How 2022 Went

Not so great!

Surprise! I only achieved one of my goals for 2022!

Goals and results:
1. Write an average of 1,000 words a day, which would come to 365,000 words for the year. Instead I wrote 187,240 words (assuming I don’t squeeze in a few more tonight) which is an average of 513 words a day, just over half my goal. However, I did beat the heck out of 2021's word count which was 115,213 words, or an average of about 315 words a day.
2. Finish my second novel, Hive Five. Instead, I’ve written through chapter 25 of the current draft, which is not the final draft. Yowch.
3. Read 104 books. Instead I read 57. Again, a little over half. My favorites were The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison and The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides.
4. Have 50 Patreon patrons at the same time. Nope.
5. Weigh 225 pounds and don’t get heavier after I do. Nope.
6. Write 52 blogposts on The One-Thousand. Only 25, including this one.
7. Get my A.A. in English. A WIN! Yeah! But that one wasn’t really in doubt as long as I lived through the first third of the year.

I only finished six pieces of fiction and they were all flash fiction. Quadruple yowch. Most of those 187,240 words I wrote went to Patreon stuff and unfinished works.
I submitted 26 times to editors in 2022.
I sold two stories, both to podcasts.

I’m looking back on 2022 with disappointment, although I did have a couple of wins. I had a very hard time day to day while I was in the thick of it. Most Sundays and Mondays were pretty productive for me, and most Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays were dismal.
The new year is always an exciting time for me because I like the chance to start again and do better. Come back tomorrow to see what I’m planning for 2023.

My Short List Of Ridiculous Goals For 2022

Happy New Year! Here are my brief but ridiculous goals for 2022:

1. Write 365,000 words. That, of course, is 1,000 words a day. Thank Christ (or, more appropriately, Pope Gregory XIII) it’s not a leap year. I’d never make that goal! So, this is over three times what I wrote in 2021, but I will have more time in 2022. I only have one class this year, as opposed to three last year, and I won’t be working a part-time job, which I did for nine months of 2021.

2. Finish Hive Five. That's my novel, by the way. It would be about damned time. If I’m writing all those words, this goal will work nicely with my first goal. However, at some point, there’s going to be more editing than writing, meaning working on the book will be in addition to the writing.

3. Read 104 books. The more I read, the better I’ll write. And since I’m focusing on novel writing, I should be reading books rather than short stories. Not that I’m forsaking shorts, but the novel is the priority. However, I’m pretty sure I’ve never read 104 books in a year in my life. If I have, it was when I was a wee lad, and the books were much thinner with many more pictures. I think I usually average between 40 and 50 books a year. Soooo... yeah. There are also some specific books I want to read, but I won’t bog you down in details here.

4. Have 50 patrons (at the same time). I have 22 as of this writing. Here’s a goal you can help me with. I absolutely suck at getting folks to join my Patreon at patreon.com/matthewsanbornsmith. Hint, hint. This year I’m going to try YouTube, doing very short videos of myself reading Mango stories, with the Patreon link for all to see, and a quick pitch at the end. I wanted to start this a month ago, but projects and people in the house tripped me up. I plan to get the first one out on Monday. The one that’s two days from now. I’ll post it for you and ask you to share.

5. Weigh 225 pounds (and don’t get heavier after I do). I’ve gained weight over the holidays and I’m currently at 237. (I’m 6' 2" if anyone cares.) Weight is harder to keep down since my full-time retail days when I was walking constantly (Once, on a double shift, I walked eleven miles in a day just inside the store. I got depressed and put aside my pedometer after that.) So, exercise a little more. Try to restrain my eating habits a little more (one of the biggest challenges of my life).

6. Write 52 blog posts on The One-Thousand. I’m already on my way with this post! I’ve severely neglected my blog, and I need to spend less time on social media, so this will be good for me, even if no one reads it. But you’ll read it, won’t you? Won’t you?!?

7. Get my A.A. in English. Of all my goals, this is the easiest. I only have one class to go and it starts in a few days (damn it!). The bad part is, until I’m done in the end of April, it’s going to take time away from my other time-needy goals. Man, I hate school! That’s why it’s taken me so long to get here.

That’s it. I have little faith in myself to accomplish even two of these goals, so that’s a great place to start. Here’s hoping I surprise the shit out of myself. As I said yesterday, you don’t win or lose in a year. You win or lose moment to moment, with each decision you make. Too often, I cave to my animal wants (eating, sleeping, legal naked stuff) instead of doing the necessary work. All I need to do to make some progress is to overcome the animal a little more of the time. So, good luck to me.

If you’re a yearly goal or resolution person, I wish you luck too. Some people don’t even bother setting themselves up like that because they know they’ll fail, but I can’t imagine not wanting to improve things. Even if I fail, my attempts at succeeding put me farther ahead than I otherwise would have been.

Let’s all have a great year!