Writing Stories: New Plans for the New Year

When last I updated this blog, I was very tired. Publishing Company was an enormous undertaking, which left me mentally drained and, honestly, a little bit depressed. I knew I needed to recover, but recovery took me longer than anticipated. I stopped blogging. I began to reflect on what I had achieved and where I could improve. 

Every December I reflect on the past year and set goals for the new year. In December of 2019, I had one major goal for 2020, and that was to publish Company. I had done as much. But, looking at my current slate of writing projects, I did not anticipate publishing a new book in 2021.

The next book I want to release is The Originals, the sequel to my epic fantasy novel, The Changelings, but I do not think I will be able to finish it sooner than 2023. (Hopefully early 2023.) Much as I wish I could finish sooner, I care very much about the quality of my work and want to make sure that the story is as strong as it can be. 

I've decided that what I want most for 2021 is to be able to communicate better with my audience, the readers and fans of my book. For me this means being more thoughtful and deliberate about the content I provide, with a greater focus on stories and more updates as to the status of my books. But since communication is a two-way street, I also want to be better at listening to you, and provide more ways to make your voice heard.

What will this actually look like? Well, over the next year, I hope to restructure my website to make it simpler and cleaner, with a greater focus on content connected to the books I've written or am currently writing. This means bonus features like deleted scenes or character profiles or behind-the-scenes look at my world. It also means more sneak peaks of my newest works. (My book and movie reviews will go into a separate, personal blog.) I'd also like to create a newsletter in order to inform people of any new features I've added to my website, along with quick reviews, poems, and other goodies.

I'm going to spend January and February planning and organizing, but I hope that by February, you'll be able to see the fruits of my efforts for yourself.

Finally, I just want to leave you with some of my thoughts on changes happening in the world. In 2020, change was forced on us, but in 2021, we can choose the changes for ourselves. And that's very empowering. 

Any thoughts about my planned changes or changes in general? Please leave me a comment or send me an email, and I will try to get back to you in a timely manner.