What are Your Three Writing Wishes?

SheWrites is asking members to record their year’s three writing wishes here. (I’m reinterpreting wishes as “goals,” since my *wishes* would be a) publication with b) fantastic reviews and c) high sales — but I’d rather list things I can make happen on my own.)

Now, this seems rather fortuitous, as one of my writing wishes for this year is to become a part of an online writing community, and SheWrites is the one that holds the most appeal because of its support of and connection to women writers from all walks of life and all stages of their writing career. For almost two years now, I’ve received their weekly emails and as such have been something of a “lurker” in that respect, since I always read them but only occasionally click through. But in those two years, I’ve seen a passion for writing and a warmth for other writers at SheWrites that isn’t particularly evident at other online writing communities I’ve explored, although I’m sure they all have their areas where they shine.

My main reason for wanting to join an online writing community is to further my goal of understanding the short story as a literary form (and writing option). I’m fortunate to have my wonderful speculative fiction writers group, who monthly battle valiantly against patchy Internet connections to Skype me into their meetings in Duluth. I’m doubly fortunate that a couple members of the group are particularly good at speculative short stories. But I feel a little at a loss when it comes to getting feedback on short stories of a more literary nature, and so those tend to gather dust while I wait for them to (at some point!) critique themselves. Since I’ve waited over a year and a half for that, I think I really need to take matters into my own hands. And so, these are my three writing wishes for this year:

1. To evolve from a lurker to a participating member of SheWrites.
2. To Workshop and Revise my literary short story, “Closeted,” and to submit it (I originally wrote it for GlimmerTrain’s semi-annual short story contest with the theme of Family.)
3. To finish writing my retelling of Rumplestiltskin, which was supposed to be a short story but is languidly stretching out into a novella, and to bring it through its first rigorous round of revisions (right now, it’s at that awkward stage where it’s already ITCHING to be rewritten, but I’m trying to at least throw the rest of the bones out before I start rearranging vertebrae).

There are other things I hope to accomplish in my writing life by this time next year, such as participate in one last NaNoWriMo before I’m an old married woman (my last NaNo as a single gal, not my last NaNo ever), and get an agent to request the full manuscript of Ever This Day. But if I can at least accomplish 1, 2, and 3, I will be quite content.

What are your top three writing wishes?