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"In 2014, I am making a commitment to one particular writing project. And in doing that, I’ve got to say NO to some other things. " That is super-tough if you're trying to make a living as a writer without the safety net of a day job or trust fund. I think in 2014 my commitment is gonna be to say YES to every crappy little paid job that comes my way, and to hate myself all the way to the bank.

2014 minimums: Three pages a day. One hour of prep per day. One hour of reading per day. Seven days a week. No excuses.

"Write every day" -- great mantra, but I feel it needs tweaking, as it doesn't speak to either volume or quality. Hence, I've had too many days where I have little of either to speak of .. and I'd like to avoid that in '14. Balance ... being at home now and writing full-time, you' think it'd be easy to DO IT ALL -- write, take care of home responsibilities, still go to yoga classes and train for marathons, or whatever. But I think I've put a lot of pressure on myself in the writing wedge of the pie, and thereby still struggle with balance. Not sure how, but I want to find a better approach to scheduling my time in '14 to improve that balance. I'm sort of on the "however long it takes" plan. Thankfully, my spouse is supportive and believes in my aspirations. This also puts a lot of pressure on each and every project, and part of '14 will be to manage that pressure (and my own expectations) better.

Probably the most pertinent post of the four Scott. Particularly this line:

"...my advice is not to think of 2014 as a year in which you will do everything, but rather one step in a process that may well take several years."

"And for me, I need to work on this whole realistic thing in 2014." -I second that ^^....each year.

word!

This post reminds me of Rod Serling, whose biography I recently read. He was notorious for not being able to say no and it wreaked havoc on his nerves. Joel alludes to a similar conceit in his comment, but if Mr. Serling said no to a project he was worried all of his success and opportunities he worked so hard for would slip away from him. He never learned to manage that. For next year I just want to stay focused. As Scott mentions, this year was a great first step for me (once I scaled back my expectations and stopped anxiously waiting to succeed within this year) so the next logical thing for me to do is the next step. That means at least two new features and a television spec, more short stories, perhaps finishing the novel I started, but most importantly getting my name out there. Query letters, attempts at getting published, and more contests. Good luck to everyone with their plans for the upcoming year. I hope to see many of you around GITS and other screenwriting-related resources.

As a brand new writer (introduced myself in part 2), my primary goal in 2014 is pretty simple: become a better writer and more adequately understand the art and business of film. I will accomplish this by: 1. Entering at least three local or major screenwriting competitions and finishing as a semi-finalist in at least one. 2. Gaining enough technical knowledge to feel comfortable shooting, producing, directing and editing a very short film I’ve written by the end of the year. 3. Obtaining the financial competence to help finance a small film in 2015 and understanding the risk/rewards of such an investment. 4. Attending at least one small, intensive writing seminar.

Realism - I'm 46, well over the "norm" for Hollywood writers. I expect to write the rest of my life, but everything is on a 20-year-max plan and everything above that is bonus. I am single and mostly a secular monk, but I have a full-time job four days a week. I can't and don't want to spend 20 hours a day writing. But I can do 1.5 hours a day and more on my three days off. I spend a good deal of time building up the screenwriting group I have, so time is carved off for that - but that work supports my writing, too. And my main problem is not taking on too much, it's not doing enough. I work nights, so when I'm off, I tend to veg out in front of the Xbox - mostly streaming movies and TV shows to be sure, but there's just so much of that you can call research and not procrastination. So I guess a practical goal this year is to get to the point where I have to learn to say No!