I’ve made it a tradition to list my writing goals for the coming year in a January 1st post. I used to be ambitious and list a lot of goals, but I’ve learned since to keep the list short. After all, there’s more to life than writing. 😉

Here are my goals for 2023:

1. FINISH THE CURRENT NOVEL
I talked about this in my prior post which you can read here. I’m working on the fourth volume of the Inverted Frontier series and if things go well I’ll have a final draft before year’s end. If things go really well, the novel will be done well before the end of 2023.

2. PUBLISH THE CURRENT NOVEL
Will I be able to publish book 4 this year? I don’t know. It feels like a 40/60 chance. In the past I’ve rushed two books to publication (Silver and Pacific Storm), just to get them out before the end of the year, and both did dreadfully from a sales perspective. Silver mostly recovered over time; Pacific Storm never did. So if I’m not ready to go by, say, early September, book #4 will need to wait until 2024. (Write faster, Nagata!)

3. WRITE A “RED” NOVELLA
See my prior post, where I realized that 2023 will be the tenth anniversary of the original publication of The Red: First Light in its indie edition. For years I’ve talked about writing a novella in this story world. I really need to do that. Maybe this year?

Okay. That’s three goals and that’s ambitious enough. If I can do these three things, I’ll be satisfied. But just as a reminder to myself, I’ll mention two bonus projects: (1) Start outlining the fifth and last volume of the Inverted Frontier series; and (2) Put together that third short story collection I’ve talked about over the last few years.

Happy New Year!

Every January I put up a blog post listing my writing goals for the coming year. At the end of the year, I check back to see how I did. That assessment is the subject of this post.

2022 was a decent writing year, better than 2021. I met my primary goal and that did wonders to pull me out of a severe income slump in the first quarter of the year, so I’m not going to complain.

Here are the specifics on how I did, with the goals I set for myself in January in all-caps:

1. FINISH & PUBLISH THE CURRENT NOVEL
Done! This novel was Needle, third in the Inverted Frontier series. I finished a first draft early in the year, had it edited in the spring, and published it in July. Thank you to everyone who purchased a copy or convinced your library to get one. While I am by no means burning up any bestseller lists, Inverted Frontier has been my most successful indie project thanks to all of you, and I’m very grateful.

2. START A NEW NOVEL
Done! That is, I’ve started it. I envision five novels in the Inverted Frontier series. Right now, I’m working on volume 4. I’ve written the beginning of it, maybe 15% of the whole. That doesn’t sound like much, and I admit progress has been slow, but I’m very excited about the ideas I want to incorporate in this story. So many ideas, that I was feeling confused about how to handle them. So in early December I shifted gears and started putting together a new outline, with lots of details and dialog. I’m going through all my brainstorming files, sifting through the ideas, and fitting them into prospective scenes, all in the proper order. Once everything’s in place, I should be able to follow the outline, expanding the story scene by scene. For me, as I write, there’s always the dreaded question of what comes next. Knowing the answer to that, with copious notes to guide me, should help to accelerate my writing pace. Anyway, coming up with this detailed outline has been a fun, creative process.

3. WRITE ONE SHORT STORY (OR NOVELLA)
I really wanted to do this. I thought it would be fun to wade back into the story world of The Red. I even listened to all three audiobooks to try to get back into the series. But even after spending a couple of weeks brainstorming on it, I’m still not sure how to approach this project. Maybe next year.

Good heavens! I just realized that 2023 will be the tenth anniversary of the original publication of The Red: First Light, that is, in its indie edition, by my own Mythic Island Press. Wow. Yes, I really need to do something in this story world.

4. PUBLISH A THIRD SHORT-FICTION COLLECTION
Done, though not in the way I originally intended. I had hoped to add another short story or two (or that Red novella) to the eight stories I have ready to go. That didn’t happen. But I did create a story collection for the United States Air Force Academy’s “One Book, One USAFA” event — and that was such a huge honor that I’m going to call this goal a success. 🙂

Check back here tomorrow, when I’ll be posting my 2023 writing goals.

Hauoli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year!)

Mostly as a way to help me plan, I’ve made it a tradition to list my writing goals for the coming year in a January 1st post. I used to be ambitious and list a lot of goals, but I’ve learned since to keep the list short. Here goes…

1. FINISH & PUBLISH THE CURRENT NOVEL
This is the third book in the Inverted Frontier series. I’m maybe 70% done with a solid draft. There is hope.

2. START A NEW NOVEL
I’m sixty-one years old, and I don’t know how long I’m going to continue writing. Right now, my only real ambition is to finish the Inverted Frontier series. I’m anticipating five novels in total. In 2022, I hope to make a good start on book 4.

3. WRITE ONE SHORT STORY (OR NOVELLA)
I’m recycling this goal from 2021. I want to write one original story that I can include in my third short-fiction collection — maybe a Zeke Choy story, or even something from The Red story world?

4. PUBLISH A THIRD SHORT-FICTION COLLECTION
Another recycled goal! I’ve got eight stories and the cover art ready to go now, but I need another story or two to round off the collection.

That’s my plan. Wish me luck!

Every January I put up a blog post listing my writing goals for the coming year. At the end of the year, I check back to see how I did. That assessment is the subject of this post.

I’ll admit straightaway that 2021 was a tough year for me on the writing front. Politics, the pandemic, the insurrection, the ongoing disasters due to climate change and our inability to address it — it all saps my creative energy and distracts my focus. It hasn’t helped knowing my 2020 novel Pacific Storm, published just over a year ago, failed to catch on despite positive reader feedback. At this point, it’s earned less than $5,000 over production costs — and given that I put a year of work into it, that’s discouraging.** And when I get discouraged, it’s hard to write. Even writing this post has taken absurdly long! 🙄

So yeah, this was a tough year, though not entirely unsuccessful. Here are the specifics on how I did, with the goals I set for myself in January in all-caps:

1. WRITE AND FINISH A NEW NOVEL
I’m writing it, but I did not finish it. This is book 3 of the Inverted Frontier series. I’m well into it, and I think it’s a strong draft, so far. I am disappointed it’s not a complete draft.

2. PUBLISH THE WILD TRILOGY
Done! The Wild is an older epic-fantasy novel that I revised extensively in 2020, and then divided into three short novels. All three volumes were published last spring. I love these novels and I feel like I’ve finally done right by this story.

3. WRITE ONE SHORT STORY (OR NOVELLA)
Doubly done!
A few years ago I resolved to take a long break from writing short fiction to focus on novel writing. But this year I wanted to write one short story to include in my third short fiction collection. Instead I wrote two stories on commission. “Ride” has already been published. The second story is still with the editor, but should see publication in 2022.

4. PUBLISH A THIRD SHORT-FICTION COLLECTION
Maybe next year…
The downside of writing two commissioned stories is that I still need to write another story or two to round out the new collection — but that task will have to wait until after I finish the novel.

I’ll be posting my 2022 goals on January 1. I suspect that list will look a lot like this list. 😉

**In hindsight, I should have delayed publication until early 2021, and invested more time and money in advance promotion. A costly lesson.

This year, in the United States, it feels like New Year’s Day ought to fall on January 20th, when our newly elected president takes office. We have twenty fraught days to endure until then, but I hope in years to come our descendants will be able to look back on January 20, 2021, as the beginning of a new era in which the people of this country and of the world rejected autocrats and learned to work together for the good of one another, and of the planet and its irreplaceable ecosystems. Happy New Year everyone! We can do this.

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And now on to my annual New Year’s Day post in which I list my writing goals for the coming year. When I first started doing this, I was far more ambitious. But I’ve learned to keep the list short, and do-able. So here goes…

1. WRITE AND FINISH A NEW NOVEL
This one is started, though just barely. It’s the third in the Inverted Frontier series, and I’m going to try to come up with a finished draft by year’s end (hopefully sooner!).

2. PUBLISH THE WILD TRILOGY
I’ve talked about this one in an earlier post. This is an older epic-fantasy novel that I revised extensively in 2020, and then divided into three short novels. I’m awaiting cover art, and plan to publish in the spring.

3. WRITE ONE SHORT STORY (OR NOVELLA)
A couple of years ago I resolved to take a long break from writing short fiction. No regrets. I’m a slow writer, so this decision allowed me to focus on novel writing. Pacific Storm would not have been finished in 2020 if I’d spent time writing short fiction. The downside of that resolution is that I still don’t have quite enough stories to publish a third short-fiction collection.

4. PUBLISH A THIRD SHORT-FICTION COLLECTION
I’ve got eight stories and the cover art ready to go. But I need another story to round off the collection. Now you see the importance of my third writing goal? 😉

So that’s my plan. What do you hope to achieve?

Every January I put up a blog post listing my writing goals for the coming year. At the end of the year, I check back to see how I did. That assessment is the subject of this post.

For 2020, I kept my goals to a minimum — but I still didn’t meet them all.

Here are the specifics, with the goals I set for myself in January in all-caps:

1. WRITE AND FINISH A NEW NOVEL
Done! This, of course, was Pacific Storm, published on October 8. Have you read it yet? If not, I hope you’ll check it out. Click here to read the opening chapters online.

2. WRITE, FINISH, AND PUBLISH A NOVELLA
Nope! I post this goal every year, and I never do it. Maybe next year…

3. START OUTLINING A NEW NOVEL
Done! I’ve put together a rough story-map for a third Inverted Frontier novel, and have even started writing the opening.

Two out of three — not bad. But I also accomplished two other long-time goals that did not appear on last year’s list.

• I commissioned a nice book cover for an omnibus edition of the Puzzle Land books. I really like those crazy grimdark fantasy stories! The omnibus is available from Amazon in both print and ebook editions. (paid links)

• I’ve also commissioned covers for my epic fantasy novel The Wild. I spent part of the summer and fall revising and expanding the original novel, and will be re-publishing it as a trilogy in spring 2021. Click here to read more about this project.

I’ll be posting my 2021 goals on January 1 — though I suspect you can already guess what my primary goal will be.
(Hint: see #1 above. 😉 )

Best wishes for 2020. May it be the year we elect a new president, one who respects the Constitution, civil rights, science, and intellect. And may it be the year in which the world comes together to begin the long offense against global warming.

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Every year I make it a habit to post, on January 1, my writing goals for the coming year. The list keeps me on track throughout the year, and at year’s end, I get to look back and assess what I did with my time. I was far more ambitious when I first started listing my goals. In recent years, I’ve learned to keep the list short, and do-able.

Here goes:

1. WRITE AND FINISH A NEW NOVEL
I’m already outlining this one. It’s a near-future thriller. If it turns out the way I hope, I’ll send it to my agent and see what he thinks. If it doesn’t look like it’ll work for traditional publishing, I’ll publish it myself.

2. WRITE, FINISH, AND PUBLISH A NOVELLA
I’m nervous about this one. I’ve talked for years about writing a novella, but I’ve never done it. I’m going to try again though, because I want to publish something every year — and since I’m going to send the novel in #1 to my agent, that project likely won’t see publication until 2021 or beyond. So I need this novella. It will almost certainly take place in one of my existing story worlds.

And that’s it for my writing goals!

No. Hold on…

I should add one more, to keep the momentum going.

3. START OUTLINING A NEW NOVEL

Okay, that’s it. Those are my plans. What do you have in mind?

Every January I put up a blog post listing my writing goals for the coming year. At the end of the year, I check back to see how I did. That assessment is the subject of this post. Since 2018 turned out to be a disastrous year for meeting deadlines, I decided to go easy on myself in 2019, and as a result I met all my goals!

Here are the specifics, with the goals I set for myself in January in all-caps:

1. PUBLISH THE NEWLY FINISHED NOVEL
This, of course, was Edges, and it was published as planned, on April 2.

2. FINISH THE SEQUEL to the novel in #1
I had only 70,000 words of Silver at this time last year. I put the final polish on this 125,000-word novel in early November.

3. PUBLISH THE SEQUEL
Silver was rushed to publication on November 19, a day I saw as the last viable date to publish before the holidays took over the attention of potential readers. On the downside, it had almost no advance publicity. On the upside, a lot of you have already read it. 😉

4. START A NEW NOVEL
I’m working on a detailed outline of a near-future thriller. For me, that definitely counts as a solid start.

I also had a few goals for the publishing side of the business. I wanted to get a nice book cover done for a two-novel omnibus edition of the Puzzle Land books. I really like those crazy stories and would love to see them get more attention — but I’m still looking for the right artist for the project. My other fantasy novel, The Wild, is presently unpublished. I had hoped to complete a read-through & polish, and then re-publish it, but it was never a priority in a busy year, so maybe in 2020.

I’ll be posting my 2020 goals on January 1. Talk to you then!

For the past few years I’ve made it a habit to post, on January 1, my writing goals for the year. I decided not to do that this year…and then immediately changed my mind. 🙂 This list serves as a great reminder for me of what I had in mind to do, and lets me assess what I did with my time. But I’ll keep it short!

1. PUBLISH THE NEWLY FINISHED NOVEL. I’m looking at a publication date of April 2, which gives me time to try to arrange some pre-publicity. I’m presently in the process of setting up preorders. Once those are ready to go, I’ll introduce the new book here. So check back!

2. FINISH THE SEQUEL to the novel in #1. I’ve got around 70,000 words, which is more than halfway. Hopefully I’ll have a draft by the time book 1 publishes. (Hopefully this isn’t me being overly optimistic again.)

3. PUBLISH THE SEQUEL as soon as it’s ready. Right now I don’t see any reason to do another three-month publicity blitz.

4. START A NEW NOVEL.

That’s it! Anything else will be bonus points.

In the non-writing (publishing) end of things, I’d like to “refresh” all three of my fantasy novels. The Puzzleland novels sell notoriously poorly. I really like these crazy books and would love to see them do better, so I may try to get new covers, or re-publish them together as a two-novel omnibus. My other fantasy novel, The Wild is presently unpublished. It used to be available only through my website store (now closed). I want to take the time to give it a complete read-through and then publish it at all ebook vendors.

Those are my plans. What do you have in mind?

For the past several years I’ve put up a blog post in January listing my writing goals for the coming year. At the end of the year, I check back to see how I did — and that’s the subject of this post.

So how did I do in 2018? TERRIBLE! I didn’t complete any of my goals. Here’s what I didn’t do, with the goals I set for myself in January in boldface. 😉

1. Finish the NOVEL IN PROGRESS and get it published…

I DID finally finish this novel. I finished it yesterday. Actually, I revised it a bit more this morning. I’ll have a lot more to say about why this one was so long in coming, but that can wait until after New Year’s.

2. WRITE THE SEQUEL to the novel in #1. Bonus: Publish it by the end of the year.

Hey, at least I was ambitious. I did make a good start at writing the sequel. I’ve got about 70,000 words on the first draft, which is a very nice chunk. So while I didn’t finish the sequel, the situation is not hopeless.

3. RETURN TO MILITARY FICTION by getting started on a novella or novel. I don’t expect to have this one finished at year’s end, just well started.

I did not even make a start on this. It’s not going to happen until novels 1 & 2 above are done.

4. Finish a NOVELETTE I’ve already started. I’m 9,000 words into this one, so I ought to be able to finish it. If it wants to grow into a novella, that’s fine.

I have not even looked at that novelette since I put it aside. You may be getting the impression that I am a slow and inefficient writer. I would not argue with such a conclusion.

5. Write a hard SF short story, 7,000 words or less.

I spent two or three weeks trying to write this story, and finally gave up on it in early December. Maybe the magical writing fairy will come sprinkle pixie dust over my head this weekend and I’ll suddenly be able to finish it in great style. Or not.

6. Write another short story, science fiction or fantasy, in an existing story world or not.

Ha ha. Nope. I’m done with short stories.

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Okay, so what happened? Well, it wasn’t a lack of time, or of time spent in front of the computer. In large part I think it was a lack of belief.

I’ve written a lot of novels, many of which have garnered praise, but none that have done well in the market. I’ve never gotten a royalty check on the Red trilogy. The Last Good Man did pretty well by my standards, but not by the standards of actually successful writers. I was proud of these novels, and felt they had all the elements to be commercially successful, and yet they weren’t, and I don’t why.

So, not for the first time, I found myself at a point of reflection, wondering: Why am I knocking myself out to create the best novels I can, when the market clearly isn’t interested? My answer to that, which I only came up with late in the year, was “screw the market.” From now on, I’m writing for myself.

Honestly, that’s what I’ve always done, but simply changing my outlook, accepting the fact that I will never be a popular writer, has made a real difference for me. As an analogous situation, I can work very hard in my gardens, enjoy the work, and create something beautiful that means a lot to me, and do it all just for the pleasure of creating something. When I started thinking about writing in those terms, and stopped worrying about the marketplace, I became far more productive.

I think this is why I had such a hard time with that short story that I never quite wrote. I didn’t want to write it, and I knew that writing it would earn me only a few hundred dollars and wouldn’t help my career at all. So on a subconscious level, I began to think, “Why bother?” I just don’t have the necessary enthusiasm for that sort of challenge anymore.

I don’t mean to imply by all this that money doesn’t matter. I’ll be heavily marketing the new novel. Like anyone else, I do need an income. I just need to learn to separate the “Why bother?” bit from the creative process.

Anyway, I’m pleased to have finally finished book 1, above, and am looking forward to completing an initial draft of book 2.

Onward.