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2002:
GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR |
Yet another year is past, and here's some fresh new New Year's Day resolutions, or as I call 'em, goals.
There's a lot I want to accomplish in the 12 months to come. I'll try to focus on the writing-related goals, but there is always some overlap between aspects of my "real life" that sort of spill over into my writing life and have an affect on me.
So here they are, in order of importance:
1. Get in shape! Okay, this was on LAST year's list, and I didn't get around to it, but I'm much more motivated about this now. We've joined the local YMCA, and I'm determined to get up every weekday to go workout before work. That way it's out of the way and I'll have lots of energy for the coming day. And I can get rid of this gut of mine...
2. Write 10 hours a week. Since I'll be working out in the morning, I need to switch around my writing time from 7-9 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (I'll be teaching on Thursday nights), then from 7-9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday (Fridays are date nights for Elizabeth and me). So please don't call me at those times!!!
3. Finish writing The Ghetto Dwellers (novel #4).
4. Write a draft of The Wannoshay Cycle (novel #5).
5. Write 5 short stories. These could include my current in-progress stories -- "Gunning for the Buddha," "Space Mercs," "Space Walls"/"GreenDirts," "Basskick Dreams" -- or something new altogether. I'm cutting back on the stories a bit to focus on my novels.
6. Start research on The All-Nations Team (novel #6). This will be the one about the All-Nations Team, the baseball team from the past. I have some baseball novels to read along with lots of research to do. At least I already have an outline done!
7. Find an agent. I'm hoping this one comes sooner than later (it's also sort of out of my control), but patience is the key...
8. Read at least a novel a month. Same goal as last year -- I still haven't made a dent in the pile of books waiting for me. No more impulse book buying.
9. Revise The Last of the Hand (novel #3) and The Prodigal Sons (novel #1). Both of these novels need some more tweaking, but I'm not gonna work on them until someone asks for them. I can't waste time on old stuff that's been sent out to a bunch of places already, but if someone is interested in paying me for them, I'll be more than happy to fix them up and get them out!
10. Dedicate myself to my Day Job. Another goal left over from last year. It's a constant struggle, but at least in 2002 I'll be doing some extra work, teaching fiction at night for a continuing education class. But as you can see from its placement in this list, it ain't real high on my priority list (but hey, at least it made the list, right?).
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