2007 in retrospect

Nope, 2007 isn't over yet, but JA Konrath has been blogging about goals, and it got me to thinking.

Did I reach my goals this years as a writer? Not quite. By looking back at this post, I realize I've fallen short. But not by much, and again, the year isn't over yet.

I had hoped to have my trilogy completly finished by the end of 2007. That's probably not going to happen. The first drafts are finished, and the first novel is completely finished, but the second novel is ready for a third rewrite/edit and the third novel is not quite finished with the first edit.

I also had hoped to start another novel by the end of the year. That definitely isn't going to happen.

I won't offer excuses, but I'll just say life has kept me very, very busy this year, and often I've been without a computer at home (or wherever I've been sleeping) for long periods of time. My writing computer still isn't set up yet at our new place, and probably won't be for at least another week or two until we can get all our stuff unpacked. Meanwhile, I've done as much trilogy editing on paper as I could.

Despite the fact I haven't reach all my goals, there were some positive things this year, and I've continued to learn as a writer.

• I had a couple of short stories published, and there might even be one or two more before the year is out, and I'm expecting/hoping at least a couple to be published near the start of 2008.


• I've reviewed books for Apex Online, which has opened me up to a whole slew of authors of whom I was unfamiliar, and has allowed me to meet and e-mail a few cool people.


• I've begun to read stories for Flashing Swords, which is actually teaching me a lot about finding strengths and weaknesses in stories. Always good knowledge, that.


• I've been rejected by editors. Yep, that has been a good thing in some instances. Why? Because it's allowed me to open correspondence with them. I wouldn't say I've made new editor friends this way, but at least my name won't be a total unknown to some of these folk.


• I've written a handful of new short stories this year, most of them very short (less than 2,000 words), allowing me to experience flash (or near-flash) writing.

I'm sure there are plenty of other ways in which I've grown as a writer this year, but those are some of the highlights. Early on in 2007 I was extremely productive, but not so much of late. Still, I'm not giving up.