New Beginnings: A Guide to 2013

Well New Year was ushered in with style in Holland.  The fireworks going off in my street were awesome. Next year I will definitely be adding my own to the party.

Now, as I sit here, a full year ahead of me, I start to think about what I expect from myself in the coming 12 month period. Now that I have one book published and more agreed on principle, this is my time to push words, increase my productivity and get a good catalogue of work at least ready to be published. Given to how that avenue of the industry is not as instantaneous as the creation sector.

I am to finish typing up my edits on the third short story collection that I have ready and then it is on with the novel. It is 74,000 words currently, and while there is a fair bit needed to be tweaked on it, the bulk of it is there, so I do not think it will be too much work. (Touch wood)

With that done, my path is clear, I will have a good bulk of work ready for submissions, and can push on.

So what are my plans for the new year exactly? Well, allow me to lay them bare for you.

1. Improve my editing skills and speed, I want to have this novel banged out as close to the end of the month as I can.
2. Write more.  I don’t have a very big window for writing, around 2 hours a day, but that include my blogging, networking and promoting time also. I will find more time for writing, and be more productive in it. My plan is 1000 words a day, given a 5 days writing week that is 5,000 words a week That is around about 260,000 words a day. Now I know I will lose some time to editing and the like, but if I am honest, I should be able to crank that 1000 our without any problem, so feel confident this will be achievable even with everything else thrown in. Of course that is 1000 words on my fiction, blog posts are something extra.
3. Socialize more. I would love to make a friend this year. A real life friend I mean. Currently there is nobody in my life, other than my wife, who I could call a friend. I’m not a great socializer, and that is part of the problem. This year will change that. However, I will be actively socializing, everything will be looking to improve me, as a person, as a writer, and help me push forward in my career.
4. I am done playing around. No more time-wasting, or lollygagging if you will. I have a busy schedule, and while we all need to kick back and relax from time to time, I am officially done with doing it to excess as I so often found myself guilty of last year.
5. I want to read more, I had a really good middle six months in the year, but since then the time has just disappeared. My Kindle is almost dead, and thanks my kids currently MIA. I’m sure to find it, and if not I have plenty of real books to get working through.
6. To combine with my daily word total goal, I intend to write two full books this year. (100,000 words plus) and a few short stories. I have the third Highway to Hell novel, that comes first, and then after that I want to write about a wonderfully dark character I have met who shall remain secret for now, to protect his identity from those that want his immortal ass destroyed.
7. I want to submit more short stories and pieces of fiction to anthologies and publications. I didn’t submit anything in 2012, and will ensure that changes this time around.
8. I really want to increase the quality of posts on the blog. I would love to see a big increase again on last year. I went from 5,000 to 21,000 and see no reason why I cannot increase that even further, to between 50,000 minimum and maybe even upwards to 100,000. Big ask, maybe, but a few big posts that I have planned will hopefully put me on the right track.

Well, those are my main goals for the year ahead, and I plan to succeed in each and every one of them.

What are you goals for 2013? I would love to hear them.

Onwards and Upwards!