My Writing Goals for 2020 and a 2019 Wrap-up

Hello 2020 and goodbye 2019! It's been a year, and it's been a great decade. I'm sad to see it go, but I can't wait to see what's in store for this new era. Before kicking off 2020, I thought I'd take a look at this past year, and give you guys an insight on what I hope to accomplish in the new year.

Hold up! Before we start this post, I'd love to hear what your year was like, and what you have planned for 2020. Please leave a comment on this page, or better yet—let's chat on Instagram. DM me @writer.alexandra.lee . I can't wait to hear from you!

2019

I was born in 2004, so I've lived through the greater part of two decades. Out of those two decades, I've only been writing for three years. 2019 has been a great year for my writing, but it didn't start out that way.

In March of 2019, I shelved my current WIP at that time titled Gray Slave. It was a high fantasy novel that I'd been working on since 2017. It was my first creative writing project ever, the very book I built my online brand around, and I was devastated. I shelved it because I felt stuck after multiple people told me it still needed work.

Up until summer 2019, I couldn't even think about the project without freaking out and thinking of myself as a failure, but I'm glad to say that I have grown out of that mindset, and now look at the situation as one of my greatest opportunities.

The break from Gray Slave was the best thing for my writing career, for my creativity, and for my mental health. I wouldn't go back and change it. I wouldn't do anything differently because that break made me push myself to read more, to write more, to experiment with new styles of writing, and gave me back the freedom writing is supposed to offer.

It's now December and I still haven't opened Gray Slave since March. Not because I'm scared, but honestly because I've been working on other projects.

In August, I launch a blog where I've taken my love for books, writing, and community, and turned it into a platform where I can inspire and connect with more people, and I love doing it.

In September, I started writing a collection of short stories, and used those stories as an output for my creativity. The one I'm focusing on right now is titled The Lonely Crow, which is quickly approaching the beta reading stage, is one of the best stories I've ever written.

I've been working really hard on my Instagram account that I started in 2018 and have grown tremendously. I've gotten to meet some talented and amazing artists and writers who have inspired me and made me a better writer.

I've read over 40 books, and have expanded into different genres. Some of the books were life changing! I also tried reading and writing poetry, and I freaking love it!

I focused on learning and bettering myself through podcasts and books and being more open and genuine with people. I've focused on God and have joined a youth group.

I'm currently designing a creative writing workshop for teens to teach at my library this spring!

I don't think all of this would have happened if I hadn't taken a break from Gray Slave. I don't think I would have grown as much as a writer or as a person, or gained so much confidence if I continued working on a project I lost love for.

I've been asked this question multiple times, and avoided it for quite a while—"Will I ever publish/continue to work on Gray Slave?"

Gray Slave was my first novel, so it was very rough, but it does have a special place in my heart. The story didn't have a lot of direction, but I decided to make it a goal of mine to revisit it in 2020. At least read through it, and if something sparks, that's great.

I have ideas to change it. I've realized what it's missing and what I need to change to make it better.

I've read a lot of great fantasy novels this year that have inspired me, and have shown me what I need to improve. So I do plan on revisiting it. The story will be very different from the original, but it will still be called Gray Slave.

As for publishing, I don't know. If I stick with it, I will eventually need beta readers, so some of you will probably end up reading it. I'll just have to see what happens!

2020—A Year of Possibility

I'm very excited for 2020 for a lot of reasons, both in my personal life and for my writing.

I'm going to Florida and Yellow Stone National Park this year. I've never been further west than Illinois, so I'm very, very excited, and hope my travels provide a lot of inspiration for my books!

In March and April, I'm teaching my writing workshop at the library. I was inspired to do this workshop by one of the blog posts I wrote earlier this year about teen writers. I'm also a Girl Scout, so I'm doing this workshop as my Gold Award Project, which is Girl Scout's highest award.

I plan to work on more stories and read lots of book, exploring even more genres and topics. I also want to read some of my friends books and support the indie authors I've had the honor to meet through my Instagram.

I want to get a job over the summer and start saving up to hire editors for some of my books. I want to enter some writing contests, and maybe publish something on Wattpad.

I hope to grow my Instagram account and reach 2,000 followers by the end of 2020. I also plan on marketing my blog more and getting more readers.

I hope to inspire and meet more people, and be inspired myself.

2019 was the year I really started taking my writing seriously. It was also the year people started taking me seriously as a writer, and that's something I'm really proud of.

This year was just the beginning, and there is so much more to come. I hope it doesn't fly by too fast, but there will be slow days and quick days, bad times and happy times, but that's life.

I'll be in college in a few years, and I'll wish for the days when I spent hours reading and writing.

I'll still write though, I think I'll always write. Being a writer is a journey. Life is a journey, but it's one I wouldn't change, and wouldn't trade for all of the books in the world.

I hope you all have a great last few weeks of 2019. I'm very excited for Christmas next week! I don't think we are ever fully ready for the new year, but we'll get there.

I hope your year is full of joy and opportunity. 2020 is a fresh start, so take advantage of it.

Even though I have all of these things planned, I know the year won't go exactly the way I envision it, but I'll try to be thankful for what does happen, and I think you should too.

Thank you for reading this blog. Have a Happy New Year!

It's been a pleasure writing for you, and until next time—stay weird and stay writing. - Lexi