It's Time for the Word of the Year: What's Yours?

Every year around this time, I write a post about my Word of the Year. This is something I started doing in 2016 when I was going through a divorce and was feeling overwhelmed with every aspect of life. The thought of making new year's goals or resolutions was completely out of the picture. My critique group member had read the book: One Word That Will Change Your Life, and she had successfully navigated her way through an entire year, making positive changes focused on this one word she chose. So I thought--why not? If any of you have been through a life-changing time, you know you're often desperate to latch on to anything that will help you make your way through--you're surviving!

Even though, I'm mostly over that hump now and back to writing and enjoying life again, I still prefer the "one word" New Year's goal method rather than coming up with a bunch of goals and resolutions. This year, it's a little different for me because I do have some goals that I'm trying to accomplish each day--working 1 hour and 15 minutes on my own writing before working my day job, teaching WOW! classes, and helping editing clients. But luckily, that all falls under this most glorious word that I chose for 2020:

CREATE! 

As you can see in the photo above, I included my words for each year since 2016: Organization, Peace, Calm, and Grow, so that I can build on them--I do make improvements in each area each year, but there's always room for more growth. 

I chose CREATE this year because I am ready to create the life  I want to live. I want to create books, my business, a better life for my daughter and me, a peaceful and beautiful home, a fun trip to visit my best friend, and who knows what else. But it is a year of creation, and I can't wait! 

Plus I got my daughter in on it, too. When I made that poster above, she also made hers (she's 9!) and hung it in in her room:

So how about you? Have you ever chosen one word to focus on throughout the year? My critique group member shared this site here with us, which helps you figure out your word by answering some questions. I just meditate on it each year, and my word comes to me. But there are all kinds of ways to do it: brainstorm, journal, talk to a friend, check out the site, read the book, and meditate. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts below. But whatever you decide, I hope 2020 is your best year yet! 

Margo L. Dill is the managing editor for WOW! Women On Writing and teaches classes throughout the year on novel writing, writing MG and YA novels, and school visits. Check out more about her here! 

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8 comments achieving goals, Margo L. Dill, My One Word, new year, new year resolutions, one word, word of the year

If you can't measure it, you can't manage it

My computer is full of recorded ideas that have not been fleshed out, projects that are halfway finished, or finished and looking for a home. Sound familiar?

As a member of a writer's group, I've found the support and encouragement I need to work on/finish these projects, and I'm making progress. But recently, it seems like my computer hides files and documents that contain the perfect paragraph or description of a sunset or character sketch I know I wrote, but can't find.

Earlier this year a writer friend asked for advice regarding which project to work on next. He had made a list of the projects, and determined that the simple act of making a list helped him organize the tasks at hand. Viewing his options meant that he could measure them, and then manage them.

I decided to follow his example, and realized that naming them and placing them in one folder titled WIP (Work in Progress), also made me feel more organized. I discovered that I have seven major projects I'm working on, and my list looks like this:

Novel 1 Contemporary - Finished but not polished
Novel 2 Eco thriller - Plot hole problem that I recently solved but haven't actually written
Short Stories - A bunch, one in particular that I just figured out how to finish, and another one with a complete plot, but needs more depth and emotion
Poetry - Way more than I realized, with one group/collection going out in a few days
Nonfiction article/book 1 - Women's History
Nonfiction article/blog/book 2 - Minimalism
Nonfiction book/article/blog 3 - Education/Teaching

My work has been divided into the seven writing projects listed above, coincidentally, one for each day of the week. I made a folder for each one and inserted all pertinent files, which took much longer than I thought.

All of the projects are rather lengthy except some of the short stories, which I'm close to finishing. I don't always work on a regular schedule, and don't necessarily start one project and work until it's finished. I tend to jump back and forth between projects.

If I have an hour, I can pick one and knock off some writing that puts me closer to my goals, instead of spending time trying to find that perfect description of a sunset I know I put somewhere. Adding five pages a week to any of these projects means 260 more pages at the end of the year.

If I don't write, I can submit to literary journals or promote something on social media. There is no shortage of projects, so there is no shortage of work to be done. But now that I can measure it, I can manage it.

Mary Horner is a certified medical writer, teaches communications at St. Louis and St. Charles Community Colleges, and earned the writing certificate from UM-St. Louis.

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5 comments achieving goals, If you can't measure it, organizing computer files, writers groups, writing projects, you can't manage it