5 Year Goals
01/27/2012 Leave a Comment
So, here are some five year goals. I’ve been thinking about where and what to do next, now that Achron is in my wake. The only thing I had in mind was write more, and sell something else, but those were too vague. If I’m going to do this thing, I need to get something that looks like a plan out there. So I did some brainstorming, and this is what I’ve got where a plan would normally go.
- I will have written 3 novels. This one’s moderately aggressive. Not having ever written a novel before, I am of the opinion that I could write a novel in a year. But life can get into funny shapes sometimes, so I’ll give myself a break: 3 novels in five years. It’s totally possible to write a novel a year. It’s also possible that I’ll crash and burn on the shoals of my own hubris. But I’d rather set my sights on something steep yet doable, and fail, than set them too low and meet them.
- I will write short stories in between those novels, and I will constantly be trying to sell them. Perhaps they’ll sell, perhaps they won’t. But either way, it’ll be good practice.
- I will apply to all of the 6 week writer’s workshops: Clarion, Clarion West, or Odyssey. I will also apply to Viable Paradise, but the 6 week workshops are the heavier investment, and I feel like I need to make a heavy investment right about now. It’s asking a lot — of my schedule, my family, and my pocketbook — but I’d really like to go, and I think it would do me tremendous good.
- I will go to a few conventions. This is something I can do without having written something first. If I can, I’d like to sit in on a few panels, perhaps meet a few writers, agents, or other industry folk. Chat them up, maybe buy them a drink. I may even end up having some fun.
I don’t have much experience in the writing industry at the moment, but I do think that Tobias Buckell makes a lot of sense when he talks about recognizing what writers can control, and setting your goals accordingly. Doing all of this writing — the novels, the short stories — in five years is realistic. Expecting that any of them will sell is not. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to chase sales with all my energy, but it does mean that when I get those rejection letters I’ll stick ‘em to the wall, pour myself a drink, and get back to it. As for the rest of it, well — going to conventions, and applying to the workshops — also doable. All of it’s doable.
I’ll get back to you on how it goes.
