As the year draws to a close, Christmas is over, and we face the cold darkness of January, many of us turn to resolutions for inspiration. I got on my own nerves years ago with the whole lose weight resolution, and swore moving forward that I would only have resolutions that wouldn’t make me want to slit my wrists.

Many people believe in goals, having one or five or ten year goals. Goals are scary, especially if you plan on adhering to them. When you commit to a goal, you open yourself up to failure of achievement of that goal, and possible consequences of that failure. Let’s say your goal is to be the VP of your division in five years. What happens if that time comes and the current VP isn’t budging? Do you adjust your goal, or do you try to find that VP job at another company? You are forced to face some big decisions, which is always scary.

I’ve never been a goal person. I say that, but I set goals for myself all the time. I’m writing a novel right now, and my goal has been to write 10,000 words a week. But that’s doable for me. I know better than to put some sort of stressful goal on myself like Hit #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list in 2014, or Surpass popularity of Nora Roberts, or Become as beloved as Kristan Higgins. But looking back on this year, if I do say so myself, I’ve come a long way, baby. I started 2012 with high hopes for publication, as my full manuscript was in the hands of a publishing house and being reviewed by an editor (gasp!). But I was cut off at the knees mid-January when I got a polite but firm rejection, but with some feedback that was invaluable. After a few days in pity party mode, I picked my butt up and decided that it was time to get better. 

So this year has been a year of learning for me. I wrote three full-length (90K+) novels in 2012, but I didn’t even complete one in 2013. Am I devastated? Absolutely not. I have been taking writing classes, attending conferences, judging contest entries, editing and critiquing for other writers and using the gained knowledge to edit the crap out of those three novels. Looking back on what they once were, and what they have become, I am SO glad I didn’t have any of them published in their original state. 

I’ve still got a ways to go before I write a love scene to the quality of Maya Banks, or a hapless caper to the level of Janet Evanovich, but I’ll get there one day because of two things; I won’t give up, and I love it. It’s that simple. 

So rather than set a specific goal for the year, I’m going strive to keep learning, keep getting better, and keep at it. 

Please be safe on New Year’s Eve this year. And have a healthy and successful 2014!