Two Thousand and Twenty

Happy New Year fellow writers and bloggers!

Last year I asked a question to my readers.

What are your writing ambitions for the next twelve months?

So, what were they? Did you achieve your goals? Will you set more goals or less this year? What have you got planned for Two Thousand and Twenty?

These are the questions you should be thinking about if you want to make changes or continue the momentum into the new year.

In twenty nineteen, I had high expectations for my writing. I am proud to say I achieved my goals and this coming year, I will have the same level of expectations.

Let me reflect on the year that has passed.

• I got married to my beautiful wife.
• I finished the third round of re-write and edits for my novel, A Time of Stones. (110,000 words)
• I finished the first draft of my debut novel with Fiction Vortex, To Wield the Stars. (90,000 words)
• The first anthology from my publisher was published, Of Metal and Magic: Compendium One, and I had the first segment of my novel, To Wield the Stars, and a poem, Journey Across the Shore published in it (see later post for more details).

There’s something intriguing about this time of year. In Australia, the hot summer days are longer, dinner is later and the insects chatter through the warm nights. In the chaotic calendar, when you manage to squeeze a few hours here and there for your writing projects, it is cut short by the family visits and the social gatherings.

The holidays are a busy time but many of us forget to take time off from writing and slow down––eat food, play board games, catch up with childhood friends; and read a book on the beach in the shade of an umbrella. It is okay to have a break. Breaks are healthy.

If writing just doesn’t fit into your life during this season—if the thought of losing writing time is stressing you out, take a breath, it is okay. Building a sustainable creative writing practice sometimes means remembering it’s okay to take a break.

Look to the rest of the year and let this year be about your goals, inspirations, and accomplishments.

What are your writing ambitions for two-thousand and twenty?

“Somewhere along the way we forget what makes us want more out of life — to put yourself in other peoples shoes, to slay dragons, to build and collapse empires; and save our protagonist and destroy the poison seeping throughout the lands. We should never forget why we do this. We are writers, this is our choice. Make twenty-twenty your choice and create your realm.”

Happy New Year and may it be prosperous and full of passionate creativity.

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