finding fierce

Last week I sat down and started making a list of goals. I rarely do this but need to do this. Setting goals provides a focus, a framework for action. I’ve learned the goals have to be specific and should be broken down into steps. Saying “I want to write a novel” is not enough fuel for action. Saying “I want to write a story about a woman waking up in a different world” gives a lot more information and ground work. Now I can break it down, ask questions – who is the woman? how old is she? what was she doing before she went to sleep? etc. etc. These questions become mini-goals on the way to the big one, the novel.

The same can be said for any goals – artistic, financial, business etc. I can say I want to achieve financial freedom, write a suite of poems or paint 20 pictures but unless I break it down into steps it remains a bit “pie in the sky”.
And then there’s my word for 2012: “FIERCE“. How fierce have I been lately?

According to dictionaries everywhere fierce is about things  “menacingly wild, savage, or hostile” or “violent in intensity, eagerness” with the opposite being about mildness.

I chose my word for its intensity and strength. I want and need to push through my blocks to creativity and productivity. This word is my sword and shield. One of my goals is to make a talisman or charm of the word to wear. A reminder for me when I feel lost and am facing a blank page or canvas. It might also serve to make me into a poet warrior. Fighting for the recognition of small words, carefully chosen and intricately worked together to create mood and story.

And why do I feel that it is a fight? How much poetry have you read lately? I was surprised and annoyed when I checked several big online bookstores and realized none of them had a poetry category. Obviously not a big seller and yet poetry can incite, inspire, paint pictures and tell stories.

More later on my fierce battle plan.