Back in December, I shared my 2016 writing goals with you. This was before I started freelance writing, which means I set my personal expectations way higher than I would have if I would have waited just one more month to set my goals. It’s been a rough ride, but somehow almost six months later I’m still writing on average about 20,000 words a week. (This might not seem like much to you professionals out there, but as someone who hasn’t been doing this all that long in comparison, it’s pretty cool to me.)

So how am I doing? I wanted to share an update with you as we approach the one year anniversary of me spontaneously deciding I was going to post on this blog daily. No, I haven’t missed a day yet. No, I don’t plan on it. Yes, I am tired. And yes, it has been worth every second.

Goal #1: Finish writing my 2015 NaNoWriMo novel

Since setting this goal back in December, I have probably written about 8,000 words total. I have not been putting very much time into meeting this goal, but that is going to change soon. I have given myself a deadline of July 31. Since I probably have about 20,000 more words to write, I need to get going. I only have a first draft deadline right now, which is fine. One step at a time.

Want the premise of the story? A girl walks into a bookstore, finds a new release dedicated to her father. The book is written by someone she does not know. Her father is deceased.

Goal #2: Write and send out query letters

Nope. Honestly, I haven’t even touched this one. I would love to send out queries for the novel I’m still trying to finish. But we will have to see how much time I can give myself for editing and revisions, etc. I have never sent out queries before so this will either happen very late at the end of this year or we will have to push it back to 2017.

Goal #3: Finish grad school

I have about two and a half courses left. I made it through some of the toughest ones since setting this goal and the class that I am in right now is taking a lot out of me. However, it is my last “tough” class. The final two courses I have to take are writing classes, so … as you can probably guess, I’m not so worried about those. I will finish classes in October, which will free up so, so much time in my schedule. I won’t actually get my diploma until February, but that’s fine. I started the program at a weird time in the year. I can deal.

Goal #4: Write some novellas for a [no longer secret] project

So far, I have written and published five of the twelve novellas as part of The Novella Concept. I have sold exactly one copy out of all of them – YES!!!!!!!! (Haha, milestones.) I will begin writing the sixth story this week. I have not put as much effort into marketing the whole thing/cover design as I should be, but there is only so much I can do on my own. I  am raising money for charity – if I raise only $3 the whole year, that is still more than zero. This has been a fun experience so far. If you want, you can check out what’s out on Amazon. No matter what happens from this point forward, I still consider this a success thus far.

So far, this year has challenged me more than I have ever been challenged before, writing-wise. I have ghostwritten my first book (technically), published my first writing, written an ebook (get it here), written 300+ articles for clients and have not had a total breakdown (yet). Most importantly, I am having fun. I am slowly finding more and more things that I truly enjoy.

And I have all of you, with more joining the community every day. Thank you for always supporting me. You keep me writing even on days I don’t want to. That means the world.

I can’t wait to share my progress with you again in December, with periodic updates here and there on the blog. I will continue to post daily. As always, if you need any writing advice at all, I’m here to help you out in any way I can. Now get back to writing!

Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a freelance writer and an eight-time NaNoWriMo winner with work published in Teen Ink, Success Story, Lifehack and USA TODAY College. Follow Meg on Twitter.

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