2013: A Writer's Retrospective

At the beginning of each new year I set goals:  some personal, some relational, some professional.  And I also gaze back in self-analysis to see how well I did in reaching the goals of the previous year.

As far as my 2013 goals are concerned, I did stretch myself in new ways and in most instances either achieved or surpassed the goals I had set.  Two of my 2013 goals, however, still need work: 

1. I did get into great physical shape through the summer for instance, but have gained 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas . . . so this weight has to come off in January!

2. I had set a goal of spending more time with my wife, but with her new job, a full slate of adults in the house, and my ministry and writing goals pressing over the top, this never happened.  And we even shed the TV in 2013 and spent very little time watching movies.

As for my other 2013 goals, I worked hard at raising a lot of money, writing grants, and working with new families at church.  Calvary grew again in 2013, and we achieved several milestones as a congregation, including many professions of faith, baptisms, and a solid plan for growth in the coming years.

As for writing . . . my best year ever.  Including:   

* Published/wrote and-or contracted to write 7 books in 12 months.
* Published at least 120 essays or stories in magazines/journals (I lost count at 120 and will have to do a better job with my record-keeping this year).
* Published around a dozen poems in various journals (again, not sure of the actual count, I just don't remember).

Also, as I calculate my word count for 2013, I think I've easily written over 250,000 words, most for publication. 

And here's another little tidbit I was thinking about:  of the 250,000 words published in 2013, I think my wife read less than 1% of them.  I'm not complaining, mind you (I don't expect her to read what I write).  My family read 0% of what I wrote (but I don't expect them to read my material either, since they lived through it).

In essence, the only persons to read my material in 2013 were the editors/publishers who published my work (or will) and the 3-4 loyal readers who keep me afloat.  I'll also give special thanks to the lady at the check-out counter at CVS pharmacy who sold me that 5-pound bag of black licorice during my dark night of the soul when I was completing my Big Boy. 

Now, enough blogging.  Onward and upward.  I've got a lot of stretching to do in 2014.