As we roll into the second week of 2020, I'm taking some time to look at where I am, writing-career-wise, and where I want to be at the end of this year.
2019 in the Rear View
In 2019, I did finally achieve one goal of mine: I got a short story accepted for publication.
Not published, yet, but accepted, at least. And that's something I couldn't say before.
I didn't finish the edits to the current novel, though, like I wanted. My internal deadline slipped from October 31st, to November 31st, to Dec 31st, and still I didn't make it.
So one win and one miss? Or one win and one delayed victory?
I'm going to work to make it the latter.
To that end, I'm adopting the following three writing goals for this year:
Four Short Stories
Maberry proposed this one at the last Writers Coffeehouse, and I think I'm going to adopt it.
It means one short story every three months, which seems doable. One month to draft, one month to solicit feedback, another to edit it into shape.
To that end, I've already started noodling on a new story. It's an idea I've been chewing on for a few months, looking for the right angle. I've decided to just go ahead and write it, dammit, because sometimes the best way to know what a story's about is to write it down.
Finish the Current Novel
And when I say finish, I mean finish. Edited, reviewed by beta readers, edited again, and polished as much as possible.
I want to be realistic, and not pick a date mid-year for finishing, this time. Progress on the book has been slow, so far. I'd rather be finished early, and not have stressed about it, then worry myself about a deadline that's only in my head.
So I'll aim to be done by December 1st. I'm again stealing the date from Maberry, whose reasoning is that if you finish by December 1st, you can spend all of December partying (instead of working your way through the holidays). Sounds like a good plan to me :)
Post More
Beyond writing fiction, I'd like to post more on this blog and on Twitter. Both to interact more with you, dear readers, and also to work on my essay skills.
Looking ahead a year or two, I'd like to be writing essays at a level I could sell. To get there, I'll need to practice.
So, more blog posts: movie reviews, book reviews, and the occasional counter-point to articles I come across.
