I’ve done a version of this post idea in video form for the past three years, and last year I finally decided it was time to put it down in writing so I could refer to it throughout the year. Truthfully, I did not look back on my goals once, but it’s the thought that counts.
So, here are my writing goals for 2024 and a reflection on what I achieved last year in 2023!
What were your writing achievements last year?
My realistic goals for 2023 were to have completed a full detailed outline of ‘Best Friend WIP’ and a series of significant scenes and chapters so I can fill in the blanks next year, and to begin the script adaptation of ‘Paper Forests’, even if it ended up being a script for TV and I work on a few chapters and episodes rather than the full thing. And, for the first time, I have achieved my writing goals! The ‘Best Friend WIP’ outline has at least a paragraph of notes for each currently planned chapter, and the ‘Paper Forests’ film script was submitted as my final university project, and I got a top grade.
Tell us about your top priority writing project for this year?
There are two projects that I want to split my time between this year. The first is what I affectionately refer to as ‘Best Friend WIP’, a project that I’ve talked about a few times in YouTube videos and blog posts. This is now my Franken-idea after I combined a project that was previously entitled ‘Heart’ and one with a ridiculously long title that I am still awfully fond of. I need to write less random scenes and spend more time planning to iron out some creases in the plot and fill in the blanks, but it’s a fun and challenging task and something that truly scratches my brain right.
The other project that I want to spend a lot of time on is the sequel to ‘Paper Forests’. I’ve wanted to write it ever since I started writing ‘Paper Forests’ and decided that I wanted the series to become a trilogy, but the sequel ideas that have been floating around in my head have taken up a lot more brain space than usual in the past few months, and the urge to develop it into something more was the final push I needed to finish the first book. At the moment, I have a very rough outline of a sentence or two of what I want to happen in each chapter, and then a separate document of phrases, lines, and scenes that I’ve gathered over the years to fit into this storyline.
List 5 areas you’d like to work the hardest to improve this year.
I can’t think of five specific things I want to work on right now, but the big thing that I’m going to spend a lot of time trying to improve this year is writing in the third person. I have no tense preference at the moment, but both of my novels and a handful of drafts I’ve been writing are all first-person present tense, and the main book I want to work on this year feels like it should be in the third-person to me. I’d also like to work on capturing the imagination and whimsy that I’ve been praised for in my fantasy writing but in a contemporary setting instead: ‘Best Friend WIP’ isn’t set in a fantasy world, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have a little magic.
Are you participating in any writing challenges?
I’m not formally committing to any writing challenges this year after I experienced the horror of trying to do NaNoWriMo at the same time as employment, but I will tentatively consider doing either of the Camp NaNo’s to make some progress on drafts and outlines. I do have a personal goal set up on the website for a 50,000 word count across the entire year, which works out to be around 140 words per day, which I think is also a realistic daily goal I can fit in around other life commitments.
What’s your critique partner/beta reader situation like and do you have plans to expand this year?
I haven’t had a critique partner or beta reader since I originally started writing both of my novels on Movellas many years ago, and I finally feel like I’ve grown enough in my confidence and my pride as an author to actively want them again, not just need them. I’ve always been reasonably private with my writing but adored the constructive criticism and other assorted feedback I’d receive in my comments, and I look forward to having that become a part of my writing process again, even if I have no idea where to start.
Do you have plans to read any writer-related books this year? Or are there specific books you want to read for research?
I think I say this every year, but there’s a selection of indie books about indie books that I’m interested in looking at, especially the ones that focus on the marketing process of the book. My debut novel came out around six years ago now, and I still do not know how I can market and promote a book effectively and build an audience outside of my friend group, so I’m hoping those indie-on-indie books can offer some valuable insight into that process.
In a similar vein, I’d also like to finally sit down and enjoy Maggie Stiefvater’s online seminars on writing as I’ve had the files sitting in my downloads folder for the past few years. I feel like our brains work in similar ways and I feel deeply understood when I read some of her writing, and I’d love to learn about capturing the magic and the whimsy that’s present in The Raven Cycle.
Pick one character you want to get to know better, and how are you going to achieve this?
There’s a series of current side characters and characters that I want to introduce into the ‘Paper Forests’ universe and I’m getting to know them better by writing short stories to include as a bit of ‘extra content’ at the end of the book, or to write a little short story collection mostly for myself. I’ve already written and published one about a ghostly character who will play a larger role in the sequel, so next I’d like to focus on another sequel character whose backstory I know I won’t be able to go into detail about in the book.
Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?
I’ve spent the past few years beginning for more mythology and fairytale retellings, and as always I would like to see more of these, specifically focusing on POC cultures and mythologies as, in my opinion, the demand for white retellings is both filled and overflowed.
Additionally, as I work on my project about being disabled and asexual, I would love to see more books which represent my own identities, especially representation for more niche or obscure identities within the communities. More ace spectrum and chronic pain and neurodivergence rep, please!
What do you hope to have achieved by the end of 2024?
I would like to have completed a full first draft of ‘Best Friend WIP’ that I can polish and perfect and publish in 2025. I would also like to have a complete outline and some scenes written for the ‘Paper Forests’ sequel. Based on the amount of progress I made on drafting and outlining both projects in 2023, I think these should both be realistic and achievable goals for the year.
What were your writing achievements in 2023? Tell me about your top priority writing project for 2024!
Questions:
-What were your writing achievements last year?
-Tell us about your top priority writing project for this year?
-List 5 areas you’d like to work the hardest to improve this year.
-Are you participating in any writing challenges?
-What’s your critique partner/beta reader situation like and do you have plans to expand this year?
-Do you have plans to read any writer-related books this year? Or are there specific books you want to read for research?
-Pick one character you want to get to know better, and how are you going to achieve this?
-Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?
-What do you hope to have achieved by the end of 2024?
TandeWrites 