Game Plan in the Works

Football may be what everyone is talking about these days but my Game Plan has nothing to do with the Super Bowl.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m thrilled our Seahawks have made it to the Super Bowl…they deserve a shot at the title and I’d love to see them win.

No, my Game Plan is personal.  My Game Plan is going to help keep me inspired and moving forward.  My Game Plan will give me direction, motivation and results to help me monitor my progress.

Why do I need a Game Plan? 

Because I want to continue to be inspired and I don’t want to get stuck just going through the motions.  I want to continue to have a passion for writing, a yearning to continue to learn more about the craft, and I want to continue to feel inspired so that the ideas just flow through me like water from a faucet. 

Everyone needs some kind of plan so they know what they want, what it will take to get the results they need and what the next step will be once those results are achieved.  We always have some kind of plan, whether on paper or in the back of our minds, but sometimes the plan gets fuzzy, or it fizzles out, or too many gray areas take over so that we may become side tracked from the original plan.  The desired end result may never change but sometimes, when the daily grind of every-day life threatens to suffocate your muse, you have to get serious, take control, and put together a plan of attack, aka a Game Plan. 

So, here’s what my Game Plan is going to be…

• I’m going to continue to write as often as I can and when life gets tricky and keeps me away from my writing longer than I’d like, I’ll make up for it the best I can but I won’t beat myself up about it in the process.  The negative thoughts and self-loathing attitude that can come from believing we aren’t doing well enough is something I’d like to remain free from. 
• I’m going to join at least one, maybe two writers associations.  I’ve meant to do this for some time but just kept putting it off.  Now, I’m come to realize I probably missed out on a number of opportunities by not taking part in a local writers association and I look forward to joining an established group who I can continue to learn from and where I can relate to other writers.
• I’m going to finish editing the proof of a short ghost story I wrote over the holidays as a gift for my kids and I will make it available for others as an eBook and as a small paperback.  I really hadn’t thought too much about writing short stories but after finishing this one, I discovered just how much fun they are to write and how rewarding it is to be able to offer something else in between the books in my series. 
• Because short stories give that extra bit of satisfaction, I’m going to play around with the idea of trying to write and publish a couple of short stories a year in between my regular books.  Short stories are a great way of dabbling in other genres and it will also help me strengthen my writing skills.
• I’m going to take a chance again and enter one of my books in a contest – this time Best Kept Secrets will feel the brunt of scrutiny by judges but I have to step away from the fear and take a shot because you just never know what might happen.
• I’ll continue to study the craft and while blogs and websites do offer quite a lot of useful information, I’m going to focus again on actual books on the craft and I will study them like the student I am.  The knowledge I gain from these books will continue to inspire me and the very act of reading will keep my eyes on the prize rather than on the World Wide Web where my thoughts can be so easily sidetracked. 
• I’m going to make plans to attend an upcoming book fair I was recently made aware of which will occur in Seattle at the end of February.  While I won’t be able to take time off to attend the annual conference, I do look forward to attending what will be one of the largest book fairs I’m sure I will ever view first hand. 

As I write, I will continue to learn and as I learn, I will continue to write.  That’s all any writer can do.  And with this Game Plan under my belt, I look forward to the inspiration that will continue to fuel my passion for writing and move me even closer to the future I see for myself as a writer. 

Short story coming soon!