Preparing for a new year

As the old year winds down, many of us judge ourselves too harshly. Which new year’s resolutions did we fail to keep? What goals did we come up short on meeting?

And then we go and make new resolutions and goals and start the cycle all over again.

I’ve actually been feeling guilty about my shortcomings this year for awhile now. I’ve always been my harshest critic.

I’m disappointed that I haven’t been able to build a more lucrative freelance writing career this year, when I’ve been working from home full-time. I have one main writing gig right now, but it doesn’t pay nearly enough to pay the debt I accrued during Mom’s illness last year. The job market is tough, and I have been humbled and educated. So far, I’ve landed a few interviews but no job offers. I hope to be starting 2014 on a positive note because I have a job interview scheduled for the first week of the new year.

As for writing goals, I’ve pretty much met my goal of writing on this blog a couple of times per week. That includes reposting other people’s blogs, which I want to continue to do in the new year. The first year of The Memories Project, I focused on personal memories. This year I focused on awareness and activism. I’m still working on next year’s theme, but my general goal is to focus even more on the hopes, struggles and successes of other families dealing with dementia.

I think where I’m most disappointed is the novel. After Dad died, I had started working on a novel and had a pretty substantial outline developed. I even pitched the concept at a writer’s conference. Then Mom got sick. The agent I pitched the memoir concept to stated that the memoir market is oversaturated and I might want to consider converting my idea to fiction. I’ve had a whole year now to mull a new concept and I still haven’t fully formed a solid new outline, let alone written a complete novel like I had hoped. In 2014, I hope to complete that outline and begin novel writing in earnest.

On a positive note, I’ve written several poems and short stories and submitted them for publication. Have any of them been published? No, but I did get an anecdote about my mom included in an anthology, so I’m counting that as a publication credit!

I’m also disappointed that I didn’t do more to actively support Alzheimer’s awareness. I missed the local walk and I didn’t volunteer at a local nursing home like I wanted to. I did faithfully write to my congresspersons when Alzheimer’s-related funding bills were on the table. I’m also an active member of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry.

What are you most proud of this year and what do you plan on working on next year?