Thursday, January 3, 2013

2013: What's The Shape Of This Writer's Year?

I'm really going to refrain from any attempt at prognostication about how my work life as as writer will shape up this year. It's a fresh, brand new year and I am thinking about what I would like to do to fill it with exciting projects. I've even done some groundwork at filling my schedule.

Design Work

In fact, I enrolled as a student in an Associates program in graphic design.

You might be wondering what that has to do with making strides as a fiction writer. On the surface, maybe nothing at all. As a freelancer in general I've had a rather erratic year. I've been pitched up and down, gained prospects at consistent work, lost them, and have been tossed around. It made me realize that I needed additional creative skills. I could think of nothing better than to revive my dormant visual art skills and funnel them into computer art and graphic design.

After I pick up the skills, gain, the knowledge, and develop the expertise, I will have a viable freelancing channel to add to my writing. I like having options and means. It's a far more resilient position to be in, as a self-employed person. I intend to focus my attention on book design too so I can be more effective for projects coming through my small publishing company. I say two birds with one stones on this one.

Writing

I've been on a small break from writing, trying to assess the way going forward. That hasn't been an easy process. I've been bouncing around in different moods weighing the whole project in different ways depending on my mindset at that particular point. When the nonfiction freelance dried up or bottomed out, I felt stressed out about it. The writing had no fun left in it--a dire prospect for any creative writing. I've not done much fiction since publishing my last novel, A Kingdom Of Shadows.

I want to write again. I want to fiction this year.

I don't know exactly all that I want to write. I've thought about mixing it up with short fiction, novellas, and regular length novels. It may end up that way but I've been trying to come up with some goals. I read a good series of post by Dean Wesley Smith about it. You should visit his site.

If I were making a goal for 2013--when it comes to writing--I think I would take a modest approach. I have to be realistic. Certainly, I have a whole year stretching out far before me. The expanse holds limitless potential. So what am I going to do?

The thing I think that makes sense is just to say that I plan to write 6 novels this year. That's the sum of it, at the moment. Six, brand new and fresh works from my little old imagination. It sounds good, doesn't it? Will I stick with it? I'm not sure. It's a good starting point. Heck I could change my mind in a week and say I'm just focusing on writing novellas for the whole year. (I've certainly thought about it.)

Still, I'm sticking with it now: My goal is to write six (6) new novels in 2013.



Other Matters

While, I  will not get into it here, I have other things happening this year of a more personal nature that will doubtlessly shape the year in some regards. Wish me luck, both on navigating through them and in reaching the end of the year with the goal (whatever final shape it takes) accomplished.


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