Oh my God! Honestly, I can’t believe it. Is it just me, or does time fly faster when you’re enjoying your life? Ever since I quit my full-time job to start writing (I was about 25), time seems to fly faster, despite certain bad situations and obstacles life loves throwing our way.

For instance, I’m writing this post with my two splints on since my nerve entrapment acted up again. But hey, I knew this was a possibility, and I’m taking my own advice whenever I can.

But worry not, this is not a “Crap, I’m getting old(er)!” post. I’m still young, and I believe 30s are the new 20s (40s are the news 30s, 50s are the new 40s…you know how it goes). We are, generally speaking, taking better care of ourselves. We know we don’t have to follow the crowd. We don’t set goals because society expects us to.

Am I, professionally, exactly where I want to be? No, not entirely. Am I taking some necessary steps to make certain goals and dreams a necessity? Abso-fucking-lutely. (Yeah, I’m not the one to swear much, but hey, I’ve just 30, folks! Give me some leeway;))

So what are those goals?

• Find an agent/publisher for my fun contemporary romance novel.
• Find a manager and/or a producer/studio for my TV pilot and feature screenplay.
• Get published in more of my favorite publications.
• Increase my writing income.
• Write more in the areas that I love.
• Interact more with other writers.

So that’s me: hoping to be a better, healthier, more social and more proficient writer. How about you? Have you ever had or set age-related milestones?

Below I’m quoting some of my dear writer friends on what it was like to turn 30 for them and their work:

Will Hiles:

“My first professional story sales happened at 30. Which opened the door to writing for a living.”

 The story is called The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter. It’s in the horror (vampire) genre, and was published in a magazine called Dead of Night.

I know Will through the Facebook group FWG (Fiction Writers’ Group), and he was one of the first writers to offer me his “30” quote. You can read a lot of his short work on his Facebook author page.

Yvette Carol:

“You and I are approaching milestones at the same time. I’m staring down the big 5-0 like a deer in headlights as we speak. Eeks! I clearly remember that when I turned 30, I decided not to celebrate it as I resisted the idea of ‘getting old’ with such ferocity. And I have to admit, I regretted that decision. Make sure you celebrate the heck out of the moment. Suffice to say, I partied like it was 1999 when I turned 40, and there are big plans afoot for this one. I’ve gained appreciation for aging as I’ve gone along, and I’m not scared to enter my 50’s.

As to where I was professionally & personally at 30, I was recently divorced and had escaped from the city to the country. I was spending many laborious hours in between work shifts painting the illustrations for my children’s books. At that point, I was still determined to write & illustrate my own books. However, as my landlord said, ‘Painting sucks time into it like a black hole.’ And he was so right. I must have spent at least a dozen years of my life illustrating my picture books. It would be another ten years before I’d finally decide to focus on my writing. Although I had many nibbles from publishers along the way, my wonderfully-illustrated picture books still sit in a box under my desk, untouched. I had to learn to let them go. I had to discover a new flexibility as I went along, in order to find what I should be writing. Perhaps those early books will be published when I’m in my dotage, if not, that’s okay as well. It’s all grist for the mill.”

Yvette is a children’s writer and she shares her wise and lovely musings on writing (and her life) on her blog. Yvette and I (virtually) met through the blog of author P.J. Reece, and maintained a friendship based on mutual support and our Zodiac-sign sisterhood. It’s a shame she lives in New Zealand. You can follow her tweets @yvettecarol1.

Glenn Hefley:

“Do you know how long ago that was? I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. I do remember feeling like it was finally going to start. I don’t recall very clearly what ‘IT” was, but it was there — but I also remember when I was 10, thinking that quicksand was going to be a much bigger issue in life than it has turned out to be. Didn’t seem to matter what TV show you watched back then, there was quicksand ready to gobble someone up. Have you ever seen quicksand? Neither have I. Not once. Very disappointing.

Now I’m coming up on fifty and thinking that it really has started. Finally. I’m at a point were the skills I always wanted to have are at my fingertips. And, I have a worthy direction to hurl my best spears and extend my deepest empathy.

We are such marvelous creatures. Humans, yes, but writers in particular. After all of these centuries, all the changes and the advances — we’re still the only wizards this world has ever had. We are the storytellers. We are the ones who use the words of power to shatter gloom, raise the moon and blind the sun if necessary. We create gods of every sort, one for every taste of the imagination, and every guilty need. With our gods we bend men’s backs and wither women’ s hands. Then we give them absolution. We show them, even after they have tried to find love, and have been beaten and scarred over and over again, that it is still worth the effort.

What will you create this year? It’s got me on the edge of my seat. I feel the coil of emotions ready to strike, and the dance of encounters which will alter perceptions and occasionally smack someone with salmon.

Hell. Quicksand probably wasn’t all that cool anyway. Go ahead and jump. I promise you will love the view.”

Glenn Hefley is a great writer, blogger and (the occasional) editor. He doesn’t shy away from controversial topics or speaking his mind. He was kind enough to give me great support and tips about the first three chapters of my novel and my writing in general. You can follow Glenn on Twitter @glennhefley, or read his blog.

Martin Tracey: 

“At 30 I was writing songs as opposed to books/novels. I wrote a song called Saturn Rising and it won a BBC radio competition which resulted in the band supporting the Fine Young Cannibals in Birmingham. I also wrote a song called Raging Bull, it was a football song about a Wolves player called Steve Bull and it ended up on Old Gold Anthems – the songs of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC I also wrote a song called Horror Story, this laid the foundations I guess for my debut novel Beneath The Floodlights which is about soccer and vampires! I know I have a very active imagination. ”

Martin is a blogger and a novelist who loves music, vampires and football (I couldn’t agree more with the first two!). You can check out Martin’s active imagination and posts on his blog, and follow him on Twitter at @MartinTracey1

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Go ahead and share your milestones in the comments. 🙂