Why do we kiss frogs when we could kiss the handsome prince, or, as the case may be, a beautiful princess? Some of us may love those green slimy creatures, but many of us have froggy vision. In other words, we tend to attract or settle for frogs and don't envision the princes we really desire.

This same concept could be adapted to striving for writing success. Froggy vision can also be blamed for not realizing our writing goals. You need to clear up the fog with some window cleaning techniques especially designed for writers.

Often writers dream of goals they wish to accomplish. But dreams are not concrete. You, the writer, must take charge and make those dreams become reality. The technique of re-visioning is the key to correcting froggy vision by creating a detailed picture of your writing career. Just as we rethink an unsolved problem, the writer must re-vision his writing career.

Take a moment to look at the big picture and envision the goals you wish to achieve. Paint a colorful canvas in your mind outlining specific writing goals. Whether your end goal is writing a best-selling novel, an award winning screenplay, or a line of sentimental greeting cards, map out each mile of the trip.

Or you might pretend you are a movie producer and create a film in your mind about your book with all the graphic elements. Use whatever colorful means you feel necessary.

Visual images are the key to re-visioning. For example, what audience do you want to attract? If you want to focus on children and young adults, think of the things interesting to that age group.

Do you want to write children's mysteries, how-to's, or science and nature pieces? You have always liked who-dunits, so you're leaning toward a mystery, a mystery with precocious children in it.

Where do you want your work to appear? Do you want to write for magazines, newspapers or is a novel your goal? You decide to try magazines first and perhaps the novel later, or an anthology including all your shorter children's stories.

Search the markets for magazines or online publications that print mysteries for children. Maybe the local newspaper would run a series of your mysteries over several months.

Start with an idea seed and end with the beautiful garden that is the cover of your novel, the actors and backdrop of your play or the greeting card display featuring your sentimental poetry.  Like an entrepreneur builds a fledgling company, you need a writing plan and vision. All must fall in sync to complete a sale-- the right story, the right publication, and the right audience.

Do you want to keep your day job or write full time? This is an important consideration. Be sure to analyze and take stock of the time you have to devote to writing and whether your finances will allow you to write full time. Be realistic. The amount of time you have to devote to a project is important to editors. They don't take deadlines lightly, so you should have a good idea of the time frames for completion. A miscue here could alter the timeline of your goals and alienate editors, so be cautious.

List all your goals on paper so you can reflect on them. Seeing your list in print makes your goals seem legitimate, not a pie-in-the-sky dream that you had before. Your Vision List can be long or short, broad or precise. It can take the form of an outline or just a numbered list. There is no right or wrong way to making your list, it must only reflect your own path to success.

Make several copies and keep them in accessible places, such as your brief case, desk, or glove box of your car. Tuck one in the back of your day planner. Review the list often to keep yourself on the right track.

Another tip-- make a vision board to display near your writing space. Put your Vision List on the board along with picture cut outs of novels, greeting cards that you hope to designed or magazines you hope to write for. Include pictures of your favorite authors, your diploma from a writing course or a clip of a published story. Don't be afraid to put up some defeats as reminders. A rejection slip with positive comments is not a bad thing. An occasional glance at the vision board can remind you where you should be headed and how you are progressing.

Your list can be revised at any time. As you proceed, you may decide to head in a different direction, so update the list to reflect your new goals. Once you achieve a goal, you should revise the list to keep your career going at top speed. Create an Achieved List and place it on your vision board too.

The more conscious you are of your goals, the sooner you will accomplish them. With the re-visioning technique, you know exactly what you want to do and you are more open to opportunities when they come along. If you don't know what you are looking for, you won't know it when you see it.

While this technique may seem too simple, that's the beauty of it. Before long assignments will be dropping into your lap or laptop. Remember to visualize is to realize and the frogs will be left in the pond where they belong.

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