Today’s assignment has always stumped me. Specifically, what are my goals for this blog? But, the general question – what are my goals – has always been an issue. When I was in the business world, I went through the STAR method of goal-making. Future goals should be specific, timely, actionable, and realistic. I supervised people who monitored and audited procedures that ensured technology processes were documented and followed.

If you’re fact-checking me by looking up the method on the Internet, though, you will find another set of words that encompass the STAR acronym: situation, task, action, result. These aren’t goal-making words since they describe something that has occurred. Used by interviewers to find out how you responded to something, these help you describe what happened, what you needed to do, what you did, what you learned from the experience. You should always have several examples up your sleeve as you traverse the hiring process.

Back to the point of this post. The goal question revolves around why I’m blogging. I’m not trying to make money by selling my books or managing an author platform enabling followers to click through to others’ books thereby making money on their books. Keeping in mind my target audience, I created this blog to give my friends and family things to read that I wrote. The author is someone you know.

The assignment is to come up with three goals. Why three? There’s a writing principle built around the idea that we humans process information better when it’s delivered as a pattern. Presumably three is the optimal number. My job is to define three goals. I looked around for someone else’s goals because it’s easier to edit words than make them up. It’s why writers take so long to write on a blank page.

Goal 1: To motivate myself. Writers often find some days harder than others to address their work in progress. I’ll clean the toilets, rake leaves, or research quantum mechanics before I find the impetus to write anything. Having to write a post can get the creative mechanism in my head started for the day.

Goal 2: To work through my issues. Writers are supposed to write what they know. Most writers don’t want to bare their souls or expose their experiences – the good, the bad, and the heartache and failure that are ugly – and yet it’s those experiences that elevate a story to the next level. Having to write a post can be therapeutic and help me address things I need to fix or remember.

Goal 3: To clarify my thoughts. Writers can put some weird stuff on paper, thinking their words are perfect. These posts aren’t just dashed off because I’m just that good. They take time because I’m just that human. I don’t write good stuff immediately. I’m writing a book that’s taken five years so I know how bad I can write.

Do these goals follow the need for specific, timely, actionable, and realistic? I think so. Ultimately, I want to be a better writer. Let’s see whether I can achieve my goals. See you later.