The Year in Review

Back in January, I set myself five writing goals for 2018 and posted them up on my blog. I decided at the time not to call these resolutions; my logic being that in doing so I would be setting myself up for a fall, that it would be better to aim to do certain things rather than solemnly swear that I would do so.

I suppose you could call that letting myself off the hook in advance! Nonetheless, let’s see how I did, shall we?

Goal 1: Finish the third book in my Witches of Pendle series

Success! As regular readers of my blog will know, not only did I finish writing it, but I published the third instalment The Pendle Witch Girl back in the summer.

Goal 2: Get working on my next contemporary novel

I’m pleased to report that I made some progress on this particular goal during 2018. Currently I have written about 40,000 words for my contemporary story, The House at Kirtlebeck End. Progress has been slower than I would have liked; however, the story is really starting to take shape and work will continue into 2019. So, watch this space…

Goal 3: Start researching for my next historical novel

Ah. I haven’t made much headway with this one, if I’m honest.  This is mainly because my focus this year has been very much on goals 1 and 2, but also because I have struggled a little to decide which historical fiction project to concentrate on. I’m still reading around a couple of potential subjects so at the moment I’m just seeing where the research leads me. I suspect that once I have finished writing The House at Kirtlebeck End I’ll make a choice about which story I want to write next. Whatever happens, I’m ready to get my teeth into something historical for my next book and I feel very excited about a number of different options I have swirling around my brain right now.

Goal 4: Get some short stories into print/online publications

This goal was probably the hardest to achieve because unlike the others, it was out of my control and very much in the hands of the editors of the many magazines and journals out there. As I mentioned when I set this goal for myself, in 2017 I had written a lot of short stories and tried to get them published without much success. I’m pleased to say that 2018 was far more successful in this regard, with 3 of my short stories being published online and one also finding its way into an anthology of dark literature. Check out my other work page for the links to these stories.

Goal 5: Keep talking about my work

Almost 12 months ago I included this goal on my list so that I would be conscious of it, as I recognised that ‘talking up’ my work isn’t exactly a strength of mine. In 2018 I tried hard with this, maintaining an active blog and social media channels, running a successful marketing campaign for the release of The Pendle Witch Girl and participating in a couple of author interviews. Overall, I think I didn’t do too badly with this.

So, in terms of writing goals, I’d say 2018 has been a pretty successful year. Like any occupation, sometimes being a writer can feel like an uphill struggle, and it is easy to focus on the negatives, the things which you haven’t achieved, the rejections and so forth. It is good, therefore, to take stock, to think about what you did manage to do and how far you’ve come in a year. And I have to say, I feel fairly cheerful after writing this! In January I’ll be back with my list of goals for 2019.

 

 

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