It’s the first of september and for years this period marked a new academic or school year. It’s been six years and I miss it. I was the kid who longed to be back in school and who would still be a student of time and money allowed it. Instead I have to find my own challenges.
I’ve created a list of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days and some of them include reading and writing. While the main reason for going for this challenge is to grow as a person, I believe that professional growth shouldn’t be forgotten when you’re trying to grow as a person. I needed at least a few professional goals as well as fun or scary goals.
Reading Goals
My least interesting goal on the list is Finish 100 books. I take part in the Goodreads Reading Challenge every year and with the exception of last, I’ve completed them all. It’s doable, especially for a reader. But which hundred books will I read?
Twenty of them will be non-fiction, with one biography. I’ve selected Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance for this category. I’ve always been by how great minds like Elon Musk, Walt Disney or Richard Branson work. It’s not just the technical side, but also how they conduct their business. It’s one thing to have an idea, it’s another to make others believe in it as well. I know this book will inspire me to work harder and I’ll probably learn a thing or two.
Twenty books will be recommended books by others. I already have a small list, but there is still place for a few more recommendations, so please, add them in comments or @ me on twitter and I’ll add them!
One of my Twitter friends recommended It by Stephen King. She read my full list and this book checks a few boxes: a book recommended by others, read the book first, then watch the movie, and a horror. With the release of the new version coming out, it might be a good time to finally read that second hand copy I have on the shelf for the past ten years, but never touched. I remember seeing scary clowns for years after watching the original.
Another interesting goal is to read a book for each letter of the alphabet. I won’t count the words ‘the’ and ‘a’ as part of the title. Years ago, I’ve wanted to this with Dutch books, but that’s near impossible. Books start with X, Y and Q are very rare. It’s easier for English titles. I haven’t made a list yet, but I’m sure I’ll get far just reading the coming year, checking then which letters I still have to do.
My biggest reading would be Read all the books by one author. I still don’t know who I’m going to pick since I do want someone interesting, but the reading list should still be doable. Do you have any suggestions?
Writing Goals
My writing goals are more straightforward: write a fanfic, write a short story, design a world, design a game, have a piece of writing published, create a five year plan, have professional photos taken, and a few others.
Most of them make sense, right? The two that stand out are probably the Design a game and Have professional photos taken. When you’re an author, you need author photos, the ones that they put on the back of book or use in the sidelines of an article. It’s not something you should neglect.
I’ve been designing games since I played Pokemon. I made my own versions of the came, although on paper, because I didn’t have any programming skills. I still don’t, but game design was my major in university. It’s much easier now to create a game without much knowledge of a programming language. Ren’Py, a game engine created with visual novels in mind, is a great way for writers to create a game or an interactive story.
Designing a world coincides making a game or writing a story, especially longer ones. I’ve done a fair amount of research and world building for my NaNoWriMo novel for this year, but I’ve only designed what was necessary. Creating a complete world takes more than that. I’m currently working on a collection of short stories which all take place in the same world, but different at different times and different places. I write these stories while I’m creating the world and setting the stage for my first fantasy novel.
I’ll be doing my best to complete these goals besides my main adventure of writing stories.
