Five Goals For My First Year
My first year as a creative writing MFA student is fast approaching! The members of my cohort had our first meeting this week, and as a result my mind has turned towards the future and the goals I want to achieve. Here they are:
1.Create Time in My Daily Schedule to Write
My writing routine could be described politely as sporadic. I am constantly daydreaming about stories and characters and plot elements, but the actual time I spend at my desk or laptop writing is minimal at times. True, there are weeks where inspiration hits hard and I dedicate actual hours to typing, but if I’m not feeling inspired I tend to ignore my ideas. This year I plan to make time to write every day. While it wouldn’t be realistic to devote hours every day to my word count, I intend to freewrite for 20 minutes every morning, work on writing projects for an hour three days a work-week, and create the habit of working on writing projects on the weekends. I’m happiest when I’m creating, and I think redirecting my web browsing time towards productive writing will help me feel more fulfilled.
2. Write a Fairytale Retelling
When I looked back at my favorite books of the last year I noticed that they all were retellings of older fairytales and myths. The main two being my favorite book I read in 2020: “The Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon, and my favorite series of 2021 (so far) “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas. These two books retell the stories of St. George and the Dragon and Beauty and the Beast. I was so captivated by the ways in which these stories were retold and built upon that I decided I wanted to try writing my own retelling. I haven’t decided on a fairytale or myth yet, so I guess I’d better break out my old storybooks and start dreaming!
3. Figure Out the Difference Between Fantasy and Magical Realism
This one is pretty self-explanatory. I’m not entirely sure what the difference is between fantasy and magical realism. I want to figure out the difference and create some stories in both genres.
4. Complete/Revise 12 Short Stories
One of my biggest struggles is actually finishing stories. I write so many beginnings, only to lose interest and abandon the story in the infancy of the first draft. I think forcing myself to finish at least one story a month and then revise it will teach me how to finish a story, edit it, and figure out what happens after the first draft.
5. Submit Something for Publication Once a Month
I’ve been browsing RWW alumni blogs, and they all have impressive publication pages on their websites. I think it’s time to start learning how to submit for publication and learn how to get over my anxiety over the possibility of being rejected. I know the rejections will come, and I guess I can’t grow a thicker skin until I start exposing my writing to publications.
So there you have it! Five of my goals for my first year in my MFA program! Do you have any similar goals? Any wildly different goals? Let me know in the comments!
