The exercise:
Man, did it ever feel like Friday at work today. I almost put up a four line prose prompt, haha.
But no, your prompt, for whatever writing you feel like doing today, is: so this is the new year.
Mine:
Today the first decade of the millennium draws to a close and many people are looking back over the year that was and, in many cases, the years that were.
Not me though. I’m looking ahead.
I’ve never been the sort that makes new year’s resolutions, mostly because hardly anyone ever sticks to them. I remember in university that the school gym was always more crowded at the start of January but would be back to normal by mid-February at the latest. I don’t really understand the psychology behind why people can’t stick to them, but there is evidence all around us that they can’t. So my thinking is quite simple: why even bother?
I resolve to do things when the time is right for me, not just because there’s a shiny new calendar on the wall. It just so happens that one of the things I’ve decided to do will be in January and I wanted to share it here because… well, it worked pretty well in November.
I started A Fighting Chance about a year ago, the first chapter appearing on Protagonize on January 2nd. Aside from a lengthy break in the middle of the year, I’ve been hacking away at it pretty consistently since then. Know how many words it’s at now?
About 35,000.
That would be a lot more impressive if I hadn’t written 55,000 words in November alone for Lessons in the Dust.
I’ve decided that I’ve dawdled long enough. So here’s what I’m going to do: with a goal of 1,000 words per day, I’m going to finish the first draft before the end of January, 2010. I’ll be tracking my progress here, since NaNoWriMo taught me that public humiliation is a wonderful motivator. New chapters will be going up on Protagonize once I’ve edited them a bit, which I’m thinking will be at a rate of two chapters per week.
I have a pretty clear idea what’s going to happen with the rest of the story and I’m fairly confident things will draw to a close well before the 31st rolls around but we’ll see how it goes. Stories can surprise you, even when you’re writing them yourself. Perhaps especially then.
Once that first draft is done I’m planning on beginning the editing process on Lessons in the Dust. This is tentatively planned for February but I’ll see how the timing works out. After that… I’m leaving myself open to whatever may come my way the rest of the year.
And of course I’ll be making time for getting hitched to the woman I love at the end of July.
Happy New Year’s to you all, and may 2010 bring you all the happiness and good fortune you can handle.
Just don’t go making any new year’s resolutions. Make them new life resolutions instead.
Wow! A busy year ahead! A happy New Year to you, Marc.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I like your resolutions for the next few months (your 'new life' resolutions!), particularly the new determination to finish a Fighting Chance, and to edit Lessons in the Dust. They both sound like fantastically good ideas.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the marriage thing sounds like a good idea too ;-)
As for the prompt; well I think I'm going to follow your lead and provide a little prose on my intentions this time.
So this is the New Year
I resolve every year to be nastier to people, but somehow by the end of the year it hasn't worked out. I shall try again this year though, more out of habit than any real determination to achieve it.
The reason for the resolution is because people seem to think that New Year's Resolutions should be positive things, but of course they don't have to be.
Aside from that though, what are my writing intentions for the year? Well, I, too, have a NaNoWriMo novel to do something with, and I'm quite keen to rewrite it, as odd as that sounds. I think the core story is sound, and I enjoyed writing it so much I'll be happy to go back to it and try to get it right this time!
I have a story on Protagonize to finish off, Council of Druids, and I'm hoping to return to Tagged to see that finished this year too. I'd also like to write some more short stories this year, but they're on a lower priority.
Writing aside, I'm hoping to spend a little more time in the kitchen this year, cooking interesting and tasty things. I've just sat down after boning out a chicken, and though I'm sure any decent chef would laugh at me until their sides split, I got all the bones out (they're cooking into stock for Fricot at the moment) and when I fold the skin back, I have a flattened chicken. I count that as a win :)
Cosmo - haha, it sure looks that way, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteA Happy New Year to you as well :)
Greg - Hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew :)
I'm glad to see Council of Druids show up on your list, I was wondering if you'd forgotten about it!
And yes, Tagged. Please, please let us get that done this year, haha.
I think I shall go harass Archi.
For the New Year....
ReplyDeleteI resolve to STOP getting sick, and letting it get in the way of my life.
I would like to continue pulling this story out of my mind, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
I would like to work on more writing styles and just generally get better at writing.
Aside from that, I would just like a nice simple, calm life, but that will never happen, so I will find the clam moments in an otherwise chaotic life.