Making A List

December 20, 2005 by in category Archives tagged as with 3 and 0
Home > Writing > Archives > Making A List

By Charlotte Maclay

I believe everyone, whatever your age, should have some life goals.

I don’t mean your ordinary New Year’s resolution. Those are nice to have, of course, but everyone knows the diet you start on January 1st lasts until, um, maybe January 2nd. If you work hard at it.

And I don’t mean your goal of selling a book or making the New York Times best seller list, although that’s what a lot of us would like to do. But those are goals that we can work toward but are truly not within our control.

I mean the kind of goal you’d think about when you’re lying there on your death bed and saying to yourself, “Darn, I wish I had. . .”

There are just some things in life you want to do. If you don’t think about them and write them down, time will slip by. You’ll be too busy, too old, too infirm, too caught up with job, family and day-to-day obligations until finally you’ll find your chance to experience that particular dream has passed you by.

I learned this from my daughter, who had thyroid cancer. (She’s fine now, thank goodness!) Apparently when the big “C” rears it’s frightening head, it starts you to thinking about your life and what you want to do. Mind you, her life goals are way different than mine. Her first, which she celebrated on her 30th birthday, was to do a bungee jump. (She was thoughtful enough not to tell me ahead of time so I wouldn’t worry.)

Her next goal, accomplished in honor of her 35th birthday, was to climb the back side of Half Dome in Yosemite, no small accomplishment. (You can see a pattern here, right? Unlike her mom, she’s always been a jock.) Her most recent celebration had her jumping (safely, thank God!) out of an airplane!

Needless to say, my goals are somewhat less strenuous, though no less exciting for me.

As I was driving on the freeway to an Orange County RWA chapter meeting about a year ago, my career in the doldrums, when I decided I needed a new life goal. Within about a hundred feet (which can take a long time on the 91 Freeway), I realized I’d always wanted to be a standup comedienne. (It’s something about how I’ve always admired Carol Burnett.)

That afternoon when I returned home, I googled standup comedy classes. To my delight (the fates were clearly on my side), I found one starting the next day no more than five minutes from my house. It turned out learning to write jokes is an amazing art, almost like writing poetry, and it’s harder than it looks. Since that time I’ve had standup gigs for alumnae meetings, senior citizen homes, women’s clubs and writing groups. I’ve even been paid a time or two.

It’s not that I want to make a career of being a standup comic. Heck, I can’t even stay up late enough to watch the Jay Leno show. But, by golly, I’ve achieved a life goal and had fun doing it. (If you’re interested in my jokes, check my Web site at NovelTalk.com. We’ll change the jokes often. I’ll also be teaching an online joke-writing class in September 2006.)

More recently it occurred to me that I’d never ridden on a motorcycle. Clearly, I had a deprived youth. So the husband of my critique partner agreed to help me celebrate my recent birthday (those birthdays that end in “0″ or “5″ are really good occasions to let it all out) by taking me riding on his humongous Harley. What fun! And it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be. (Maybe I should have given that motorcycle crowd in high school a closer look.)

I’ve been very fortunate in my life, so there is not much I haven’t done that I wanted to do. But I still have a list.

I’ve seen grizzly bears in the wild, but I’d like to see polar bears too. And I want to hear wolves howling in the wilderness.

Chances are good my goals won’t resemble yours. But that’s okay. You might want to learn to knit, play the piano or be a circus aerialist or clown just for the fun of it.

The point is, you need to sit down with yourself and think about what you’d regret missing out on if that bus barreling down the road suddenly hit you.

Some people advocate you come up with 25 goals. But I say start small. You can always add more later.

Let me know what’s on your list.

by Charlotte Maclay
http://www.charlottemaclay.com/
Make No Promises
Leisure Love Spell, June 2006Romantic Suspense
Author Details
Author Details
A Slice of Orange started in 2004 as a group of authors from Orange County, California. We have expanded to include authors from around the globe–from the UK, all across the US to New Zealand. Our authors include the multi-published and writers at the beginning of their publishing career. In addition to authors, we feature blog posts from editors, PR professionals, and cover designers. The bright segments of the writing and reading community that make up one perfect entity—A Slice of Orange.
On Sale

Books on sale or free

Redheaded Ruminations

Buy now!
Redheaded Ruminations

STOLEN KISSES FROM THE VISCOUNT

Buy now!
STOLEN KISSES FROM THE VISCOUNT
INTIMATE RELATIONS
THIEVES: Book One of the Obscurité de Floride Trilogy
FUR, FEATHERS AND SCALES: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Animal Tales

SAVAGED SURRENDER

Buy now!
SAVAGED SURRENDER
WHO’S THE FAIREST? A Sisters Grimm Anthology
SNOW IN LOVE: Sweet Romance Holiday Collection

THE LIFE OF RILEY

Buy now!
THE LIFE OF RILEY
FATHOMS: A NOVEL OF THE PARANORMAL

GIRL IN THE MIST

Buy now!
GIRL IN THE MIST

THE FIX UP

Buy now!
THE FIX UP

GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

Buy now!
GIRLFRIENDS & SECRETS

#Me Too

Buy now!
#Me Too

HAGAR’S LAST DANCE

Buy now!
HAGAR’S LAST DANCE

FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

Buy now!
FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

LEIF Viking Glory Book One

Buy now!
LEIF Viking Glory Book One

THE GHOST OF DEPFORD HALL

Buy now!
THE GHOST OF DEPFORD HALL

DANGER MUSIC

Buy now!
DANGER MUSIC

THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR

Buy now!
THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR

THE WOULD BE MOMMY

Buy now!
THE WOULD BE MOMMY

A LADY’S POINT OF VIEW

Buy now!
A LADY’S POINT OF VIEW

COWBOY KARMA

Buy now!
COWBOY KARMA
BECKONED, PART 1: FROM LONDON WITH LOVE

A SOLDIER’S ITALIAN CHRISTMAS

Buy now!
A SOLDIER’S ITALIAN CHRISTMAS

CITY OF BLAZE

Buy now!
CITY OF BLAZE

LET IT SNOW

Buy now!
LET IT SNOW

ILONA’S WOLF

Buy now!
ILONA’S WOLF

COME FLY WITH ME

Buy now!
COME FLY WITH ME
THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN’S HOROSCOPE CAME TRUE

WELCOME TO LOON LAKE

Buy now!
WELCOME TO LOON LAKE

SUPERHERO IN DISGUISE

Buy now!
SUPERHERO IN DISGUISE

HOSTILE WITNESS

Buy now!
HOSTILE WITNESS

LOVE NOTES

Buy now!
LOVE NOTES

THE ROGUE’S LAST SCANDAL

Buy now!
THE ROGUE’S LAST SCANDAL
2019

HER COWBOY KING

Buy now!
HER COWBOY KING
CHRISTMAS ON NANTUCKET AND OTHER STORIES
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIDGE, NEW YORK, 1930

THE MASK OF MIDNIGHT

Buy now!
THE MASK OF MIDNIGHT

THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Buy now!
THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT
SERIOUSLY, MOM, YOU DIDN’T KNOW?
OFF THE RAILS: A Collection of Weird, Wicked, & Wacky Stories

THE WORTH OF A VISCOUNT

Buy now!
THE WORTH OF A VISCOUNT

SHADOWS AT DAWN

Buy now!
SHADOWS AT DAWN

DEAD BLOW

Buy now!
DEAD BLOW
WINTER WISHES: A REGENCY HOLIDAY ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY

HAUNTING MISS FENWICK

Buy now!
HAUNTING MISS FENWICK
LOST WITNESS: A Josie Bates Thriller

REWRITING THE PAST

Buy now!
REWRITING THE PAST

CLEAR INTENT

Buy now!
CLEAR INTENT

HIDDEN BETRAYAL

Buy now!
HIDDEN BETRAYAL

HER LOST LOVE

Buy now!
HER LOST LOVE

TWO BITES TOO MANY

Buy now!
TWO BITES TOO MANY

ONCE UPON AN ENCHANTED FOREST

Buy now!
ONCE UPON AN ENCHANTED FOREST
COLTON 911: CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
#PLEASE SAY YES (#HermosafortheHolidays Book 1)

TRACKING SHADOWS

Buy now!
TRACKING SHADOWS

THE DECEPTION

Buy now!
THE DECEPTION

THEIR HIGHLAND BEGINNING

Buy now!
THEIR HIGHLAND BEGINNING

HIS HIGHLAND SURPRISE

Buy now!
HIS HIGHLAND SURPRISE

FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

Buy now!
FREYA Viking Glory Book Two

LEIF Viking Glory Book One

Buy now!
LEIF Viking Glory Book One

DARK WINE AT DUSK

Buy now!
DARK WINE AT DUSK
SHORT and SWEET’S FAMILY ALBUM

THE DEVIL’S CARESS

Buy now!
THE DEVIL’S CARESS

GAME TOWN

Buy now!
GAME TOWN

THE WITCH OF BERGEN

Buy now!
THE WITCH OF BERGEN

THE CONSPIRACY

Buy now!
THE CONSPIRACY
THE WITCHES OF NEW MOON BEACH BOXED SET

FOR A GOOD PAWS

Buy now!
FOR A GOOD PAWS

THE OBLIVIOUS BILLIONAIRE

Buy now!
THE OBLIVIOUS BILLIONAIRE

ONE TASTE TOO MANY

Buy now!
ONE TASTE TOO MANY

    ×
    A Slice of Orange started in 2004 as a group of authors from Orange County, California. We have expanded to include authors from around the globe–from the UK, all across the US to New Zealand. Our authors include the multi-published and writers at the beginning of their publishing career. In addition to authors, we feature blog posts from editors, PR professionals, and cover designers. The bright segments of the writing and reading community that make up one perfect entity—A Slice of Orange.
  • Anonymous says:

    WTG, Barb, on your sky dive. Not my cuppa, but glad you enjoyed it.

    I’ll be speaking at OCC in July, Advanced Tools of the Trade, not humor. But if someone should ask, I’m sure I can work in a bit of my standup routine.

  • Anonymous says:

    Way to go, Charlotte! I’m going to sit down and write some goals for myself. I did manage to accomplish one goal I had my whole life – to go sky diving. I finally went a week before my 50th birthday.
    Please, please speak at OCC about humor again – and please do some of your routines. I haven’t checked out your website yet, but I bet you have some hilarious bits about writing and writers (a testiment to your skill as a writer because we’re all so normal and deadly serious).
    See you at OCC.

  • Anonymous says:

    The tables have turned, my friend. Now it feels as if you are my mentor as I admire your amazing achievements over these past several years. Your courage, tenacity and love of life is downright inspiring!

    You already know my goal — to make my writing career my number one priority in 2006.

    – Your “Big Sis”

  • Copyright ©2017 A Slice of Orange. All Rights Reserved. ~PROUDLY POWERED BY WORDPRESS ~ CREATED BY ISHYOBOY.COM

    >