Lofty Ideas

Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible. - Doug Larson

Each time the space shuttle blasts off, I'm amazed. Thursday's liftoff of Discovery was no exception. I thought to myself, this began as an idea.

The idea morphed into a goal. A plan was set in motion. Then came the hard work, the small successes, and the setbacks. Our nation rejoiced in the triumphs, and cried over heartbreaking losses.

It's amazing what can be accomplished when we set big goals. Your version of liftoff might be magazine publication, picture books, or anthologies. It might be novels, agents, and print publication. Whatever the goal, the process remains the same: create a plan, work hard, and have the guts and tenacity to chase the prize. There will be hurdles and disappointments, to be sure. But there will also be victories--which we should celebrate, no matter how small.

Determination goes a long way, whether you're pursuing publication or blasting to outer space--and it all begins with an idea. As Les Brown said, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

What's your idea of liftoff, and how close are you to achieving it? Or have you fulfilled your dreams and set new goals? I'd love to hear your story.

In the previous post, Writers: take a tip, leave a tip, you all left such helpful pieces of advice in the comments. I'm linking the post to my sidebar. Feel free to stop by any time and take a tip or leave a tip. And thanks for sharing your words of wisdom.

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Loosey Goosey Goals

"Establishing goals is all right if you don't let them deprive you of interesting detours." - Doug Larson

Do you set firm goals for the year, then freak out if you don't reach them?

I would. That's why I create loosey goosey goals for each day: Write x number of words. Revise x number of chapters. Read through critique pages. Query Tracker had a great post about writer's goals here.

I have long-term publishing goals, but they're somewhat dependent on the tastes and actions of other people. If my goal was to publish a novel in 2011, I'd be disappointed on December 31st.

My goals for 2011 are loose: charge forward, write new material, revise like crazy, try new things, submit, submit, submit, and keep learning.

Nothing is impossible if we work hard enough and push through our obstacles. As Jack Penn said, "One of the secrets to life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks." And as Elana Johnson wrote in this post, "the impossible is possible."

Do you have concrete goals for 2011, or will you take the loosey goosey approach? Please share!

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Greener Grass

The grass is always greener on the other side, even in the writing world. We look at other writers and think, I wish I was there already.

Those working on their first drafts wish their wips were polished.

Those with polished manuscripts wish their queries were perfect.

The unagented wish they had agents.

The agented wish they had a book deal.

The published wish they had higher sales.

Best-selling authors wish they had a movie deal.

Round and round it goes.

With the right attitude, this can work in our favor. It gives us something to strive for while we're pecking away on the keyboard. Without the proper perspective, this could bring us down, making us feel as if we don't measure up.

I read somewhere that goals are dreams with deadlines. I think it's okay to look past where we are and work our tails off to get to the other side. As long as we understand there are weeds in that greener grass, because there are. In case you missed it, Nathan Bransford wrote an interesting post about When Dreams Become Expectations.

Am I where I want to be with my writing career? No. But even though the grass I'm standing on has a few weeds here and there, it feels pretty good under my feet. How about you?

photo credit: flickr