TCWT Blog Chain!

Yes, it's here again! It's the TCWT Blog Chain! Huzzah! This month, the topic is 'What is your ultimate goal as a writer'. Ooh, exciting, I hear you say. I want to read all the blogs that are participating.

5th – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/

6th – http://www.inklinedwriters.blogspot.com/

7th – http://www.paulinaczarnecki.wordpress.com/

8th – http://insatiablebeforedeath.wordpress.com/

9th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

10th – http://avonsbabbles.wordpress.com/

11th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

12th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/

13th – http://kirstenwrites.wordpress.com/

14th – http://creatingtherenaissance.wordpress.com/

15th – http://charactercentral.wordpress.com/

16th – http://realityisimaginary.blogspot.com/

17th – http://www.novelexemplar.wordpress.com/

18th – http://charlieeatmybook.blogspot.co.uk/

19th – http://zarahoffman.tumblr.com/

20th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

21st – http://theangelicauburn.wordpress.com/

22nd – http://eatwritedie.blogspot.com/

23rd – http://writerbewildered.blogspot.com/

24th – http://veewhoa.wordpress.com/

25th – http://www.alwaysweavingwords.blogspot.com/

26th – http://anqiyu.wordpress.com/

27th – http://bloodoverithaca.wordpress.com/ 

28th - http://incessantdroningofaboredwriter.wordpress.com/

29th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain)

This month, the Internet and all its users (yes, all -- even you) want to know what my writing goals are. Which begs the question, what are my writing goals?

Other than getting published, of course.

Hmm. This reminds me of the time at IYW when we were asked, 'Why do you write?', and I wrote a poem about how my brain explodes otherwise, because the fact is, I don't know. It isn't like one day I was at school and picked up a pen, wrote 'hello', and thought, 'wow, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life but in fictional form'. Well, maybe something like that did happen, I don't know, because I've wanted to be a writer since the beginning of my memories. I assume that it wasn't the job occupation that I was fantasising about when I was three, since I could barely write my name then (Charlotte is hard to spell, you know), but I don't have a concrete memory of anything like that. I don't know when I started writing for fun, apart from that it was before I was eight, because my friend remembers me writing a story about a fish for her.
Yeah, a fish. Who knew?

So why do I write? And what are my goals?

I've had to do some rambling soul-searching, so I apologise profusely for this post, by the way. I should have mentioned that earlier.

What I love about writing is that I get to live vicariously, even more so than when reading. My characters can have all the troubles in the world, and I don't have to get up out of my seat to experience them. These people are real to me -- I love them as much as my family and understand them a heck of a lot better -- and sure, I do horrible things to them, but it's out of love for them and love of their emotions.
Talking of reality and emotions and things, writing is like living -- you don't know what's gonna happen. L might suddenly fall completely out of love with M because J uncast a spell on them, or they might have a happily ever after where they breed cats and hit J over the head with a stick to remind him that he is their slave. Anything can happen -- but most of the time, it won't kill you, because it's not life, it's writing.

So now that we've established that I'm some sort of hermit who lives through her imaginary worlds, let's move on to what this post was actually supposed to be about: goals.

I want to be published. That's definitely a goal. But not in a MONEY kind of way, or a FAME kind of way (although both things would be nice). Like the enitre rest of the human race, I want some sort of acceptance of myself. I want someone to go, 'hey, you're actually pretty good at this'. It's selfish, but I'd like to think that maybe I'm not useless.

Point number two:
I have a philosophy. At one point I thought everyone thought like this, even if they didn't always act like it, but nowadays I'm not so sure, so I'll lay it out here anyway -- I want to help someone. Like all the acceptance stuff, I want to be able to say, 'I made a difference in this world. I righted wrongs that should have been rights and I made someone smile when before they couldn't'. This is probably why all the things I've been writing lately have had some sort of underlying thing going on, whether that's mental health or domestic abuse or equal rights or whatever, because I want to make an impact on someone. I want to change someone's life (or even society's views) through the medium of story.

Goal number three is to enjoy myself! Both my parents are in jobs they hate, and I don't want to be like that, trapped day-in day-out with people who are ridiculous and work that's monotonous. I want to keep writing, but only because I love it. If I don't? Well, even things you love can be difficult -- my brother for example -- but you have to stick with them, don't you? Up to a point, at least.

Which brings me to idea number four, to be able to say 'I'm a writer, and I write every day, so don't you say I'm not'. I'm rubbish at sticking at things (right at this moment I'm not doing my hour and a half of daily revision), but writing is something I want to stick at, and keep doing until I'm old and grey and have to dictate to someone else because my hands are too shaky to hold a pen or type.

That sounded more romantic in my head. Sorry.

Thingymawhosits five? To write well and interestingly, and not all rambley-wambley like this. This is why I don't talk to people.

So those are my goals. Maybe they aren't very goalie-goals, but that's the way I want my writing to work. Hurray.

Writer out!