A Slice of Orange

Happy New Year.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit I have yet to write my goals for the new year.  Okay, that may not necessarily be the truth.  I have a few things I want to accomplish this year, I just haven’t committed them to paper. There’s a scripture I like and keep posted near my computer…Habakkuk 2:2-3, “And the Lord answered me: Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who reads it may run.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but it speaks of the end, and does not lie.  If it delays, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.”

I cherish this scripture.  Yet, last year when I made my goal list, I failed to really consult myself and God.  I heard a joke that went something like this, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”  I’m pretty sure I gave God a lot of things to laugh about last year.

I started out 2017 with these grandiose plans.  I was going to write something like 7 books, a couple of novellas, 3 non-fiction books and 5 flash fiction pieces.  Ha, Ha, Ha.  I forgot I had just come off a very busy year…12 Titles in 12 Months.  I foolishly thought it would be easy to complete the task I wrote out.   I did good to get two titles out last year.

Midway through 2017, I realized a very important fact, I was tired.  I had worked so hard the previous year, that I was mentally burned out.  Funny thing, all while I was doing the challenge, I was fine.  I had ideas bouncing off the sides of my brain.  Seems like when I got to December and hit publish on my last title, my brain said, “Now I can rest.”

Although I published 12 Titles in 2016, I had written a little more.  [I’m not going to rehash the project, you can visit past posts for details.] I wrote a book for my lingerie business, plus I had started two other books.  One with 5,000+ words and the other with 3,600+ words.  I really thought I was going to complete those books, but they just didn’t make it. Plus I was approximately thirty percent away from completion on the book I’m releasing this month, which was supposed to release last month.   Insert God laughing here. 

How did I fair out with my 2017 goals? I figuratively burned the production schedule and vowed to commit to complete one novel and my non-fiction book.  We won’t even discuss the personal things on the list I wanted to accomplish.  Thank God for another year and opportunity to start over.

Back to my 2018 writing goals.  A couple of days ago, after meeting with my accountability group, I took a long look at my production schedule.  I deleted anything that hadn’t been started or wasn’t the next book in a series and added the books that were completed but weren’t quite ready to be released last year.  Boldly pressing the delete key left me with a very scary production schedule.

When I did my challenge, instead of writing books in one or two series, I wrote the first or second books, and some stand alone novellas. The titles were well received.  However, I started getting emails from people asking “What happens next?”.  Holy crap.  I like writing cliff hangers and books setting up the next book.  So when I looked at my schedule I knew what I had to do, “Write, a lot.”

My proposed 2018 Production Schedule is scary.  If I can muster up the create juices and energy, I’ll finish the year with nine titles.  Don’t call the crazy writer police on me just yet.  I said “titles”.  Here’s how things look.

Title One : Completed, and releasing at the end of the month

Title Two: Completed, needs to be set up as an ebook

Title Three: Completed, it’s a print only book, so I need to review the proof

Title Four: Completed, needs a major edit

Title Five: 30% complete

Titles Six – Nine: Need to be written

It’s not as bad as it seems.  I have learned my lesson.  If I see where something needs to be pushed back, I’ll do it.

Back to the scripture I mentioned earlier.  I believe in writing down goals because it seems when you write things down, you give life to them.  However, in order for them to grow they need to be nourished and that’s where I failed.  I was too tired to nourish my goals.

I know things will be better this year, because I’ve started talking to my characters as well as eavesdropping on their conversations.  Could it be, they needed a break from me last year?

Well, whatever the reason for a slightly less productive 2017, I feel like 2018 will be booming with stories to tell.

I’ll keep you posted.  Here’s to an amazingly creative writing year.