Happy New Year!
Normally I write this post prior to the holiday, but a bout with the flu bug held me back and I refuse to feel bad about it. Just seems counterproductive to start the year out with regrets, especially when you can’t anticipate getting sick over Christmas.
So! It’s time for my regularly scheduled road-map review and prep.
I had a lot of ambitious ideas for 2019 but in the spirit of letting things go and moving forward, I’m just going to pat myself on the back for getting the following things done:
Completed Melody of Bones. Also known as The Thirteenth Month.
The second draft of this novel stands at over 110,000 words and while that isn’t terrible for a fantasy novel, I’m going to be shaving that number down. I hope. I will also be drastically altering the story, tightening the plot, and combining characters to make for a less sprawling narrative.
BEGAN “A WEREWOLF WEDDING” NOVEL
This is a guilty pleasure. Nora Grayson, marital counselor to the supernatural, is a great deal of fun. Her novel isn’t completed yet, but if I continue with my current pace it should be finished by the end of April.
WON NANOWRIMO WITH “EVERY PRAYER BUT ONE“
This novel kicked me in the teeth in September and has consumed much of my attention. It is nearing completion, but work has slowed down some due to complex emotional stuff in the novel that needs to be appropriately handled.
SUBMITTED, SUBMITTED, SUBMITTED
I was also terribly brave this year in that I submitted my completed works to a number of places. One of which is still considering a novel that I promised to have out by the end of 2019, but since it is in limbo that obviously didn’t happen. You can expect more announcements about publication dates and whatnot in the coming months.
So… What’s penciled in for 2020?
Things on the writing front have slowed down a good deal due to the day job’s demands, but I have found a comfortable regime and will continue to toss novels out into the wild as they are completed and/or picked up by publishing places.
My new regime calls for working on multiple projects at the same time. Basically, one novel in edit phase and one in drafting phase to exercise two parts of my brain. I’ve done this before and it was working well. I can’t remember why I changed it.
I’m not sure why anyone other than myself would find this interesting, but if you’re an author and you’re looking for a way to organize your writing time, then maybe this can help you. Please keep in mind that life has a way of altering plans, much like a novel has a way of breaking the author’s carefully created outline, so all of this is a loose projection at best.
January – March
DRAFT – Every Prayer But One
EDIT – Melody of Bones
April – June
DRAFT – Werewolf Wedding
EDIT – Castle of Three Kings
July – September
DRAFT – Inmate
EDIT – Every Prayer But One
October – December
DRAFT – City of Cemeteries
EDIT – Werewolf Wedding
That’s it. That’s what I want to accomplish on the writing front.
Now, on the personal front… I have challenged myself to 365 acts of kindness through 2020. Big or small, for whoever I see needs it, I am going to consciously and actively seek out ways to help the people around me. I’ll be recording this on Twitter, so if you want to follow along, you’re welcome to at my handle @AJMaguire
AJMaguire 