goal-setting

Confessions of a Late Bloomer

I’ve heard it more than once. Possibly more than a hundred times. Likely from some of you reading this post. Countless writers have said some version of the following:

If you’ve said one of those things, totally cool. Nothing wrong with that. (Unless you mention any of the above in your query letter. DON’T do it!) Some people have that direction and solid idea of where they want to go in life early.

I’m not one of those people.

To be fair, I’ve always been a bookworm. But as a kid/teen, I never got enthralled by gorgeous prose or amazing imagery. I just wanted a story that could hold my interest, keep me guessing, suck me in to the very end and beyond.

To be even more fair, I’ve always known I’m pretty good with words. I could write a school essay on just about any topic without breaking a sweat. (Very handy in grad school.) When my sister needed to argue with someone on a message board, she got me to help her phrase everything just right.

That didn’t make me a writer. Writers were creative and imaginative and all those good things.

We had to take two English classes in college. Freshman English (which I managed to delay well beyond freshman year) and some type of Advanced English chosen from a list. I chose Technical Writing. Never considered taking any type of creative writing class.

I wasn’t the type.

So what am I now?

Over the past three years, I’ve slowly grown used to the idea that there is some creativity in me. That while my writing style will never be “conventionally beautiful,” there is artistic merit in it. That the strong analytical side I’ve been so comfortable with all my life can be a complement to creativity.

I think I’m old enough now to understand that while there are many types, there isn’t one correct type. My “writerliness” is just as real as that of someone who’s been spinning stories since toddlerhood.

Some people take the interstate to their goals. Others take mountainous backroads, and an unplanned detour leads to an unexpected destination. One isn’t better (or worse) than the other.

Just different.

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Reading Spree: Conquering the TBR Mountain

Last week, on a whim, I made a little poster and put it up in my classroom. It’s my TBR (To Be Read) Mountain. There are seventeen books on it, and my stated goal is to finish them all before the end of 2011.

Yeah. Seventeen of them. During the school year. And while working on writing stuff at the same time.

Good thing I’m a fast reader. Double-good thing I have a full week off at Thanksgiving.

I posted it so my students could see me setting reading goals, and they’ll be able to watch my progress as I note the date I complete each book on the poster. Hopefully it’ll be a fun little side thing to talk about in class … y’know, other than common denominators, derivatives, and quadratic functions.

While I’m at it, I might as well make my goals even more public, so here’s the list and the little bit of progress so far (in no particular order other than the order my brain remembers them since I’m not at school):

1. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness—finished 9/30
2. Goliath by Scott Westerfeld—finished 10/5
3. The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
4. The Isle of Blood by Rick Yancey
5. Everlost by Neal Shusterman
6. Everwild by Neal Shusterman
7. Everfound by Neal Shusterman
8. The Death Cure by James Dashner
9. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan—finished 10/13
10. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan—finished 10/17
11. Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
12. Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts
13. The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill by Heather Brewer
14. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie—finished 10/10
15. Crossed by Ally Condie
16. Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick—finished 10/7
17. Possession by Elana Johnson

And really, I’m just impressed that I remembered all 17 titles.

We’ll see how this goes.

Do you guys have any reading goals?

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