Rest Stop: A Look at 2024!
Gawd, can you believe it’s already January 5th? It’s only just now feeling like winter here in Maryland. We’re supposed to get a smidge of snow tomorrow morning, which will be nice if it actually happens! I miss the Salt Lake City snow more than I thought I would.
I’m dealing with some very annoying fatigue and sniffles this week (not COVID, luckily!) so I haven’t been as productive as I would’ve liked, BUT I did put 2800 words into my new project and I’ve formalized my plan for short stories this year!
I still want to write an in-depth strategy blog for 2024, but in brief, these are my goals for the year:
Write 1 new short story per month.
Audit my old short stories from college and dust ‘em off for pitching.
Complete 10 submissions, queries, or contest entries per month. (Already done for January!)
Write the first draft of Finders, my new project. (It’s Gay Witches™.) I’d love to have this done by the end of April, ideally, but realistically the end of June.
Depending on when I receive feedback from Peter and my beta readers, start the third draft of Hermit: Crabs?! and get it ready for querying.
Depending on everything else, potentially start the first draft of Hermit: Crabs?! 2: Ocean Boogaloo.
If I stick to my guns, which I think is definitely possible, that could be three full novel drafts in 2024 (Finders, H:C1, and H:C2). I also registered my short stories as a collection in Bookdun (my second challenge slot, for those in the know), so I feel like I’ll have a good way of tracking and staying accountable on that project, too!
All in all, I’m excited for what this new year will bring. I’m settling into my routine at work and despite whatever this annoying fatigue thing is, I feel pretty good with where I’m at. Stay tuned for more adventures!
Til next time,
Mags