Books I'm Excited About & Setting Goals

Because I was a no-show last week, here's my take on:

2016 releases:

In starting this post, I realized I haven't got a clue what's coming out. So I did  search. I got this list from the Huffington Post HERE I haven't heard of any of these people (my bad, I guess) and I hate all these covers. Pfffft.

So I go HERE, to a Goodreads list. I recognized only two names on this list. (Hint, I  may be way out of the loop.) But the covers are more pleasing to my eye.

I poke around, find more lists, and begin to feel disgruntled. I'm pleased where I see names of friends and acquaintances.  I'm hopeful that the book supposedly in contract for me (but waiting on other details the publisher has to work out) will resolve and still be out in 2016. I'm happy that it looks like a lot of fantasy is coming.

For me, strolling the aisle at the book store or library to see what is out, what grabs my attention, what back cover details reel me in...that is far more fun than anticipating this or that. My time to read is short. (40+ hours a week working, gotta sleep, gotta see my boys, gotta write...oh yeah, and read too?) So I dunno what to expect, but I'm open to what grabs me.

As for this week's topic about setting goals:

My 2016 goals are: 

1.) Finish Persephone #7.

2.) Hopefully spend some time doing the 'author/editor back and forth dance' on an unrelated fantasy novel that *should* come out fall of 2016.

3.) Finish and find a home for unrelated modern fantasy A or unrelated modern fantasy B. Or both. A has a good start, but short. B is 60% done...but the ending wasn't coming together...until, while watching a speculative TV show, something they said sparked a wild idea that over the course of an hour blossomed into the ending I'd been searching for.

My advice for you, dear reader, in setting goals is to simply have a plan and execute it.

Writing is hard and it takes a serious time commitment, but it is also a wonderful, quiet, immaterial thing in your head until it is done. You know what works for you, so play to your strengths in time budgeting. And when things get in the way (they will), be gentle with yourself because unlike writing, Life is very immediate, demanding, and loud. It gets in the way of writing. (See recent GRRM announcements.)

Allow life it's intrusions. You cannot necessarily stop all of them anyway, so when life needs tending and interferes with your writing time, take care of it but make a promise to yourself and keep it:

I will persevere and 

return to the mysterious path 

of my storytelling course 

and finish my word journey.