“But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” (Ps 33:11)

Do you set goals? Each year, I create goals with smaller, manageable action steps. This is partly based on my performance-based personality (I like checking off boxes) and also because I used to work with grant programs that required this sort of goal setting. While coming up with realistic, measurable goals can seem daunting at first, I have found that setting goals ensures that I get to where I want to go.

To make sure I’m on the right track, I evaluate my goals mid-year, and because this year has been stranger than most, I really have no idea where I stand. This is unusual for me. I usually keep track as I go, but I haven’t done so this time. I’m interested in finding out how I’m doing with my writing goals and where I need to make adjustments.
I set a goal to finally finish my 65,000-word cozy mystery. You probably know that this is a goal I’ve set almost every year for the past four years (maybe five? six? I’ve lost count!). But I have a renewed interest in writing my cozy mystery novel. I had put it aside to focus on other pursuits, such as running my editing business and leading the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. (OWFI). When my schedule cleared in March due to the pandemic, I turned my attention back to writing. I’ve added over ten thousand words to my cozy mystery since the first of April, and I have a goal to add ten thousand more during July’s Camp NaNoWriMo (a spinoff of November’s National Novel Writing Month).

I set two other writing goals that go hand in hand: revise or write four short stories and enter four contests (or submit for publishing consideration). I’ve revised one short story and written two others, and contest season is approaching. So far, I’ve submitted my devotional, Echoes of Joy: A Devotional for Animal Lovers, to the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards, and I turned in a creative nonfiction story to an anthology. I haven’t received word about the devotional, but my creative nonfiction story was rejected. (Ouch! But it happens.) I plan to revise and submit the creative nonfiction story to a contest this fall. I’ll reach my goal for contest submissions, and whether I win or not, I know that I took the leap.

I was well on my way to exceeding my goal to speak to four different writing groups when we went into quarantine. Even so, I’ve spoken to two groups (one in person in February and one online in July). This one is out of my hands at this point, so if I don’t meet the goal this year, I’ll carry it over to next year and search out more online venues at which to speak.

A goal that I haven’t started on (and in fact, had forgotten about until this evaluation) is to write content for a new devotional. So while I have you here, can you tell me what kind of devotional you would be interested in reading? Maybe one for Thanksgiving or Easter? Or one for caregivers? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

After evaluating my goals, I can honestly say that this has been one of my most productive writing years so far. While I’m off track when it comes to writing new devotional content, I’ve stayed the course for my other goals. And that’s what I call success!

Dear Jesus, thank you that your plans never fail, even though mine do. Help me to see my goals through to the end but to be flexible and make adjustments when necessary. Amen.