You just might have noticed a rather extended absence on my part from this blog. Once holiday travels finished and I returned home, all I wanted to do was hibernate. My car deciding that it was time to head into the repair shop for the new year was more reason to lay low, while the crowning touch was the Great Snowstorm that dumped somewhere between 6-8 inches of snow on the area (on the day I needed to drive the car to the shop, of course!). Sigh. Happy New Year, indeed.
But it is happy. Family and friends are doing well, and it was good to see and hear from so many of them. Our travels were safe, and they left me plenty of thinking time to plan goals for the new year, and to prepare for another year of writing, reading, editing, and submitting. All in all, I’m feeling pretty rejuvenated.
What are my goals, then?
Well, Write 1/Sub 1 did good things for me last year, so I’m keeping this activity for next year (and I wrote up my “logbook” for the year already, too!).
Also, thanks to graduating from Viable Paradise, I was able to join Codex, an online neo-pro writers forum. But the end of the year was so busy with travel, holidays, more travel, illness, etc., that I barely had time to participate. I mean to change that this year, and have taken steps towards that end by signing up for their Weekend Warrior Flash Fiction Challenge (which will help with my W1/S1 goals, as well…heehee!). I’m looking forward to the first writing prompts on January 10th.
I plan on attending World Fantasy Con in November. It’s only a short trip from here, and I’m looking forward to meeting many VPers there–both my 17 cohort and those from earlier years–as well as some other folks. Will you be there?
Start working on a plan and outline for “the next novel.” Really. By June, I’d like to have this outline well underway, if not completed. At least, that’s the plan.
Finding a new slush reading job is also on my list. I enjoyed reading over at Blue Shift, and again at UFO Publishing, and I’d like to sign on with a publication that I admire. Cross your fingers for me with this one….
And with that, the list is finished. Now, it’s almost time to head out to a friend’s house for the season premier of “Downton Abbey.” Joy!
Everyday Magic | M. E. Garber 