Vision Blog
They say that vision boards work. Unfortunately, making one wouldn't do a whole lot for me. Y'know, with me not being able to look at the pictures and all. Plus finding them could prove a teensy bit difficult. I do know of one blind person who did this anyway, but for me? It's words. It's always words.
So instead of a vision board, I'm going to make a vision blog. Why a blog? Because perhaps sharing it with you all will be entertaining for you. It also means that if I succeed, I can point back at this list and be all "Lookit! I did it!"
Some of these goals are serious. Some are frivolous. One or two may be silly. We shall see.
1. Get something, anything, published by the end of 2019. I'm not aiming for my novel here, but even a short story would be good. Even online publication would be good. I will consider winning a contest to fall into this category, or even placing highly in one.
2. Acquire an agent by the end of 2020. A literary agent, that is. Not a travel agent or anything. I am giving myself a little more time for this, though naturally I'd be pleased if this happened more quickly than that.
3. Publish my novel by the end of 2021. Or at least have a contract in place to be published, I know that the actual process can take longer than this. I need number two to make this happen. Heck, I probably need number one for number two.
4. Return to Disney by the end of 2022. Sooner would be better. A group of folks I am close to are all going in September of 2020, and I would love to be with them as I may be the only member of that little group not going, but doing it solo is difficult bordering on impossible for me, and Disney is expensive. So I'm giving myself a bigger window. Bonus points if I can pay for this trip with money from sales of my writing. If I do sell my book, this is honestly what I would likely spend the money on, unless there is legitimate need for it elsewhere. Future sales can be saved, my first book sale is going to be for celebrating.
5. Dye my hair purple. No goal date on this one, but it is likely going to happen this fall. I'm growing all the current dye out of my hair so that my natural white streaks are all there, because it's the only bit that would show purple without bleaching. It won't be permanent dye as I've done in the past, but expect this to start a cavalcade of varying colours.
6. Acquire at least one unicorn necklace. Particularly if it is sparkly, purple or pink. Or all three. Or two of them.
7. Learn to do more with makeup. This one is likely a surprise to those who see me frequently, as I almost never wear any, but this is because I can only do very basic stuff with it, and also because I don't even have any good stuff. But I want to change this. Somehow. I wish they had taught this kind of thing at the school for the blind I spent a year at in my mid-teens.
8. Be a guest at a con. No target date for this one, either. This is a goal for two reasons. The first is professional. Being asked to be a guest would be an indication of success. It would mean that I have been not just published, but noticed. The second is emotional. Honestly, this idea terrifies me to the tips of my toes. I don't care for crowds, and I have social anxiety. Doing this would mean overcoming those and going for it anyway. It wouldn't be easy, but I would like to be able to say that I've done it.
9. Win a major award for my writing. Hugo, Nebula, John W. Campbell, etc. The list goes on and on. This is the "pie in the sky" goal. Winning something like this isn't just about talent, though talent is certainly required to do it. But there are many, many talented writers out there, and only so many awards to go around. You don't have to merely be gifted at writing, you also have to get noticed by the right people. This is a combination of talent, luck, networking and marketting. And likely a few aspects I haven't actually considered. I may never reach this one, and failing won't mean that I'm not a good writer. It wouldn't even signify a lack of success. But I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't a dearly held dream.
10. Meet someone cosplaying as a character that I've written. Preferrably not a friend doing it to make me smile, though that would also be nice. I just want to meet someone who loves a character I've created enough to want to dress up as them at a con or some such thing. Some writers love getting fan art, but for me... the thought is nice, but I couldn't appreciate it to the depth sighted writers can. So for me, this is that kind of accolade. I have never, and never will, write a character chiefly to give people something to cosplay as, but I have written a few characters already that I think would make for great cosplay.
Ten is a nice, round number, so I think that I will leave it there. Ten goals. As I warned, some are silly. Some are serious. Some are certainly more achievable than others, and a couple rely on things outside of my control. But for this, "goals" aren't necessarily something I can work towards. Some are dreams.
Dreams are important.
Want to follow or interact with me on social media? Find me on Twitter by following @jennifermorash or head over to http://www.facebook.com/jennifermorashblog. I post blogs every week on Wednesdays.
So instead of a vision board, I'm going to make a vision blog. Why a blog? Because perhaps sharing it with you all will be entertaining for you. It also means that if I succeed, I can point back at this list and be all "Lookit! I did it!"
Some of these goals are serious. Some are frivolous. One or two may be silly. We shall see.
1. Get something, anything, published by the end of 2019. I'm not aiming for my novel here, but even a short story would be good. Even online publication would be good. I will consider winning a contest to fall into this category, or even placing highly in one.
2. Acquire an agent by the end of 2020. A literary agent, that is. Not a travel agent or anything. I am giving myself a little more time for this, though naturally I'd be pleased if this happened more quickly than that.
3. Publish my novel by the end of 2021. Or at least have a contract in place to be published, I know that the actual process can take longer than this. I need number two to make this happen. Heck, I probably need number one for number two.
4. Return to Disney by the end of 2022. Sooner would be better. A group of folks I am close to are all going in September of 2020, and I would love to be with them as I may be the only member of that little group not going, but doing it solo is difficult bordering on impossible for me, and Disney is expensive. So I'm giving myself a bigger window. Bonus points if I can pay for this trip with money from sales of my writing. If I do sell my book, this is honestly what I would likely spend the money on, unless there is legitimate need for it elsewhere. Future sales can be saved, my first book sale is going to be for celebrating.
5. Dye my hair purple. No goal date on this one, but it is likely going to happen this fall. I'm growing all the current dye out of my hair so that my natural white streaks are all there, because it's the only bit that would show purple without bleaching. It won't be permanent dye as I've done in the past, but expect this to start a cavalcade of varying colours.
6. Acquire at least one unicorn necklace. Particularly if it is sparkly, purple or pink. Or all three. Or two of them.
7. Learn to do more with makeup. This one is likely a surprise to those who see me frequently, as I almost never wear any, but this is because I can only do very basic stuff with it, and also because I don't even have any good stuff. But I want to change this. Somehow. I wish they had taught this kind of thing at the school for the blind I spent a year at in my mid-teens.
8. Be a guest at a con. No target date for this one, either. This is a goal for two reasons. The first is professional. Being asked to be a guest would be an indication of success. It would mean that I have been not just published, but noticed. The second is emotional. Honestly, this idea terrifies me to the tips of my toes. I don't care for crowds, and I have social anxiety. Doing this would mean overcoming those and going for it anyway. It wouldn't be easy, but I would like to be able to say that I've done it.
9. Win a major award for my writing. Hugo, Nebula, John W. Campbell, etc. The list goes on and on. This is the "pie in the sky" goal. Winning something like this isn't just about talent, though talent is certainly required to do it. But there are many, many talented writers out there, and only so many awards to go around. You don't have to merely be gifted at writing, you also have to get noticed by the right people. This is a combination of talent, luck, networking and marketting. And likely a few aspects I haven't actually considered. I may never reach this one, and failing won't mean that I'm not a good writer. It wouldn't even signify a lack of success. But I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't a dearly held dream.
10. Meet someone cosplaying as a character that I've written. Preferrably not a friend doing it to make me smile, though that would also be nice. I just want to meet someone who loves a character I've created enough to want to dress up as them at a con or some such thing. Some writers love getting fan art, but for me... the thought is nice, but I couldn't appreciate it to the depth sighted writers can. So for me, this is that kind of accolade. I have never, and never will, write a character chiefly to give people something to cosplay as, but I have written a few characters already that I think would make for great cosplay.
Ten is a nice, round number, so I think that I will leave it there. Ten goals. As I warned, some are silly. Some are serious. Some are certainly more achievable than others, and a couple rely on things outside of my control. But for this, "goals" aren't necessarily something I can work towards. Some are dreams.
Dreams are important.
Want to follow or interact with me on social media? Find me on Twitter by following @jennifermorash or head over to http://www.facebook.com/jennifermorashblog. I post blogs every week on Wednesdays.
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