Or, in the immortal words of the Roy Clark song, “Thank God and Greyhound she’s gone!”
I realize I’m very biased about 2021, given that my Mom died, a friend of 10+ years died
, and a friend of 20+ years died. So, yes, it’s gone and I’m glad!
I did finish “Child of Iron, Goblet of Fire” before midnight, December 31 – the first draft, at least. My project today is to do a cycling pass on the final few chapters, because I know I’ve missed a few things and haven’t yet nailed the validation to my satisfaction.
Still, that shouldn’t take real long, and then it’s back to work on a series bible for someone else. Pure happenstance that I started doing these, but they’re great because (1) I get to read books!; (2) the analysis appeals to the logical part of my brain; and (3) I get paid to do them.
After that … well. I’ve been thinking about what to set as a writing goal for 2022. I’ve been wanting to focus on original fiction more, and the idea of the Bradbury Challenge (write 52 short stories in 52 weeks) initially appealed…
…and then I remembered that I haven’t written short stories in forever, so tackling 52 in 52 seemed a bit counter-intuitive, if not counter-productive.
Then, this morning as I was lying in bed before I got up to start the day, I thought: I used to tell people I’m a natural novella-ist, finding my sweet spot for stories around 50,000 words or less. So why not set a novella challenge?
That sparked really fun thoughts
, not least because I have ideas for a couple of stories that I *sense* will hit that word count already, and one short story that “of course” is a first chapter to a novel(la) in the words of two first readers.
So…ten novellas in 2022. That’s my goal.
I don’t want to put pressure on my writing, of any kind, and given how quickly I’ve written most things (“Child” being an obvious and understandable exception), I think it’s reasonable.
My reward for completing 10 novellas? I’m thinking Will and Ariel Durant’s *Story of Civilization.* I’ve been wanting it for a while, and completing 10 novellas seems like something worthy of a significant reward.
Wish me luck!
Great content! Keep up the good work!