August Writing Goals

But first a word. Two words. Thank you. Thank you for your nice comments about the column. Y'all gave me a lift, and I appreciate that. The column runs on Saturdays, so I'll (try to remember) to post on that day.

And now! GOALS! I lay on my bed this morning trying to figure out my day and I had this realization. The rest of my August is C.R.A.Z.Y. Now I am a big, large advocate of writing no matter how nuts your life is because life is always nuts. On the other hand, I think my goals this month should reflect the choppy weeks and the ins and outs of family and guests. So with this in mind, here are my goals, which are more modest than they would have been had I posted yesterday.

1. Write 250 words M-F on the mystery.
2. Get the column in every week.
3. Bang out one or possibly two picture book manuscripts. Definitely one.
4. Desultorily (now THERE'S an adverb you don't see every day!) outline the YA mystery with plans (and hopes!) to get really busy on the thing in September.

Time to put my feet up now, after that perspiration-inducing goal-setting session.

The new me?

I came to my office this morning with a pen, a notebook, a calendar, and the fervent hope to get a handle on my life. Because you can do that with a pen, a notebook, and a calendar, right? You just have to sit there and generate goals and lists without being interrupted by Democratic candidates canvassing the neighborhood and ringing your doorbell because your son is a delegate and they want to talk to him and voila! You've got your new life all planned out!

So that's what I've been doing for an hour or so now, which is why Sara just popped her head in here and asked how my new life looks. And I told her, "A lot like my old one, actually."

What I think is interesting about this story is my touching faith in the power of paper and pen to make everything all better.