Writing Words - September is the new January.

Am I the only person who sets new goals in September? 

I think I might be as I don't really see anyone else talking about it on Twitter. 

It probably boils down to my inner student that has never left me, or maybe it's because I have kids who are going back to school, but I always see September as the start of the new year.  The time to look at the past and plan for the future. To decide where I want to be by Summer 2017. To me, September is the new January. 

I've given up on setting goals in January. They just don't work for me. Having a houseful of kids, August tends to be the month everything grinds to a halt. The kids are off and in and out of the house and we usually go on holiday which takes a lot of organising, so I never really achieve anything throughout  August. It has taken me years to accept this situation but now I feel quite comfortable with it. Yet by the end of August, I'm itching to get back to writing. My mind is whirring with plots and characters and all the new school stationary appears in the shops, luring me to buy it for the new projects juggling in my head. 

This summer has been longer than ever, because the girls finished school back in June after their GSCE's, which surprisingly they aced. So I've been preoccupied with them and their lives, longer than usual. But now it's my time again and things need to drastically change this year. Maybe it needs to be a make or break year. How long can I keep reaching for the dream of being a published writer? 

So this year, it's about kicking butt. It's about finishing those half edited drafts and getting them out there. 

So here I am, sitting at my desk, in the middle of September, planning my writing for the next year. I'm auditing all the unfinished projects I have and plotting in my calendar to see when I can take them to the next stage. I am planning regular editing times into my day. 

I really want to look into all the different courses that are available to start next September. I've been dreaming about doing an MA in Creative Writing for a long time, but I always seem to forget to investigate it, so this year, I am going to look closely at all the courses available. And if I don't get an agent by next Summer, then I can be prepared to start a course to help me over that final hurdle. 

So what about you? Do you plan your goals in January? Or is September, the new January for you too?