New Year: Carte Blanche

Now Playing: ANOTHER SONG ABOUT THE WEEKEND by A Day to Remember
Just Read: BLOOD OF THE FOLD by Terry Goodkind--A solid read, nothing too complicated. This isn't my favorite fantasy epic series but I don't want to stop reading it yet either.
Reading Now: THE SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I'm looking forward to a great 2014!

I had goals and big dreams for this past year, and they're resurfacing now in the first week of the new year. I wanted to write a new novel, edit an old manuscript, and stay true to my Write1Sub1 commitment of writing one story per month. Each of these goals were (pretty much) accomplished. I did a drawn-out edit of an old novel that cut out several thousand words, wrote in general longer stories than 2012 each month, and won NaNoWriMo to end up with a new 50,000+ word manuscript.

My goals for 2014 are similar--patch up this newest novel and make it presentable, send out some query letters with blessings, and my main goal, to submit more vigilantly than I did in 2013 and give my stories more chances to be published.

The new year is a time to be optimistic. In hindsight, some 2013 goals and dreams fell short--I wanted to publish more stories than I did. But ultimately I don't have control over that--it's up to the slush readers and magazine editors. All I can do is write the greatest story I possibly can, and trust that one day, maybe soon, I will be rewarded for it.

Here's to 2014! Cheers, friends.