I didn’t do a resolution post last year. I’m not sure why, except that I was probably feeling both overwhelmed and defeated – I have been so busy that it’s been VERY hard to fit any writing in. 2020 promises to be a tiny smidge less busy, and I am already feeling a bit of creativity creeping in with the dust as it settles during my Christmas vacation. I hope it sticks around, as I always do. We’ll see.
My year looks like this so far:
- January – a short break
- February-April – more student teaching, with lots of Great Gatsby. Also, CAL Teacher Performance Assessments.
- May – an epic job hunt
- June-August – a summer that may include an epic job hunt, but is guaranteed to have lots of Small Boy in it. Therefore it will mostly be good.
- September-December – If all works out, it will be my first classroom.
Not too shabby. And very busy, but no classes shoehorned into all my other responsibilities. A little breathing room, a little creating room.
Since I didn’t make actual resolutions last year, I can’t say if I completed them. However, I read 109 books this year, and am SO CLOSE to finishing Easterbay. I can’t figure out the ending, but the rest of it is looking all edited up and really good. My Master’s Thesis was also on teaching creative writing to 9th graders, so I brushed up on some of my own best advice for Steering the Craft (to borrow a book title from Ursula K. LeGuin). That’s not nothing.
Reading Goals:
In 2020, I’d like to try and read 140 books. I almost completed that many in 2018 when things were less nutty, and I like to stretch on goals. 100 clearly isn’t a stretch. Also, I want to read one book a month that isn’t a romance novel or a parenting how-to book. That’s basically all I read anymore.
Writing Goals:
I’d like to finish Easterbay, so that’s a HUGE one for me. I learned a long time ago not to make goals about publication that I have no control over, but instead to make goals about content. Even if I finish Easterbay, I’ll need Brian to Alpha read, and then I’ll need Beta Readers, and then I’ll need to format it and stuff… so that won’t be a firm commitment on publication, just on finishing. I’ll also commit to writing 10 days each month and participating in Nanowrimo with a new novel (not a rewrite of an old one).
Optional writing goals that I hope to complete but won’t hate myself if I don’t are to publish Easterbay, and to start editing my first romance novel.
Personal Goals:
Lastly, I don’t usually do personal goals but wanted to set two out this year for posterity. One is to figure out how to enjoy mothering more. It’s not that I totally don’t enjoy it, but I find that a lot of my time is spent being anxious about myself and him and whether or not he’s really getting what he needs. Even in the fun moments, that stuff is lurking back there to smush my good time. I’m hoping that I can figure out how to be fully present for the good stuff a little more often. Second, I hope to improve my classroom management skills. I probably won’t be actively good, but I am definitely going for better this next semester.
Well, that’s it for the Resolution post. I’m excited that it’s going to be the 20’s again, so I’ll be rouge-ing my knees and looking for a speakeasy. Also, pass the ERA already, President Wilson!
Casey E. Hamilton 