Happy 2012!

It's the starting line for a long contest, which I have set for myself and I'm off to a good start. I'd like to explain a little more what I am doing. I intend to write 600,000 words this year, shooting for 50,000 each month.  Unlike NaNoWriMo, I am going to count anything I want to publish, be it fiction, non-fiction, novels and short stories. I will not count any other writing I do such as emails, writing for work, or any other incidental writing.

I will update the word counter every Monday and give a little status update. I don't want to flood the blog with only this, but it will be a major part of what will be going on this year. I hope to accomplish this not only for the boost in my own writing, but to show other writers that they can make and achieve big goals. Please help by sending your encouragement and posting about your own writing goals. I believe you only get high results when you set high expectations for yourself.

The first day of the year saw a great writing day, with about 3,900 words down already. Only about 596,000 to go! I know that this will be more a marathon than a sprint, and I think that the slow and steady commitment to every day writing is what will win this race.

I have decided that I'm going to take pledges for this project and that all the proceeds with go to MDA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, in honor of a good friend who suffers from this disease. You can click on the link to make a monthly pledge for as little or as much as you want.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvGbWtxyNIU1dDZLM2Z1S2E1TUNsUW1VaWtab3A3aVE

On another note, I wanted to list some of the things I'm looking forward to in 2012.

-The first "Hobbit" movie. I'm a true fan.
-The Olympics in London.
-The Presidential election. I'm hoping for some change.
-My 10 year high school reunion (Yep, I graduated in 2002)
-Watching the world not end in December and then laughing at all the doomsayers.

What are you looking forward to? What are your goals for the new year?