Daniel Aegan

I’m not gonna blow smoke up your ass. I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions. Why would I bother? I almost always end up breaking them. So I want to lose weight. OK. I want to be a better person. Do I really? I want to repair my broken relationships. Sure, buddy.

For now, I’ll focus on what I can actually accomplish.

Writing goals. I’ve seen a dozen or so tweets about them today, and I’ve posted my own. They’re good to have. Do you want to write more short stories, finish (or begin) that novel, or up your word count goals? Write down what you want and stick to it.

My goals are simple. I started two novels last year (Operation: Maximum Chaos and Excalibur Night), and I want to see them finished by the end of the year. It doesn’t sound like much if you’re not a writer, but a lot goes into writing a full-legth novel.

Next on my to-do list is my unfinished collections. I have a full short story collection that needs a second draft. I also have a three-story fantasy novella book I want to pit together and shop to agents.

There’s also that story about the demoness in the projects (The Demoness of Grand Courts). If I can finish the other two novels, maybe I’ll jump on that one. At least having it started seems like a good goal for the year.

I want to read more too. I read a lot as it is, but I want to up my game to read some older, classic books and expand my collection. I got Dune for Christmas along with two huge Lovecraft collections, including the Cthulu mythos. That’s a lot of reading right there.

I also want to attend and interact more with my writing group. They’re going to start constructive critiquing, and I plan on jumping into that.

Finally, I have multiple books I’ll be querying. I’m making a list of agents, and trying to figure out who would want what. This is a long process, but I’m determined to push myself forward.

It’s good to have goals. I think I’m set for 2019. The last couple of years sucked a bit, so I’m hoping to plow forward and keep on swinging throughout this one.

See you in 2020!

-Daniel Aegan
1/3/19