Goals for a New Year

I am a bad, bad blogger. My first post of 2012, which was supposed to be so big and profound, and wonderful, and original…

                Is just late.

                *sigh*

                So, I suppose my first resolution should be:

1.       Keep up with the blog. And blog well.

                My second resolution is the resolution I’ve made for a couple years now, and haven’t yet achieved, despite the best of intentions.

2.       Lose weight. Finish polishing a novel (to the point where it is ready to submit somewhere, or at least be seen by someone other than myself).

                I have so many rough drafts, guys. Some worse than others, some that deserve to be burned in a fiery pit of fire… But I’ve made rough drafts. I’ve planned series, and written the first books…

                But I still have not bolted myself down to the revision table and finished anything. Which is a problem. Especially when this year will also see the start of college, where I will have about as much free time as a person with no free time.

                By the end of the year, I want to at least be ready to maybe think about starting to look into querying. Maybe.

                Another thing I’m going to do this year is…

3.       Keep track of the books I read.

                I have been reading for a long time. I have loved more books than a person who loves books (don’t I make the best comparisons in the late, late evening?) and yet whenever someone asks for recommendations, all they get is a blank stare, and if they’re lucky: “Oh, there was this great book, about a thing. But I forget the title and author… But the cover was green. I think.”

                I plan to remedy this in 2012.

                Using a handy, color-coded spreadsheet.

                Here I planned to include a screenshot of the aforementioned spreadsheet, but unfortunately such a thing would not fit in this post, so instead I’ll just say that it includes columns for:

·         Date I Finished

·         Title

·         Author

·         Genre

·         Where I got it (own it, library, school, etc.)

·         Additional Thoughts (things I liked, things I didn’t like, etc.)

                And, to make it pretty, varying shades of green, yellow, and red will show whether I loved the book, hated it, or didn’t care either way.

                The thought of this excites me immensely. 8]

                What are you doing this year? Any goals, for writing, reading, or otherwise? And what were your favorite books of the year?