Never too old...

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"You are never too old 

to set another goal 

or dream another dream."

~ C. S. Lewis

My birthday is coming up this week -- I will be 45 on Thursday.  (Gulp.)  Imagine my delight at the beginning of this month when I turned the page in my Mary Engelbreit calendar and saw the quote above.  It felt like a message meant just for me!

My writing goals and dreams have been put on hold for most of 2013 so far.  Life got busier than ever for several months, and then even after things calmed down a bit, I've still been having trouble making the time to write.  Part of that has to do with working on some other goals unrelated to writing; those goals take time, too.  I think the rest of it has to do more with my own insecurities, though, and fear of failure.  

I worked really hard on writing last year.  I wrote over a hundred poems, I think, plus some short stories, and I started on a new novel.  I also submitted my work to dozens of magazines, publishers, and agents -- only to be turned down by every single one.  My head KNOWS that I just have to keep trying.  My heart, on the other hand, is tired of being bruised and wants a little break from rejection.

I originally intended to set new writing goals in January, for the new year ahead, and then share them here.  That never happened.  I was beginning to give up on 2013, thinking it would be completely unproductive, even with six whole months left in which to accomplish great things.  But then along came C.S. Lewis and Mary Engelbreit, to remind me that it's never too late -- not even when I'm turning 45 and the year's half over -- to set another goal.

So, here are my goals for the remainder of 2013:

1. Carve out time every week (if not every day!) to write
2. Finish my latest novel
3. Write at least 30 poems ~ that's only five per month
4. Start working on the new book I've been thinking about for several months now
5. Keep looking for an agent
6. Send out at least 2 submissions per month
7. Don't give up!

I hope that everyone reading this will take C. S. Lewis's quote to heart.  You're never too old.  (Or too young.)  Set new goals.  Dream new dreams.  Dream BIG dreams.  And then work to make them come true.

(Psst... if you haven't heard about the "Blue..." is Two! Birthday Contest yet, you can find all the details here.)