My Personal Goals And Plans For 2017 / 2018

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** Update . Due to my dad becoming terminally ill and sadly dying in March 2017 my blog was on hiatus for 6 months after this blog post and sporadic before this **

A new year. The time to re evaluate and to plan new adventures!

This time last year I was moving out of my London flat and about to go to Italy for 8 weeks :)

What were your goals last year and what are they this year?  'Travel more' is on my list every year!

There are some one off goals here and some than require major input and time and life changes. I have also set myself some business and financial goals (I am self employed) but I'm keeping these between myself and my notebook :)

Move into my own flat (again)

I've been living back in my hometown (Norwich) at my parents house and working part time. This year I want to take on more freelance work and be working full time, and therefore also have my own space to live and work. Maybe not the apartment in the photo just yet! But I'm working on it ;)

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Blog more

I re started this blog in October and managed only 3 blog posts in October and none since. Life has been really unpredictable (a close family member became seriously ill) and although I had the best intentions when I wrote this in October, my personal blog had to be put to one side again. I want to take my blogging more seriously and really get somewhere with this blog and incorporate it into my work a little. I'm aiming for a minimum of 1 blog post a week/52 blog posts this year. I'd love to collaborate with other bloggers, creative people, and possibly some brands.

Adopt a penguin

This is a random goal I know ha ha, but I LOVE penguins and would love to donate to a conservation charity and get updates about my penguin :)

One of the things on my bucket list is to see penguins in the wild but this will have to wait another few years!

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Finish the first draft of my debut novel

This has been on my 'New Year Goals' list for the last 2 years. My intention this year is that once I'm living in my own place again, I'll be more relaxed and have some free time to focus and write. I will mention my writing on this blog and on Twitter but more on my author Twitter which you can follow at @ktjarviswriter .

Write/ direct / produce a short film or music video

I went to Cannes in the South of France in 2014 during Cannes Film Festival week, and wrote first drafts of 2 short film scripts the year before as part of my degree. Visiting Cannes was such a life long dream come true and that trip continues to inspire me so much with my life goals. Since then my writing (novel and screen) has been put on hold but this year I intend to complete the scripts (maybe write some new ideas too!) and make at least 1 into a film that everyone can watch.

Go to a cat cafe

This is also something I've wanted to do for while. Years ago I used to have a cat and so did my parents, and currently neither of us do. As there's no way I can have a cat in the near future the next best thing, other than be a professional cat sitter, is to visit a cat cafe! I know there are a few in London and it will involve some forward planning when I know I'm in London for a few days.

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Buy a ring (or 2) from Pandora

I love Pandora's jewellery designs. This is more a reward I've promised myself when I reach one of my financial goals with my business but I'm including it here to motivate myself :)

Go to a Formula One Grand Prix

or go to a testing weekend, or just see a Formula One car on a track somewhere. I went to the Monaco Grand Prix practice day in 2014 and it was sooo good and I want to experience that again (several times a year for the rest of my life would be great!).

Go on a beach holiday

I want a real desert island, crystal clear water, white sand type of beach holiday. Mauritius or Seychelles or Madagascar. I've never gone to somewhere like this, most of my holidays as an adult have been city breaks, and this is a dream holiday and big goal for me this year. I aim to at least book this holiday before the end of 2017.

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What are your goals / plans for 2017 ? 

~ Katie ~

Word Scribbler Reading Challenge - Week 13 - A memoir

Every book in my reading challenge so far has been a fiction book. This week is non-fiction week. Week 13 of my 52 book reading challenge (1 book per week for a year) is A Memoir / autobiography.

As a writer myself I am reading the memoir of a writer, the extremely successful and popular Stephen King. 

Book blurb - On Writing by Stephen King

Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999 - and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.

As well as this I am also reading a fiction book this week. This is not part of my reading challenge below, although this would fit in many weeks as it's a book made into a movie and a book by one of my favourite authors. Just in time for the movie release I am reading The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks. 

Book blurb - The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

Two couples. Two love stories. One epic tale

Ninety-one-year-old Ira Levinson is in trouble. Struggling to stay conscious after a car crash, an image of his adored - and long-dead - wife Ruth appears. Urging him to hang on, she lovingly recounts the joys and sorrows of their life together: how they met, the dark days of WWII and its unrelenting effect on their families.

A few miles away, college student Sophia Danko's life is about to change when she meets the young, rugged Luke and is thrown into a world far removed from her privileged school life. Sophia sees a tantalising future for herself, but Luke is keeping a secret that could destroy it all.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples, separated by years and experience, whose lives are about to converge in the most unexpected - and shocking - of ways.

If you want to join in with my reading challenge any week you can read the same book as me or choose from your own bookshelves or local library/bookshop. If you do want to join in please leave a comment below this blog post with the book you're reading and/or tweet your chosen book tagging me @word_scribbler and using #WSreadingchallenge too. Share this blog post with other book lovers (and/or writers), tell them what book(s) you're reading and discover new books to read :) 

1. A book with 'Winter' in the title.  I READ Winter Wonderland by Belinda Jones. REVIEW
2. A book set on or by the sea/ocean.  I READ The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen. 
3. A book with a red cover.  I READ Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong . 
4. A book with a colour in the title. I LISTENED TO the audiobook of The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner (read by Tom Hiddleston!) :) 
5. A book with 'Love' in the title. I READ A Very Accidental Love Story by Claudia Carroll. 
6. A book that has been made into a movie or tv show. I READ Insurgent by Veronica Roth AND Paper Towns by John Green.
7. A book recommended by a friend. I READ Looking for Alaska by John Green.
8. A book set in a place you want to visit. I READ The Apartment in Rome by Penny Feeny AND The Travelling Tea Shop by Belinda Jones.
9. A classic. I READ Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.
10. A book set in a city. I READ A Week In December by Sebastian Faulks.
11. A book with an orange cover. I READ Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
12. A book with 'Spring' in the title. I READ Promises of Spring by Jenny Lane.
13. A memoir / autobiography or similar. I'M READING On Writing by Stephen King.
14. A book written by a UK author.
15. A collection of short stories.
16. A book with food in the title.
17. A book set in your favourite place.
18. A book your mum loves.
19. A book with a yellow cover.
20. A trilogy.
21. A book with 'Summer' in the title.
22. A book with a music industry theme/musician character.
23. A book that was originally written in a different language.
24. A book everyone has read but you.
25. A book where the main character has your dream job.
26. A book with a green cover,
27. A book set in France.
28. A book with a film industry theme/character.
29. A book set in your hometown.
30. A book by one of your favourite authors.
31. A book set in Italy.
32. A book with a blue cover.
33. A book set in London.
34. A book about a road trip/journey.
35. A book with a one-word title.
36. A book set in the countryside.
37. A book with 'Autumn' in the title.
38. A book with a purple cover.
39. A book set in New York.
40. A book with a number in the title.
41. A book with an animal on the cover.
42. A 'banned book'.
43. A book that was published the year you were born.
44. A book set in Los Angeles.
45. A book with a black and white cover.
46. A book with 'Chocolate' in the title.
47. A book published this year.
48. A book set at Christmas time.
49. A book by an author with the same first name as you.
50. A book with snow on the cover.
51. A book you learned about because of this challenge.
52. Reread your favourite book.

My chosen book for week 13 is - On Writing by Stephen King

What are you reading for week 13? 

A memoir / autobiography .

A New Place to Live and Write

The last 6 months have brought a lot of changes. I've finished university, become self-employed and very recently moved to another flat, in an area of London I've never lived in before. Life changes are stressful but to be honest I was getting stuck in a rut, going to the same places and having almost the same day over and over. Variety is good. This is a new start and a new year. Somewhere different to experience is going to be great for creative inspiration and motivation.

I've spent the last week or so exploring the new area I live in. New streets, new (book)shops, new community... and new coffee shops to discover and write in. *Shout out to Costa Coffee on Finchley Road* As well as being able to relax on a sofa and people watch from a seat by the window, my favourite thing about this coffee shop is the art on the wall. Italy and table football. Perfect inspiration for me :) I think this is a coffee shop I'm going to be visiting regularly!

My New Years Resolutions

It's a new year and this is the first blog post on my new blog. Hello!

As everyone does this time of year, I'm going to start with my New Years Resolutions. I think that New Years Resolutions that include doing something on a daily basis are doomed to fail. My resolutions are weekly or monthly to make them more achievable and there is still time to catch up if I get behind!

* With all the required reading I had to do as part of my degree, including non fiction books and analysing almost every novel I read, this year I want to read more fiction. I want to read for fun, not to study or because I have to. I want to enjoy reading again. I have set myself a reading challenge on www.goodreads.com of 52 books in 2015. I hope to read even more than this. The 2 books that Goodreads says that I've read this year I actually read over Christmas. To make it fun I have set up a reading challenge on the blog for anyone who wants to join me --> here!

* I want to finish writing the first draft of my debut novel. I'm not aiming for so many words per day or week.

* I plan to enter 1 writing competition a month. These may be flash fiction, short stories, novel chapters, scripts or plays. This gives me something regular to work on and a feeling of accomplishment just by entering. If I win anything that's a bonus :)

* This is probably a bit of a contradiction to the first resolution but I want to work on my screenwriting more and therefore read and study more screenplays. I'm going to aim to read 1 screenplay a month to make this easy to achieve.

* I'd like to edit/rewrite the short film scripts I've already written to a final draft/complete stage and get at least 1 made into a film.

* I'd like to edit/rewrite the short plays I've already written and get at least 1 play performed.

* I love live music but I didn't get to go to as many gigs last year as I was hoping to. This year I want to improve on last year.

* I love watching films, whether at home online/on dvd or at the cinema. I missed many films at the cinema this year, mainly due to study commitments. I want to go to the cinema more this year. At midnight on New Years Eve I was at the cinema (The Hunger Games; Mockingjay part 1) and I went to the cinema again on the 1st January in the evening (The Theory of Everything). I'm starting 2015 in the right way!

* Ditto Theatre.

* When I moved to London 5 and a half years ago I took so many photos and I really enjoyed it. Over the last couple of years this dwindled to hardly taking any and it's something I miss doing, I rarely use more than 2 or 3 settings on my camera and I'd like to learn to use every setting and experiment with photography more,

* Be more creative and go to more events. Writing, photography, embroidery, art etc. Go to more art galleries and photography exhibitions. Go to more book events.

* Get better at tech stuff - Photoshop, HTML, Windows Live Movie Maker.


What are your New Years Resolutions?



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