I don't think I realized how often I say "hell yeah" but I really do. Even in person now that I think about it. Anyhow, y'all are doing such cool shit so everyone gets a rousing "hell yeah" from me.
I'm working on a very queer horror MS that focuses on white supremacy in the Pacific Northwest and the working conditions of video game development, but I'm scared out of my mind that if I go forward with it I'll attract Gamergate attention. I can't get this story out of my head, and I know I'm going to write it, but it still terrifies me. Isn't that what effective horror is, though?
I want 2020 to be the year I no longer let publishing make me feel bad about my age or what stage of my career I'm in. I want to remember that the only expiration date on writing is death. I want to make some art.
In October 2019, I set myself a goal of writing 250 words every day. Since starting that habit, I've found it easier to make incremental progress on my first draft without feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. For 2020, I want to continue this goal (with obvious breaks for holidays and vacations).
Goal: complete and revise current YA Horror MS and query the hell out of it.
Stuck on too much mental energy getting wrapped up in my day job drama.
Question: I've been working on getting published for almost a decade, just wrapping up my fifth manuscript, really don't want to be in the "working on getting published" boat a decade from now...help?
This year I'd love to edit and query my novel. Ideally I'd be represented by someone by the end of this year, that would be awesome. And write a few short stories inbetween.
Goal: Fall in love with writing again. Querying 3 different projects for 2 years in a row has really done a number on how I feel about my own craft, so 2020 is a year of rekindling that love.
Kind of stuck on the idea that if I step away, I will be "behind" and miss out on agents and opportunities or a really good MSWL call, but yeah. Need to recover a lot of that love.
I'm fifteen years and I just finished writing the first draft of my urban fantasy thriller with plenty of action. My aunt who is a freelance editor is copy editing it! So I would love to get representation by an agent and hopefully sell he novel to a publisher, this year!
I'm writing proposals for two books I'd love to write, and hopefully I will find out which of these books I will work on first as a result. Right now I can't bring myself to add manuscript words to either of these stories, because I don't know which one to invest in. I feel so weird not being obsessed with a book, but what if I pick the wrong one? I'll be all messed up.
In 2020 my goal is to read more. I read a lot a lot a lot in 2017 & 2018, but 2019 hit me hard on the reading/writing front for reasons & I am looking forward to getting back into my reading flow this year. Because for me, reading begets writing & solves a lot of my writing hurdles. Right now I'm struggling with an issue of: "Is this long form project a novel or a novella???" So I'm hoping that by reading a few more novels & novellas in the beginning of 2020, I can answer that question myself.
I decided to make a writing goal I'm entirely in control of: working on writing for 400 hours. I'm working on a lower YA contemporary that needs a bit more marinating before I can finish the draft. I should be able to finish, revise, and start something else.
Stuck on novel structure--about 50-60 pages into a new project and starting to feel at a loss about the best way to incorporate interlocking POVs and storylines. Advice or ideas appreciated!
Revising a steampunk reverse colonialism MS for pitching in the summer. No idea if anyone would buy that sorta thing, but I won’t know unless I put it out there. Good luck to all the other people about to dive into pitches!
This year I'm going back to trying to write every day, even if it's just a few words or for only a couple minutes. I just want to write every single day. I'm working on a novel idea that I, atypically, have planned out all the way to the end. The thing I struggle with is turning off editor brain and just moving the writing forward. Any tips for getting out of your own way so you can make the words happen?
I just finished two straight months of writing a poem a day, so I’m switching gears. In January and February, I’m participating in a workshop, so I’ll be writing some new poems but mostly getting better at editing. March will be a submission month, and April will be back to writing. Focusing month by month on one thing seems to be doable. By next year, I’d like to have a draft of a chapbook (which I can control) and ideally a few more pub credits under my belt (which I can’t control, but I can sub more).
I'm going to finish my WIP manuscript (because I always always always finish what I start) and then i) seriously consider self-publishing; and ii) start looking at an alternative career to writing. I've been working a part-time consultancy job for the past four years so I can have the time to write. I've written nearly every day of those four years, and I've had way too many editors and agents tell me they liked my writing but they're just not enthusiastic enough about it/there isn't a big enough market for it. I'm sick of being told that I have a long career ahead of me, when in reality I'm just emotionally and physically exhausted with nothing to show for it. I'm very proud of the work I've produced in the last four years, and I consider myself very lucky to be afforded the time and financial stability to complete my passion projects. And even if no one outside of my beta readers ends up reading my stuff, at least I will always have these books written to sate my very specific tastes. But it's time to turn a new page.
The back half of 2019 was losing a job, getting a new job, and losing any and all steam on current projects; a lot of my creative energy was diverted into running DnD games, (which I love and have no problem with), but I couldn't find any new energy for current projects. I lost interest in a novel as I was halfway through its fourth draft, and couldn't find the mindset to go into short story revisions. The only thing I actually made decent headway on was a new novel project that I just . . . didn't outline and still am not outlining and for some weird, blessed reason, is moving ahead with an energy and fervency it really shouldn't have for something I'm just freakin' winging. So I'm not going to question it, and use it as a springboard into 2020.
So, the goals are:
*Finish Chaotic-Energy-No-Outline-No-Problem Book (just hit the halfway point!)
*Use that energy to go and edit/rewrite 2-4 short stories that need some love, and get to submitting those
*Edit and revise CENONP novel, and start submitting to agents
*Hopefully sign with an agent this year!
*Also, at some point in there, launch my crowdsourced narrative fiction newsletter???
This feels like a lot, especially after the year 2019 was, but I'm feeling good about it! Here's hoping. Good luck, everyone!
I'm finishing the last round of edits on my first novel and aiming to draft my second novel. Also for real terrified because I'm diving into the query trenches for the first time.
This year I have 3 short stories, 4 novellas, and 5 novels scheduled. I'm currently on the first short, outlining one novel, and one novella. Not stuck...fearless. Just need an extra day a week lol.
I'm working on a novel I hope to have finished before 4th Street in June. More than that I've set a (realistic for me) goal of 150k new words this year. Also planning to rework a previous short story to send on another round of submissions.
I've got a new draft of the book I've been working on for years -- after putting it in a drawer for 18 mths, learning the hard way from submitting it too soon, I think it's in good shape and will be even better after I finish this round of edits, but I'm terrified of submitting it anywhere again. Terrified and excited, both.
I'm very close to querying my next book and I have all the excited and nervous feels that comes with that. There's a weird amount of happiness that comes with being on the cusp of sending your baby out, when hope is still alive and anything can happen. Granted, I'm also gearing up for that crying-on-the-floor aspect that happens when the rejections start coming in.
As soon as I start querying, I'm going to start the next book. I've got the itch to write something new. So, this year: query the last book, start and finish next book, and hopefully begin one more after that and make a discernible dent in it.
I have a huge story idea I've been sitting on for about 5 years. It's very much sci fi whereas everything else I've written to date is fantasy with a folklore-ish flair. Basically, I'm intimidating the hell out of myself. I know I need to go for it, because what good is safe writing? Yet still I'm stalling a bit, and also feeling defeated due to rejections on another project, and I'm doubting myself yet also excited? I don't know. I feel crazy. Advice?
last year (how bizarre), i quit my job moved internationally and was completely swamped emotionally and mentally with my new job as much as i love love the work. as a result, i didn’t get to write much and burned out in august which ended up being the best thing, because i began therapy. i was in such a bad place with myself as a result of years of trauma processing that i didn’t know how to write what i needed to write anymore. but on the 1st of this year after months of therapy i began revising the end of this book and i burst into tears at the thought i could write hope. that’s my goal for 2020, to finish it and to make this book as good as i can now, in this better place. my fear is that i can’t, that i’ll always be in this state of almost. we just, i suppose, have to be a little kinder to ourselves. happy new year, y’all.
For 2020, I am aiming to treat my WIP as a project with a timeline (I do project management in my dayjob), and I have a new angle I'm working on in revisions with my critique partner.
I just haven't been able to write consistently since October, so instead I read a lot of new publications in my genre and this has helped a lot so I'm excited and ready to get this new draft done by March 31st! I have to build structure with weekly, biweekly, monthly goals rather than daily goals. It seems to be working so far.
You know most of these. But: working on the locked-room architecture murder novella and the cyberpunk climate change arson book, and probably bits of Teixcalaan #3.
what I'm scared of is being -- deep enough in, to do justice to what I want PRESCRIBED BURN to be; it's not a question of research, exactly, but one of feeling like I don't have the same depth of metaphor-set, interconnected knowledge, allusive ability that I do/did with Teixcalaan. How do I write without writing about empire, when I've been writing about empire my whole career as a writer?
also how do I do time management and/or develop anything like a system or process, but the first one is what actually scares me.
Mainly, I'm working on getting a literary agent for my sci-fi novel, Jupiter Base. Second on the list is getting one of my screenplays, an Austin Film Festival second rounder, to be a finalist this year.
Just swooping in here to say thank you, DongWon, you are full of such great advice and give the best pep talks. I’m so grateful for all the publishing paying-it-forward that you and Kate do 🖤
Hey! Awesome question. I *was* stuck until recently but after some really big breakthroughs am soaring through a YA fantasy called "The Bottomless Forest". Biggest resolution(s)? 1 - not tell ANYBODY about the plot/characters/anything until I'm finished and 2 - keep up my breakneck pace on 1st draft to avoid losing momentum. Both are big personal pitfalls. So far, I can't stop thinking about the story... a good sign.
My goal this year (as it has been the last couple years) is to finish the novel I'm working on. The main hurdle has been finding the time and energy to do so, as my job is fairly demanding and by the end of the day I don't even wanna think about sitting at a computer any more than I already have. But I'm using my PTO in a few weeks to take a week off so I can just focus on writing for at least a week (and hopefully the weekends on either side of that week), so hopefully I can actually be not-totally-burned-out and write something for once. Fingers crossed!
I’m really proud of all the work I did in 2019 to improve my writing and almost entirely shifted my writing approach. I’ve started to feel like I can see my own writing voice forming, and this year my goal is to take that seriously by making more space to commit to my writing! I have one novel I started this time last year that is approaching completion and I want to start querying it by 2021. But most importantly I want to do what someone else has already mentioned below (above?): make time for just a little bit of writing every day.
Goal: I've been working out one particular story in my mind *for years* that just keeps growing and weaving in on itself. If I don't end it now, it may reach critical mass and take up residence there forever, burrowing in and consuming me until I'm a dry, papery Robin-husk stretched unconvincingly around a now-sentient-and-frustrated untold story. My goal is to finally have a REAL written outline (if not a first really ugly draft!) of the whole trilogy by the end of the year.
Afraid of: Sending it out and not securing an agent, or worse, signing with a not-good agent!
Q: What are your thoughts on signing with an associate agent vs a (regular? full?) agent, and is the difference between an associate and a full agent simply time/experience?
Is it expected/normal for a fledgling author to pair with an associate agent with the assumption that their careers will mature in tandem?
I'm diving into a fairly big revision on what I hope will be my next book, and mentally starting to give room to the next two ideas. I'm expanding into new categories this year (both in what I'm creating and what I'm releasing) and that's a neat feeling. I wanted to diversify not just for income/stability reasons but because I feel that one of the things that I love most about writing is trying new things and learning how to write differently. Different forms and categories let me do that. Writing feels more creative and playful and breathtaking now than it has since before I was published. I feel more hopeful now than I've felt in a long time about my career, so that's a really good feeling. But I'm also very, very hesitant to let myself feel that much optimism given the last few years and struggles. Careful balance of optimistic enough to create, pragmatic enough to know that I'll get mired in new shit eventually. I don't have any daily word count goals except when I'm drafting so I'm holding off on those until February!
I just started revising some of the chapters of my fantasy novel that I have written so far. I've always been a plotter rather than a pantser (exaggeratedly so) but as I'm discovering what my story is _really_ about in the course of writing it (great feeling, btw), I've decided to take a step back and work out a couple of things that are going to matter more than anticipated once I write the next part. What am I afraid of? Time. A lot. I took a whole year to write 50k words, little by little every weekday morning, and I'm still sweating after taking a break for a couple of weeks. I wanted to start again this year, but this early rewrite thing will eat away at my calendar as I was envisioning it. The road is soooo long... I'm racing against nothing and no one except myself. But somehow that still terrifies me.
I just want to finish something. Anything. I'm constantly starting projects but never seeing them through to completion. In the past I've been terrified that I won't "make it" and I'll be stuck in my crappy min-wage job forever, and it makes me timid when it comes to breaking out and really leaning into my writing. But I can't afford to let fear and complacency rule me-- for practical and mental health reasons. It's time. 2020, look out.
I'm afraid of being rejected in queer speculative fiction writing for being too cis white male, so I guess I'm trying to come to terms with my own potential 'will to power', need to find a way of writing that won't feel like a way of colonialising yet another field of writing. That might sound megalomaniac, but I guess I'm also trying to find a way of talking about this that feels authentic and reflective of the sort of white privilege that made me stop read speculative fiction. Just eternal re-spins of the same old Asimovs, Clarkes and Herberts.
My first goal is to finish the rewrite of my fantasy novel (with a touch of steampunk), and my second goal is to write my first full-length comic! I'll probably set up more writing goals throughout the year.
I have taken a minimalist approach and have one writing goal for 2020: finish the draft of a book I started in 2019 (and naively thought I could finish during NaNoWriMo). I'm dedicating every spare moment to this.
Hi DongWon! This thread is great, It's really nice to read other people's thoughts and your answers. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to all the comments.
Stuck and afraid because the economical situation in my country is rapidly declining and the future seems so uncertain right now. More than ever, if I decided to dedicate my time to write, writing in english rather than in my native language seems more profitable. But there's always the classical doubts: is my english good enough? will my stories be well received in the english speaking market?
But while I can't shake those fears away, I'm determinated to start 2020 with courage. I decided to try and do all my writing in english this year. I'm working on a new WIP, while thinking on ways to restructure my first finished manuscript to really highlight the core of the story.
I have only one actual question, both to you and to the other readers: do you know any books that mixed first and third person POVs? I'm thinking on doing something like that, and I'd like to see how others writers have done it.
Finishing a surreal, victorian, witches-fighting-the-patriarchy novel, planning to apply to Clarion West for the first time, and writing without worrying about what publishing folks think about this or that concept. Having more fun than I have in years.
Honestly, I think I'm just terrified of rejection, of spending years and years submitting and never getting anywhere, of "aging out" (I know it's not a thing but when are fears ever logical), all that stuff. And all that said, my goal is just not to let the fear stop me. I've gotten into pretty good habits at doing a little bit on a few projects each day, getting organized, taking next steps instead of staying permanently on the steps that are most comfortable and safe. I just have to not let the fear stop me. (Or the inevitable post-rejection "omg they hate me I'm terrible" phase.)
Question for DongWon and everyone else on the thread. Can anyone recommend a really stellar freelance developmental editor who works on YA science fiction (mine is non-dystopian)?
I am finished with my first novel and querying it, but also editing too. At the same time, I have also started a new YA novel, not a sequel, which I am really really in love with. (So that makes me want to work on my new project.) What do writers do in this situation? Do they do both at the same time? Regardless, I want to have at least 80,000 words by this time next year on my new project, but I am itching to focus solely on the writing. When does anyone say enough, move on? It's hard.
Like the past two years, my goal is to finish this manuscript. After a complete tear-down and rewrite, I am better equipped this time around, although writing the end of it does scare me. I also have a short story I'm polishing that I think might be good enough to actually submit for publication.
I do great for awhile and then I just stop. Something will happen in life to distract me and it can take forever to get back to writing. I’ll think about it for weeks and not do it. It drives me crazy and I don’t know why I do it. I’m almost finished with my first book but I can’t seem to kick my butt into gear. It’s frustrating and stupid 🙄
I just finished a short story that I love and will be submitting it for publication in 2020! First time submitting so I'm nervous yet I really feel it is my best work so I'm excited too.
Got a novel I'm still chugging along on and will finish before the year is out.
I’ve gone through long periods (sometimes months, even up to a year) since 2012 of not writing, but I have written more this past year than ever before! 5 short stories, 1 intro chapter for a near future cyber-thriller and finally made it halfway through my alternate-steam-western adventure novel draft (40k words). My goal for this year is to finally finish my alt-steam-western novel, and maybe write a short story good enough to be published.
Re-writing my local urban fantasy novel. I've done revisions before, but this is the first time I'm deep diving into rewriting and consistently re-doing entire scenes. I'm trying to stay positive and remind myself as long as it's better than it was before, it's worth it - but I'm also adjusting to a new job and not making quite as much progress as I'd like.
Goals: Read 25 new books! Complete a new MG fantasy to query this fall, and query my adult UF this spring. In 2019, I queried a sci fi MG and received several full requests, so I believe I'm close-ish to representation. Stuck and afraid on whether to trunk these passed over projects or take them indie while I continue seeking rep.
I don't think I realized how often I say "hell yeah" but I really do. Even in person now that I think about it. Anyhow, y'all are doing such cool shit so everyone gets a rousing "hell yeah" from me.
I'm working on a very queer horror MS that focuses on white supremacy in the Pacific Northwest and the working conditions of video game development, but I'm scared out of my mind that if I go forward with it I'll attract Gamergate attention. I can't get this story out of my head, and I know I'm going to write it, but it still terrifies me. Isn't that what effective horror is, though?
I want 2020 to be the year I no longer let publishing make me feel bad about my age or what stage of my career I'm in. I want to remember that the only expiration date on writing is death. I want to make some art.
In October 2019, I set myself a goal of writing 250 words every day. Since starting that habit, I've found it easier to make incremental progress on my first draft without feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. For 2020, I want to continue this goal (with obvious breaks for holidays and vacations).
Goal: complete and revise current YA Horror MS and query the hell out of it.
Stuck on too much mental energy getting wrapped up in my day job drama.
Question: I've been working on getting published for almost a decade, just wrapping up my fifth manuscript, really don't want to be in the "working on getting published" boat a decade from now...help?
This year I'd love to edit and query my novel. Ideally I'd be represented by someone by the end of this year, that would be awesome. And write a few short stories inbetween.
Goal: Fall in love with writing again. Querying 3 different projects for 2 years in a row has really done a number on how I feel about my own craft, so 2020 is a year of rekindling that love.
Kind of stuck on the idea that if I step away, I will be "behind" and miss out on agents and opportunities or a really good MSWL call, but yeah. Need to recover a lot of that love.
I'm fifteen years and I just finished writing the first draft of my urban fantasy thriller with plenty of action. My aunt who is a freelance editor is copy editing it! So I would love to get representation by an agent and hopefully sell he novel to a publisher, this year!
I'm writing proposals for two books I'd love to write, and hopefully I will find out which of these books I will work on first as a result. Right now I can't bring myself to add manuscript words to either of these stories, because I don't know which one to invest in. I feel so weird not being obsessed with a book, but what if I pick the wrong one? I'll be all messed up.
In 2020 my goal is to read more. I read a lot a lot a lot in 2017 & 2018, but 2019 hit me hard on the reading/writing front for reasons & I am looking forward to getting back into my reading flow this year. Because for me, reading begets writing & solves a lot of my writing hurdles. Right now I'm struggling with an issue of: "Is this long form project a novel or a novella???" So I'm hoping that by reading a few more novels & novellas in the beginning of 2020, I can answer that question myself.
I decided to make a writing goal I'm entirely in control of: working on writing for 400 hours. I'm working on a lower YA contemporary that needs a bit more marinating before I can finish the draft. I should be able to finish, revise, and start something else.
Stuck on novel structure--about 50-60 pages into a new project and starting to feel at a loss about the best way to incorporate interlocking POVs and storylines. Advice or ideas appreciated!
Revising a steampunk reverse colonialism MS for pitching in the summer. No idea if anyone would buy that sorta thing, but I won’t know unless I put it out there. Good luck to all the other people about to dive into pitches!
This year I'm going back to trying to write every day, even if it's just a few words or for only a couple minutes. I just want to write every single day. I'm working on a novel idea that I, atypically, have planned out all the way to the end. The thing I struggle with is turning off editor brain and just moving the writing forward. Any tips for getting out of your own way so you can make the words happen?
I just finished two straight months of writing a poem a day, so I’m switching gears. In January and February, I’m participating in a workshop, so I’ll be writing some new poems but mostly getting better at editing. March will be a submission month, and April will be back to writing. Focusing month by month on one thing seems to be doable. By next year, I’d like to have a draft of a chapbook (which I can control) and ideally a few more pub credits under my belt (which I can’t control, but I can sub more).
I'm going to finish my WIP manuscript (because I always always always finish what I start) and then i) seriously consider self-publishing; and ii) start looking at an alternative career to writing. I've been working a part-time consultancy job for the past four years so I can have the time to write. I've written nearly every day of those four years, and I've had way too many editors and agents tell me they liked my writing but they're just not enthusiastic enough about it/there isn't a big enough market for it. I'm sick of being told that I have a long career ahead of me, when in reality I'm just emotionally and physically exhausted with nothing to show for it. I'm very proud of the work I've produced in the last four years, and I consider myself very lucky to be afforded the time and financial stability to complete my passion projects. And even if no one outside of my beta readers ends up reading my stuff, at least I will always have these books written to sate my very specific tastes. But it's time to turn a new page.
The back half of 2019 was losing a job, getting a new job, and losing any and all steam on current projects; a lot of my creative energy was diverted into running DnD games, (which I love and have no problem with), but I couldn't find any new energy for current projects. I lost interest in a novel as I was halfway through its fourth draft, and couldn't find the mindset to go into short story revisions. The only thing I actually made decent headway on was a new novel project that I just . . . didn't outline and still am not outlining and for some weird, blessed reason, is moving ahead with an energy and fervency it really shouldn't have for something I'm just freakin' winging. So I'm not going to question it, and use it as a springboard into 2020.
So, the goals are:
*Finish Chaotic-Energy-No-Outline-No-Problem Book (just hit the halfway point!)
*Use that energy to go and edit/rewrite 2-4 short stories that need some love, and get to submitting those
*Edit and revise CENONP novel, and start submitting to agents
*Hopefully sign with an agent this year!
*Also, at some point in there, launch my crowdsourced narrative fiction newsletter???
This feels like a lot, especially after the year 2019 was, but I'm feeling good about it! Here's hoping. Good luck, everyone!
I'm finishing the last round of edits on my first novel and aiming to draft my second novel. Also for real terrified because I'm diving into the query trenches for the first time.
This year I have 3 short stories, 4 novellas, and 5 novels scheduled. I'm currently on the first short, outlining one novel, and one novella. Not stuck...fearless. Just need an extra day a week lol.
I'm working on a novel I hope to have finished before 4th Street in June. More than that I've set a (realistic for me) goal of 150k new words this year. Also planning to rework a previous short story to send on another round of submissions.
I've got a new draft of the book I've been working on for years -- after putting it in a drawer for 18 mths, learning the hard way from submitting it too soon, I think it's in good shape and will be even better after I finish this round of edits, but I'm terrified of submitting it anywhere again. Terrified and excited, both.
I'm very close to querying my next book and I have all the excited and nervous feels that comes with that. There's a weird amount of happiness that comes with being on the cusp of sending your baby out, when hope is still alive and anything can happen. Granted, I'm also gearing up for that crying-on-the-floor aspect that happens when the rejections start coming in.
As soon as I start querying, I'm going to start the next book. I've got the itch to write something new. So, this year: query the last book, start and finish next book, and hopefully begin one more after that and make a discernible dent in it.
I have a huge story idea I've been sitting on for about 5 years. It's very much sci fi whereas everything else I've written to date is fantasy with a folklore-ish flair. Basically, I'm intimidating the hell out of myself. I know I need to go for it, because what good is safe writing? Yet still I'm stalling a bit, and also feeling defeated due to rejections on another project, and I'm doubting myself yet also excited? I don't know. I feel crazy. Advice?
last year (how bizarre), i quit my job moved internationally and was completely swamped emotionally and mentally with my new job as much as i love love the work. as a result, i didn’t get to write much and burned out in august which ended up being the best thing, because i began therapy. i was in such a bad place with myself as a result of years of trauma processing that i didn’t know how to write what i needed to write anymore. but on the 1st of this year after months of therapy i began revising the end of this book and i burst into tears at the thought i could write hope. that’s my goal for 2020, to finish it and to make this book as good as i can now, in this better place. my fear is that i can’t, that i’ll always be in this state of almost. we just, i suppose, have to be a little kinder to ourselves. happy new year, y’all.
For 2020, I am aiming to treat my WIP as a project with a timeline (I do project management in my dayjob), and I have a new angle I'm working on in revisions with my critique partner.
I just haven't been able to write consistently since October, so instead I read a lot of new publications in my genre and this has helped a lot so I'm excited and ready to get this new draft done by March 31st! I have to build structure with weekly, biweekly, monthly goals rather than daily goals. It seems to be working so far.
You know most of these. But: working on the locked-room architecture murder novella and the cyberpunk climate change arson book, and probably bits of Teixcalaan #3.
what I'm scared of is being -- deep enough in, to do justice to what I want PRESCRIBED BURN to be; it's not a question of research, exactly, but one of feeling like I don't have the same depth of metaphor-set, interconnected knowledge, allusive ability that I do/did with Teixcalaan. How do I write without writing about empire, when I've been writing about empire my whole career as a writer?
also how do I do time management and/or develop anything like a system or process, but the first one is what actually scares me.
Mainly, I'm working on getting a literary agent for my sci-fi novel, Jupiter Base. Second on the list is getting one of my screenplays, an Austin Film Festival second rounder, to be a finalist this year.
Just swooping in here to say thank you, DongWon, you are full of such great advice and give the best pep talks. I’m so grateful for all the publishing paying-it-forward that you and Kate do 🖤
Hey! Awesome question. I *was* stuck until recently but after some really big breakthroughs am soaring through a YA fantasy called "The Bottomless Forest". Biggest resolution(s)? 1 - not tell ANYBODY about the plot/characters/anything until I'm finished and 2 - keep up my breakneck pace on 1st draft to avoid losing momentum. Both are big personal pitfalls. So far, I can't stop thinking about the story... a good sign.
What are YOUR goals in 2020?
My goal this year (as it has been the last couple years) is to finish the novel I'm working on. The main hurdle has been finding the time and energy to do so, as my job is fairly demanding and by the end of the day I don't even wanna think about sitting at a computer any more than I already have. But I'm using my PTO in a few weeks to take a week off so I can just focus on writing for at least a week (and hopefully the weekends on either side of that week), so hopefully I can actually be not-totally-burned-out and write something for once. Fingers crossed!
I’m really proud of all the work I did in 2019 to improve my writing and almost entirely shifted my writing approach. I’ve started to feel like I can see my own writing voice forming, and this year my goal is to take that seriously by making more space to commit to my writing! I have one novel I started this time last year that is approaching completion and I want to start querying it by 2021. But most importantly I want to do what someone else has already mentioned below (above?): make time for just a little bit of writing every day.
Goal: I've been working out one particular story in my mind *for years* that just keeps growing and weaving in on itself. If I don't end it now, it may reach critical mass and take up residence there forever, burrowing in and consuming me until I'm a dry, papery Robin-husk stretched unconvincingly around a now-sentient-and-frustrated untold story. My goal is to finally have a REAL written outline (if not a first really ugly draft!) of the whole trilogy by the end of the year.
Afraid of: Sending it out and not securing an agent, or worse, signing with a not-good agent!
Q: What are your thoughts on signing with an associate agent vs a (regular? full?) agent, and is the difference between an associate and a full agent simply time/experience?
Is it expected/normal for a fledgling author to pair with an associate agent with the assumption that their careers will mature in tandem?
I'm diving into a fairly big revision on what I hope will be my next book, and mentally starting to give room to the next two ideas. I'm expanding into new categories this year (both in what I'm creating and what I'm releasing) and that's a neat feeling. I wanted to diversify not just for income/stability reasons but because I feel that one of the things that I love most about writing is trying new things and learning how to write differently. Different forms and categories let me do that. Writing feels more creative and playful and breathtaking now than it has since before I was published. I feel more hopeful now than I've felt in a long time about my career, so that's a really good feeling. But I'm also very, very hesitant to let myself feel that much optimism given the last few years and struggles. Careful balance of optimistic enough to create, pragmatic enough to know that I'll get mired in new shit eventually. I don't have any daily word count goals except when I'm drafting so I'm holding off on those until February!
I just started revising some of the chapters of my fantasy novel that I have written so far. I've always been a plotter rather than a pantser (exaggeratedly so) but as I'm discovering what my story is _really_ about in the course of writing it (great feeling, btw), I've decided to take a step back and work out a couple of things that are going to matter more than anticipated once I write the next part. What am I afraid of? Time. A lot. I took a whole year to write 50k words, little by little every weekday morning, and I'm still sweating after taking a break for a couple of weeks. I wanted to start again this year, but this early rewrite thing will eat away at my calendar as I was envisioning it. The road is soooo long... I'm racing against nothing and no one except myself. But somehow that still terrifies me.
I just want to finish something. Anything. I'm constantly starting projects but never seeing them through to completion. In the past I've been terrified that I won't "make it" and I'll be stuck in my crappy min-wage job forever, and it makes me timid when it comes to breaking out and really leaning into my writing. But I can't afford to let fear and complacency rule me-- for practical and mental health reasons. It's time. 2020, look out.
I'm afraid of being rejected in queer speculative fiction writing for being too cis white male, so I guess I'm trying to come to terms with my own potential 'will to power', need to find a way of writing that won't feel like a way of colonialising yet another field of writing. That might sound megalomaniac, but I guess I'm also trying to find a way of talking about this that feels authentic and reflective of the sort of white privilege that made me stop read speculative fiction. Just eternal re-spins of the same old Asimovs, Clarkes and Herberts.
My first goal is to finish the rewrite of my fantasy novel (with a touch of steampunk), and my second goal is to write my first full-length comic! I'll probably set up more writing goals throughout the year.
I have taken a minimalist approach and have one writing goal for 2020: finish the draft of a book I started in 2019 (and naively thought I could finish during NaNoWriMo). I'm dedicating every spare moment to this.
-Anjuan
Hi DongWon! This thread is great, It's really nice to read other people's thoughts and your answers. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to all the comments.
Stuck and afraid because the economical situation in my country is rapidly declining and the future seems so uncertain right now. More than ever, if I decided to dedicate my time to write, writing in english rather than in my native language seems more profitable. But there's always the classical doubts: is my english good enough? will my stories be well received in the english speaking market?
But while I can't shake those fears away, I'm determinated to start 2020 with courage. I decided to try and do all my writing in english this year. I'm working on a new WIP, while thinking on ways to restructure my first finished manuscript to really highlight the core of the story.
I have only one actual question, both to you and to the other readers: do you know any books that mixed first and third person POVs? I'm thinking on doing something like that, and I'd like to see how others writers have done it.
Finishing a surreal, victorian, witches-fighting-the-patriarchy novel, planning to apply to Clarion West for the first time, and writing without worrying about what publishing folks think about this or that concept. Having more fun than I have in years.
Honestly, I think I'm just terrified of rejection, of spending years and years submitting and never getting anywhere, of "aging out" (I know it's not a thing but when are fears ever logical), all that stuff. And all that said, my goal is just not to let the fear stop me. I've gotten into pretty good habits at doing a little bit on a few projects each day, getting organized, taking next steps instead of staying permanently on the steps that are most comfortable and safe. I just have to not let the fear stop me. (Or the inevitable post-rejection "omg they hate me I'm terrible" phase.)
Question for DongWon and everyone else on the thread. Can anyone recommend a really stellar freelance developmental editor who works on YA science fiction (mine is non-dystopian)?
I am finished with my first novel and querying it, but also editing too. At the same time, I have also started a new YA novel, not a sequel, which I am really really in love with. (So that makes me want to work on my new project.) What do writers do in this situation? Do they do both at the same time? Regardless, I want to have at least 80,000 words by this time next year on my new project, but I am itching to focus solely on the writing. When does anyone say enough, move on? It's hard.
Like the past two years, my goal is to finish this manuscript. After a complete tear-down and rewrite, I am better equipped this time around, although writing the end of it does scare me. I also have a short story I'm polishing that I think might be good enough to actually submit for publication.
I do great for awhile and then I just stop. Something will happen in life to distract me and it can take forever to get back to writing. I’ll think about it for weeks and not do it. It drives me crazy and I don’t know why I do it. I’m almost finished with my first book but I can’t seem to kick my butt into gear. It’s frustrating and stupid 🙄
I just finished a short story that I love and will be submitting it for publication in 2020! First time submitting so I'm nervous yet I really feel it is my best work so I'm excited too.
Got a novel I'm still chugging along on and will finish before the year is out.
2020 is going to be great :)
I’ve gone through long periods (sometimes months, even up to a year) since 2012 of not writing, but I have written more this past year than ever before! 5 short stories, 1 intro chapter for a near future cyber-thriller and finally made it halfway through my alternate-steam-western adventure novel draft (40k words). My goal for this year is to finally finish my alt-steam-western novel, and maybe write a short story good enough to be published.
My 2020 goal is to master how to do deep structural edits in small windows of time *and* keep track of the narative.
Re-writing my local urban fantasy novel. I've done revisions before, but this is the first time I'm deep diving into rewriting and consistently re-doing entire scenes. I'm trying to stay positive and remind myself as long as it's better than it was before, it's worth it - but I'm also adjusting to a new job and not making quite as much progress as I'd like.
Goals: Read 25 new books! Complete a new MG fantasy to query this fall, and query my adult UF this spring. In 2019, I queried a sci fi MG and received several full requests, so I believe I'm close-ish to representation. Stuck and afraid on whether to trunk these passed over projects or take them indie while I continue seeking rep.