Is It Time To Redefine Your Goals?

Hey, guys.

Lately I've been trying to head in new directions, with my writing and the blogs. For example - you might've noticed visual changes to both Writer, Bewildered and Roses & Mustard. I've been mixing and matching colors, backgrounds, and graphics to improve the looks of the sites and (hopefully) increase blog traffic.

Writing-wise, I've made a huge decision: I'm sticking to short stories.

While I was in Paris, I wrote a short story entitled "At the Zoo." I'm very happy with it because I think it marks - or I'd like it to mark - a change in my writing habits. This past year was a dry one, creatively. I produced barely anything. I wasn't committed enough - I didn't make the necessary time and energy sacrifices.

I want to change that this year by redefining my goals. I've been so focused on idea of a novel, but it's now that I'm finally realizing the truth: I'm not ready for a such a lengthy project. If I want to get anything written, I need to set smaller, manageable goals - that is, short stories by given dates.

The other change I'm making is plot-wise. I've spent the last several months developing characters for my early-twentieth century story. (It's switched from 1945 to 1922 and back again more than once.) But none of my characters have had the right spark. I've liked them, but never loved them. And this week, I finally figured out where I went wrong.

I don't really want to invent my own characters. A story I find much more compelling is the life of Anna Akhmatova, my favorite poet since I was 12, when I first discovered poetry. I'm interested in her relationship with first husband Nikolay Gumilev and her brief affair with Amedeo Modigliani - which took place in Paris. I've made my first goal to write about her and Modi's time together.

What are your goals? Do you need to redefine them, or have you had to in the past?

Oh! - last but not least, I'm heading off to the UK for 2 more weeks. I doubt I'll have time to post on the trip, but I'll see you again September 9th.

And did I mention my Kindle got broken? Well, my Kindle got broken. I might blog about the experience when I return...