My friend and writing mentor Ami Hendrickson has proposed a way for writers (and others with big dreams) to not only commit to reaching their goals for 2010, but to make a meaningful contribution to the charity of their choice.

You can read the details on her blog, then come back here if you want to help me achieve my goals for 2010.

Done reading? Great!

I’ve decided to take part in the challenge, although I’m not employed at the time and thus would have no funds to make up the shortfall if I don’t achieve my goal. That just means I’ll be forced to meet my goal each month!

So, without further ado, here is my plan for 2010.

My end goal

I will complete the first draft of my historical novel and the first edit.

My 12 quantifiable sub-goals

1. Jan – Write 4000 words per week (16,000/month)
2. Feb – Write 4000 words per week (16,000/month)
3. Mar – Write 4000 words per week (16,000/month)
4. Apr – Write 4000 words per week (16,000/month)
5. May – Write 4000 words per week (16,000/month). Complete first draft.
6. Jun – Read and edit first 50,000 words. Solicit criticism on the edited draft.
7. Jul – Read and edit second 50,000 words. Solicit criticism on the edited draft.
8. Aug – Incorporate changes into historical novel.
9. Sept – Polish historical novel prose until squeaky clean.
10. Oct – Edit historical novel for grammar and punctuation. Outline a new novel for NaNoWriMo
11. Nov – Participate in NaNoWriMo
12. Dec – Finish NaNoWriMo novel if not done. If done, begin editing.

My charity

I’ve been thinking this over for a couple of weeks. At first I wanted to donate to the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, but some people foam at the mouth when they hear his name.

Then I thought I might raise money for Fast Forward – a part of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society because two of my very dear friends are affected by this disease.

But then I realized – I have friends affected by a variety of diseases (diabetes, cancer, depression) and it wouldn’t be right to just select one and ignore the others.

Last night it came to me that since I’m writing, my charity should be one related to reading and writing. With that in mind, I ask you to support my goal by pledging to make a monthly donation to First Book.

“First Book provides new books to children in need, addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. An innovative leader in social enterprise, First Book has distributed more than 65 million free and low cost books in thousands of communities.”

You can make donations by going to their website and clicking the red “Donate Now” button at the top.

The honor system

This is all done entirely on the honor system. You have to trust me to honestly report my progress each month and I have to trust you to actually make the donations that you have pledged.

If you would like to encourage me to reach my goal, and also help children learn to read, please e-mail me with the amount you’d like to donate monthly. I need this information so I know how much I have to donate if I fail to meet a monthly goal. You can reach me at Redheadedquilter [at] gmail [dot] com

Thank you!