(This is from my new planner--nifty, huh?)
Like just about every other writer's blog out there, this is where I get to talk some about my 2010 writing goals.
This is mostly brainstorming, really. It's thinking at what's known in the GTD-world as "horizons of focus." Specifically, the things I'd like to see for my writing future at the "30,000 foot level" (i.e. 12-14 months from now).
1
I'd like to network better. In 2009, I made some strides in connecting with other writers (online and in person) and with other artists. Playwrights, poets, filmmakers, and musicians. But I passed up a lot of opportunities, too. I was shoulder to shoulder with Joyce Carol Oates for a split second, but said nothing, not even when she was signing. Legendary comic book writers from the 70s & 80s come through this town once or twice a year. One of them even lives here, and I haven't introduced myself to him.
The reason is my dread of the thought of being that over-eager writer who gets told by a seasoned master, "Go away kid, you bother me." Time for me to get over that. And I'm going to at Readercon 21!
2
I need to get my lit/flash fiction back on track. This is sort of related to the networking goal. Between here and Twitter, I need to make time to get back into Fictionaut and Zoetrope. I briefly connected with some writers whose work I idolized before I focused on genre stuff, but lost touch. Plus, I learned so much there from the critiques I got from my flash pieces. I was kinda dumb to let that slip away, but you know what? My accounts are still active, and it's never too late, right?
3
12 is the magic number. That's one story per month, written, submitted and kept in circulation. If none of them sell by next December, fine. But they will be in circulation.
4
I need to move a bunch of back-burner non-fiction projects up to the front. I confess, stubbornness is part of what motivates this goal. I'm irked that I haven't been able to repeat my McSweeney's success of five years ago--though I admit, my efforts have been lackadaisical at best. But it's not just humor I'm interested in.
I've mentioned my "seekrit #wip" on Twitter. It's secret because--again, this is a pride thing related to my networking fears, I think--the whole thing could be a wash at any time, and I dread the thought of answering questions like, "Hey, what happened with that [seekrit #wip]?" with "Eh, nothing."
Suffice it to say that it's going to be a researched non-fiction work, and if I can pull this off, it would be quite the feather in my geek cap.
Okay, I think my brain is sufficiently dumped. Maybe today I can actually do something about some of these.
*The title's from here, btw...