While I don’t often make New Year resolutions (except when I do), I like to stop and take stock of my life at the end of the year and set some goals for the year to come. After all, it’s hard to live your life according to your priorities if you don’t know what your priorities are!
Writing:
In 2012, I had several more stories come out, and I qualified to become a full member of SFWA. I also sold my first (and second) science fiction stories. I spent the bulk of the year working on my YA novel The Academy of Forgetting.
My plan for 2013 is to query a large number of agents and complete another YA novel. I’d also like to participate in at least a couple weeks of Codex’s Weekend Warrior (writing flash fiction). And of course, I want to continue to increase my focus, improve my writing skills, and read a lot.
Health:
Well, given that I spent six months waiting for my foot to heal, this year was on the frustrating side. But I was able to stay focused on my writing through it all, which I am very pleased about. My tooth from the drama of 2011 rarely bothers me anymore. And since the fall I’ve definitely been in less overall pain than I have for the last few years.
My wish for 2013 is that I can continue this whole less pain trend. I’d like to begin gradually increasing my strength. What I wish for the most is that I can begin to reintroduce some activities that I love but haven’t been able to do the past few years. Like dancing! And hiking!
Travel:
I wanted to get out of the country in 2012, and that didn’t end up happening. I mean, I went to World Fantasy in Toronto, but given that I pretty much only saw the hotel, I don’t think that really counts. However, I fell in love with Seattle, got to see Chicago for the first time, and faced down a hurricane in New York, so the year wasn’t without its adventures. I attended seven writing events, including three I’d never done before, and had a truly fabulous time.
So my wish for 2013 will be the same as last year’s: that I leave the country. And actually SEE and EXPERIENCE stuff while abroad. I’m considering trying to travel somewhere in Europe pre-World Fantasy in Brighton, which seems the most likely way to make this happen this year. I’ve already mostly planned out which writing events I’ll be attending for the year, although a few remain up in the air.
Personal Growth:
Oh, 2012. I cannot sum it up in one paragraph. I learned a lot, I changed a lot, I made progress towards becoming the person I want to be. My understanding of myself and the world around me is clearer than it’s ever been.
My wish for 2013? To take a loooong vacation. Ha! But seriously, 2013 is going to be a year of external change, when I get to put my clearer understanding into practice. I anticipate a fair amount of trial and error, so that should be … exciting. I’ll build on what I’ve been working on for the past two years, continue to practice my own definition of assertiveness, and look to create good habits so I can conserve energy.
Have any goals for 2013 you’d like to share?
The Practical Free Spirit 
My goal for 2013 is to reduce my possessions if not by half than at least by one third – so that I can put my house on the market – so that I can sell it before the end of 2013 – so that I can move closer to my daughter – so that I can be more involved in my granddaughter’s life.
I have been in the process for a couple years, now, so my daughter doesn’t believe it will ever happen. I am serious about this and want/need to make it happen – the sooner the better. Spring would be great, but fall is a more realistic target.
My goal is by the end of 2013 to have a clearer idea of where my life is going than at the end of 2012. Perhaps not quite in the way it sounds.
The start of 2013 kicks off my last semester of my bachelors degree. At the start of May, I’ll be graduated and then…?
I gave 8 history lectures in 2012. In addition to my 3 classes this semester I am also giving tours at a local lighthouse & museum. I’m planning to shoot for some internships for the summer. Will I end up with a Civil War battlefield or museum? Will I decide to find a grad school and get my Masters to teach community college? Regardless, I’m almost guaranteed to be living somewhere else – probably outside the state of Florida where I’ve lived since 1988.
And maybe I can find a way to get my act together, get focused, and spend more time reading and especially writing. I got straight A’s and read 70 books in 2012, but it pains me that I could probably have read 100 and I should have written alot more than the papers for school. I’ll take teacher comments and A-paper grades as proof that I am a good writer, but damned if I have managed to make myself sit down on a regular basis and put the ideas rattling around in my head (some of them for years) into text.