Once more, we’re rolling into the new year. To say that it’s been a rollercoaster feels like an understatement. So much has happened, both good and bad, but it’s been a year of growth.
Going into 2022, I’m trying to figure out exactly what my next big project is going to be. I know I want to keep writing, submitting, and working with other writers. It’s hard to set these goals early in the year because the last few years have made it clear that I can never be truly prepared for what the next year brings. The only things I can control are my habits, my time, and my writing. So, I think there are a few things that are going to happen this year:
First, I plan on submitting two times every month. After the September Submission Scramble, I realized that I can submit very easily before or after work, so I can’t really use that as an excuse anymore. In response to that, I’m going to be submitting two times every month (one short story submission and one novel submission).
Secondly, I’m going to try and have one large project that I’m gonna be working on in my off hours. I don’t have any big ideas yet, but I’m hoping that something will come when the holiday haze wears off (we really shouldn’t be required to do any work for December, honestly. How much work are you supposed to get done?) Recently, it feels like a lot of my stories have been stronger as snippets or scenes rather than whole stories, so I need to be better about refining the work into something cohesive.
Thirdly, I’ll be doing a lot of editing. I don’t wanna give anything away, but I have an idea I want to try and tackle and need some time to make it worthwhile. It’s been harder for me to focus on larger projects when it feels like I’m writing something new every day. I’m hoping a single project to unify everything will help me retain my focus and give me a through line rather than trying to pick up snippets over the course of a few days. I don’t know if this will translate to a schedule or deadlines, but I need to be smarter about the time I do spend away from the library desk. Hopefully, this will culminate in some more exciting stuff for the end of the year (or next year).
2020 was wild and 2021 felt like the aftershocks of an endless earthquake. I’d like to say that I hope 2022 will be better, but we can’t know for sure. Instead, I can only take hold of what I can control and focus on that to the best of my ability.
What are your goals for 2022, writing or otherwise?
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