*Catherine stares at her computer for ages*

Where is a witty opening line when you need one??

*Catherine pauses after writing that and decides just to roll with it*

As the month goes on, the goals we outline in these posts get bigger and bigger. And with this last post of the series concentrates on the biggest goals that we have - ultimate goals.

In a bit of a departure from our usual subject of writing goals, we're also including life goals in this segment. Fasten your seatbelts, because this ride promises eyebrow-raising craziness.... 


What is one of the BIGGEST dreams or goals you have for your life?

I guess the biggest overall goal that I have in my life is to be independent of sorts. Financially independent (especially getting off this loans) has been rather the forefront, but I would love to have my own operation. What exactly that operation is....I can't exactly explain because I do not know.

I still have the goal of being married with my own family. But, that is highly dependent on a male personage that I may or may not have met yet. *sigh*


Name the wildest goal you’ve got! (Don’t worry: we won’t judge.)

In terms of writing, my wildest goal is to write a few non-fiction books. I'd like to get back into my historical research and I've got an inkling for a book about the history of fasting in the Catholic Church, and another for Catholic agricultural traditions and innovations. I also wouldn't mind giving lectures about writing later on in my life.

In terms of my actual life....something really wild that I'd like to do is film or interview for a documentary! I love documentaries like crazy and I find that there are not enough documentaries about historical agriculture in the United States, or living history for that matter.

Specifically, I would love to make US versions of the UK documentaries Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm and Wartime Farm. To live for a year in each of those time periods and documenting them would be really really awesome.


What goal scares you the most? Why?

Can I say all of them?

Sending out my literary babies terrifies this new author to no end. Meeting and socializing with guys (or any other person, for that matter) is still a little nerve-wracking. And getting over this fear of a repeat of study and research burnout is still haunting me after a year and a half.

What steps do you need to do to reach some of your goals?

For most of the WIPs, it's completing a first draft. From there, it's a never-ending cycle of drafting, editing, beta/gamma reading and then all the steps for publication...should it ever reach that far.

For everything else, there is a lot of research and other life events need to happen before much else can be accomplished. Barring a supernatural event, of course.


Have your ultimate goals changed? Have you decided not to do something, or to do things differently?

Oh yes. I ditched grad school (at least for the near future) because I had a quarter-life crisis and the fact that I feel like grad school was trying to indoctrinate me into a liberal mindset - which I hated. Which has kinda shut off the professional historian field that I had in mind for the first 5-6 years of my adulthood.

So now I'm in the middle of attempting to figure out what I'm going to do with my life.

The ultimate goals for my writing though....those really haven't changed much. In fact, I've added more "ultimate" goals as I've gotten further entrenched in the writing world.


Do you plan to finish your current story ideas and then do other things in the future, or do you see yourself always having some story in the works?

Oh, I'm sure that I'll always have some kind of unwritten story - all authors do. I do hope to finish all 8 of these WIPs that I have currently though....




If you could get only one book/trilogy/series published, what would it be?

Epics of Verden!! That series has my heart wrapped around their little spines, and it's a story that I feel passionate about. Though, it would be a dreadful shame if Fair Winds wouldn't be published :(.


Realistically, where do you see yourself in the future?

Ugh, this is so unclear right now....

There is one path in which I become a teacher and do my historical reenacting over the summers.
There is another path in which I start my own business - in which I either sew, or do historical research.
And there is another path in which I help my parents start their own farming business, and I do some of my own agricultural marketing on the side - whether that's grass-fed meat, heritage breeds or wool, I don't know yet.
And there is another path in which I'm married with children on my own homestead.

In other words, I literally have no clue.


Reality aside, where would you like to be in the future?

At my own homestead, with a large garden, a small orchard, and a little farm - complete with horses, a pig or two, chickens, sheep and cows. I'd be as self-sufficient as possible, and whatever time that I'm not chasing after my 10 children and keeping up with my domestic stuff, that I will spend pounding away on my keyboard - because writing will always be a part of my life, apparently.


Do you see yourself as a Writer, or just someone who writes?

I see myself as a Writer. I look for the stories in ordinary life. I write almost everyday. Writing energizes and relieves me. I want to capture everything into words. And I must somehow justify this slight insanity streak I have (i kid, i kid).



And so wraps up another series of the Shared WIP tag! This was one of most fun segments that I have ever participated in. Please check out the other participants' posts down below:

Julian
Sarah
Faith
Ceci
Nicole
Ariel