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Be the best dad I can be for Drew, and the best husband I can be for Elizabeth. All my priorities have shifted into serious family mode, and I like it. I want to be there for Drew at all times, without being smothering to him, and support Elizabeth in all she does for him and us. And I want Elizabeth and me to enjoy our limited time together as a couple, so we can keep our marriage strong. (I know, I cheated and did two goals for the price of one here!)

Exercise daily and lose some serious weight. This is a constant struggle, but I want to do this. I can't let myself get sidetracked or make excuses. I'm getting too old to be this out of shape.

Finish revising The All Nations Team. I may not get to this right away, as my time will be pretty short early in the year with Drew so little, but I've got to get back to fiction writing if I want to remain sane.

Write a new novel. Either I'll continue with Dead Man's Rope or write something completely new. I've got some ideas.

Write four new stories. I barely squeezed out this many in '04 (I was in serious novel-writing territory most of the year), and three of those stories were short-shorts! I'm losing interest in story-writing, it appears.

Learn Spanish. I've been wanting to do this for a while, and I've got some software I can play with. I have a novel idea set partially in Mexico, so I want to learn the language. Plus it'd be fun to teach to Drew -- everyone should be at least bilingual. I'm also interested in someday teaching English as a second language. Someday.

Take two to three trips with Elizabeth and Drew. I'm envisioning a trip to the beach, one to Iowa to see my sister and her fam and my grandmother (and hopefully a journey to Iowa City!), and one wild-card trip, if we can afford it. Maybe to the mountains.

Learn to play guitar. I want music in our house for Drew, not the TV droning in the background. Since Lizzie won't get me a Casio (meanie!), I'm going to teach myself guitar, dammit!

Read 2 novels a month. Reading good fiction is the biggest inspiration for me, whether it's novels in manuscript by my friends or published works in hardcover. I never stop learning. And I'm nowhere near finishing my To-Read Pile. I also want to keep up with each week's New Yorker (thanks to the sub Lizzie got me), the local and world news, and even the weekly indie paper.

Revamp The Taste of Pennies and Heart's Revenge. Once I've figured out how novels work (ha!), and after I've fixed up All Nations Team, I want to use that new knowledge to fix up these two novels, which are good stories that are dear to me, but not as close (yet) as my other work. There's something in both novels I want to build on and make better.


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Previous Entry :: Next Entry Mood: I can't help it, I've gotta make these lists. Really. Read/Post Comments (7) Share on Facebook		2005-01-01 8:47 AM Goals for 2005 Be the best dad I can be for Drew, and the best husband I can be for Elizabeth. All my priorities have shifted into serious family mode, and I like it. I want to be there for Drew at all times, without being smothering to him, and support Elizabeth in all she does for him and us. And I want Elizabeth and me to enjoy our limited time together as a couple, so we can keep our marriage strong. (I know, I cheated and did two goals for the price of one here!) Exercise daily and lose some serious weight. This is a constant struggle, but I want to do this. I can't let myself get sidetracked or make excuses. I'm getting too old to be this out of shape. *Finish revising The All Nations Team.* I may not get to this right away, as my time will be pretty short early in the year with Drew so little, but I've got to get back to fiction writing if I want to remain sane. Write a new novel. Either I'll continue with Dead Man's Rope or write something completely new. I've got some ideas. Write four new stories. I barely squeezed out this many in '04 (I was in serious novel-writing territory most of the year), and three of those stories were short-shorts! I'm losing interest in story-writing, it appears. Learn Spanish. I've been wanting to do this for a while, and I've got some software I can play with. I have a novel idea set partially in Mexico, so I want to learn the language. Plus it'd be fun to teach to Drew -- everyone should be at least bilingual. I'm also interested in someday teaching English as a second language. Someday. Take two to three trips with Elizabeth and Drew. I'm envisioning a trip to the beach, one to Iowa to see my sister and her fam and my grandmother (and hopefully a journey to Iowa City!), and one wild-card trip, if we can afford it. Maybe to the mountains. Learn to play guitar. I want music in our house for Drew, not the TV droning in the background. Since Lizzie won't get me a Casio (meanie!), I'm going to teach myself guitar, dammit! Read 2 novels a month. Reading good fiction is the biggest inspiration for me, whether it's novels in manuscript by my friends or published works in hardcover. I never stop learning. And I'm nowhere near finishing my To-Read Pile. I also want to keep up with each week's New Yorker (thanks to the sub Lizzie got me), the local and world news, and even the weekly indie paper. *Revamp The Taste of Pennies* and Heart's Revenge.** Once I've figured out how novels work (ha!), and after I've fixed up All Nations Team, I want to use that new knowledge to fix up these two novels, which are good stories that are dear to me, but not as close (yet) as my other work. There's something in both novels I want to build on and make better. Read/Post Comments (7) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top