Brief Explanation of Focus Areas

For those reading this who don't know me well, I thought I'd briefly go over the focus areas from my list of goals. 

Writing
The main focus of my life is fiction writing.  I've been working seriously on the craft for about eight years, and I recently finished the first draft of my second novel last summer.  At one point in my life, my goal was to be published by my thirtieth birthday.  That's deadline has come and gone (and been replaced with an "unofficial" goal of my thirty-fifth birthday).

Goals in this area concern actual writing (that is getting behind a keyboard or in front of a printout with red pen in hand), tasks aimed at making me a better writer, branching out into the writing community (I'm sort of tired of going to writing conferences and not knowing anyone), and reading.

(Oh, and just in case you don't find my obscure references charming, the "20 Plus Book Club" goal refers to a policy they had at my middle school.  Each year, every student was encouraged to read at least twenty books and do a book report on each.  Every kid who did that got his or her name on a shiny gold plaque above the main office.  While I read well over 20 books each year--I did nothing but read in the dark ages before cable--doing more than the required four book reports a year was unthinkable to my pre-teen self.  Never making it to that plaque is a major regret I'd like to correct this year.)

Fitness
Bottom line, I am overweight...and I need to be not overweight.  This mainly involves eating fewer cookies, drinking less soda, and going to the gym once in a while.  I could go into further detail, but really--with apologies to Jillian Michaels--that's all there is to it.

Goals in this area include both fitness (that is, getting off the couch and doing some physical activity on a regular basis) and eating far less (with apologies to the fine folks at New England Pizza). 

Music
I should make it clear that unlike writing, music is a hobby for me.  I don't plan to make a living (or earn any money, really) by playing my guitar someday.  Nor do I lie awake at night obsessing over chord progressions and song lyrics (like I do plot and character arcs).  Still, even if just a hobby, music (especially playing in a band with people I really like) is very important to me.  And I get the distinct impression that if I don't start spending some time on it again soon, the day may come where I realize that I've held my guitar for the last time.

My musical ambitions (and goals in this area) are very simple.  I want to "play out" just once before I die.  I am talking about a small bar, packed with a dozen of my friends who came to enthusiastically cheer me on.  No record contracts, no paying customers, no groupies--just half a dozen acoustic covers followed by nachos.  Okay...maybe one groupie.

Comments

[Kim]

You know you all ready have and always will have at least 1 groupie!

[Kim]

May I suggest something....

I think you/we should take pictures/measurements of you/us and post them so we can see our fitness/diet goals working.

[Alice]

Lady Gaga is probably my biggest guilty pleasure in music. I can't explain why I like her.
And you?