The dumpster fire that was 2020 is over and as we enter 2021, most of us a hoping for a better year. Maybe you channeled the stress of this past year into creativity and projects and used your writing, art, or bread baking to get you through. Maybe the stress wrung out of all your creative juices, and you want to get back to writing.

If you’re like me, you’re probably getting excited about the prospects of a new year and new goals and like to look back and see what you’ve accomplished. You have plans, and no amount of unrest or pandemic is going to sideline your plans.

But maybe, you found yourself lost and unsettled and are longing for hope and normalcy. You just want to sit down and write without stress or anxiety. The pressure to create is too strong and the outside stressors are not helping your creative process at all.

I want you to know, it’s OK.

It’s OK to struggle, and it’s OK to hang on with unnatural grit.

But as I enter 2021, I want to keep working toward my goals, writing and otherwise. So I’m going to share with you what some of my writing goals are.

100 Rejections

I actually wrote out an entire blog post on this. Basically, once I’ve finished revisions on my YA fantasy novel, I’m going to submit it to agents and publishers with the goal of hitting 100 rejections.

Research and draft a nonfiction book

I’ve had an idea brewing in my head for awhile of writing historical nonfiction to use in the classroom. When I taught history, I was dying for really great nonfiction for middle school kids to use. This year I’m taking a stab at it. I’ve written nonfiction articles before, but this is an whole new ticket. The first part of the year (at least) will be researching and outlining, then by summer/fall I hope to draft it out.

Draft a Novel or Two

Speaking of drafting, I have a couple (ok, multiple) ideas floating in my head for novels, ranging from chapter books to YA. I plan to work on those, maybe do NaNoWriMo again in November.

Finish revisions on my YA fantasy novel

I have a Young Adult fantasy novel that I’ve been working on for about 5 years. I just finished the third round of revisions and have a couple of beta readers on it. Once they’re finished, I knock out the final revisions and get it polished to start submitting it out.

2 submissions per month

Of course, as a freelancer, I need to be consistent with submissions. In 2020, I had a goal of 4 submission per month, and I hit it. This year, since I want to tackle some bigger writing projects, I’m dialing it back to two. (Of course, I can always go bigger, but I want to be realistic.)

Are you making goals or resolutions? What are they? Do you have writing goals for the new year? Shoot me a comment below and tell me what they are!