Resolutions

The new year is a full week old, and, if I'm being honest, it hasn't been as productive as I would have liked. The mania of the end of the semester and the holidays has past, and it took all of my motivation and energy with it. In the last few days, I've worked slowly back into some semblance of a schedule and made (glacial) progress.

There are still 51 weeks left in 2018--enough time to get some serious work done.

I'm a in a lot of ways. I like to have a solid idea of what I need to do and the time in which I have to do it. Even when I don't manage to do all of the things that I plan (which is more often than I'd like), have a list, a goal, makes me more productive. So, for my first post of 2018, I thought I'd nail down my plan--my 2018 Writing Resolutions.

This year, I want to

• Finish revisions on CANUS
• Start querying CANUS
• Write the first draft of FETCH
• Get FETCH to first-round readers
• Write and revise a short story for LIBRARIUM
• Attend at least one author event as a vendor
• Attend at least one writing conference
• Read at least fifty books
• Continue regularly attending writing group meetings
• Enter at least one writing competition
• Continue to blog on a (somewhat) regular basis

There are other things I want, too--to land an agent, to sell books, to get a contract for Canus. But with this list, I wanted to focus on the things that are under my control. At the end of the day, I can't make an agent sign me. I can't make a publisher want to take the risk on my work. I can polish my work and make it as clean and professional as I can. I can sit down and do the writing to get a first draft on the page. I can put myself out there at events and take whatever opportunities there are to improve my craft and meet and work with experts.

Last year was a weird one for me as far as writing goes. I wrote a few short pieces, but most of my writing in 2017 was revision. It's going to be strange to drafting again. First drafts are strange beasts no matter the circumstances, but I haven't written a first draft of a novel since 2016. Starting a new project is going to be a learning experience--but it always is.

Letting go of CANUS is going to be strange, too. This manuscript has been my main focus for nearly two years, and the characters have been with me for more than ten. I'll come back to that world and it's characters, but after this round of revisions, I'm going to have to take some time and step away from the project. I love this novel, but it's time to work on other things.

I don't know what my 2018 will hold, and I don't know how successful I'll be, but it's nice to have an actionable plan. Here's hoping the focus on doing what I can will yield results.