedroom completely stopped working. Then, almost all the plumbing in our house quit, even though we still had water. After some digging and investigating, we discovered that several dens of mice had essentially destroyed the plumbing in our house.
To put this into perspective, so you don’t think we’re careless or unsanitary, I live in a pier-and-beam house in rural Texas. These conditions—country living, pier-and-beam foundation, and proximity to water—create the perfect storm to entice mice under the house seeking shelter. Yes, there was maintenance that had been left unattended, which didn’t help the situation, but either way, here we are. So, for the seventh day of Christmas and Epiphany, my true love gave to me...a whole-house replumb! Let me tell you, being without water for almost a week when you have five pets, two kids, and two adults in the house is not for the faint of heart.
That’s how my 2025 has started, but I’m determined not to let it affect the rest of the year.
I really don’t like setting New Year’s resolutions or strict goals for myself (therapy work in progress), but I do like to lay out small, manageable accomplishments. That way, if I don’t achieve one huge, end-of-year goal, I can still feel good about meeting many smaller ones along the way. I need to reread Atomic Habits, but I really liked the book because the author talks about how small, incremental habits and goals can profoundly affect your larger objectives and behaviors. This approach is also known as "habit stacking."
This year, for writing, I want to focus on completing my second draft and getting feedback from alpha readers before starting my third draft. I’ll be kicking off my revisions with a 100-day book challenge, likely using a feedback forum throughout the process. My plan is to finish this draft before summer so I can send it out for feedback. I may also consider coaching for the revision process, but I’m not entirely sure yet. Either way, my big goal is to have this draft ready for alpha readers so it can be polished and sent to beta readers next year.
I also want to keep up with my blog and work on expanding my social media presence, though I’m still figuring out where that expansion might happen. It’s important to me that how I present myself remains authentic and not overly curated, so finding the right platform and approach is key. Finally, I want to continue reading, with a goal of finishing at least 12 fiction books this year across various genres. I know this will be crucial to my drafting process.