What I learned this year: I have gotten rusty when it comes to fiction. I am not reading enough different materials anymore and I am not developing my characters the way I need them to develop into deep creatures of habit.
So what I may end up doing next year is finding characters I have already worked on or at least tried to work on previously and finding a deeper story to provide the depth and the generous story quality I know I can create.
I also happen to know that I am not creating those moments for my characters, moments that I hold in deep emotion. Those have been harder to create this year.
The best news: the growth out of the deep dark that I can write was not nearly as bad this year. I could write a dark, emotionally haunting scene, and as an author I could walk away and not feel the emotion boiling over limiting my ability to recover.
I don't know if that is a reflection of maturity as a writer, or the fact that I did not care about my work this year.
As for my company books that are pending: I have five or six books lined up and I just need to get them to be organized.
So new goals:
- Write more. This isn't a quantity, this is a discipline. And more in fiction.
- Remember that I can only improve. Or at least that is my goal to continue to improve.
- Ignore the goal of publishing. It would be great if I was worth lots of money from my writing, but it is not the only thing I can do.
- Know that I am in this for the long haul. I like writing. I always have.
