31 December 2019

2019 Writing Goals Review

Well, the year is coming to a close today, and sadly, this year has been pretty disastrous. Several factors contributed to that, I imagine, but those just happen to be excuses for not reaching my goals. So, for now, we'll recap how things went against my 2019 goals. A follow-up post for my 2020 goals will be coming soon.

1. Publish my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn. I plan to complete a first draft by the end of May, so that I can work on edits and hopefully have it out to the public sometime by the end of the year. I have some momentum going on this one, so hopefully things will move according to plan.

Didn't finish my first draft by the end of May (or anytime this year), so didn't get the new novel published.

2. Publish my in-work "Demonkiller" WIP (which still needs a title). I would like to need to try and finish my edits by the end of March, so that I can get beta comments back in June, and then hopefully have this available by November in time for Air Cap Comic Con. This might be a bit sporty, considering how rough the first draft was.

Still only about halfway through my first round of edits on this one.

3. Complete the first draft of my in-work sci-fi suspense/mystery novel. I anticipate this being finished before the end of December at the earliest.

Didn't write a single word on this novel this year.

4. Write three Aston West short stories. I would like to finish these by the end of the year, and hopefully I can get back on track with my triple-shots (my most recent one featuring Sweet Embrace came out back in 2015). I used to be able to write these fairly quickly, and have gotten out of practice. So, here's hoping that I can get back in the groove.

Did complete the first draft of one of these stories, and started on a second.

So, as I alluded to, it was a pretty dismal year. Here's hoping this next year works out better.

04 July 2019

July 2019 Writing Goals

Well, six months in, and this past month was pretty much a waste, but hopefully things will improve soon.

So, here are the results for June:

1. Complete first round edits on 18 chapters of the first Demonkiller novel. - Only got through reviews of six chapters, but no true editing.

2. Complete work on getting my four Aston novels onto other platforms such as B&N, Smashwords, etc. - The series novels have been placed on B&N, but no other platforms.


So here are the goals for July:

1. Complete first round edits on 18 chapters of the first Demonkiller novel.

2. Complete work on getting my four Aston novels onto other platforms.

04 June 2019

June 2019 Writing Goals

Well, five months in, and although some work was done, not a lot.

So, here are the results for May:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories). - Finished this goal with over 3,000 words written.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Did not work on this goal.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Changing things up this month. I've been neglecting one of my completed novel drafts for over five months, and I'm starting to "go wide" with distribution of my Aston novels and triple-shots. So, work on new material will take a back seat this month while I take care of these goals (technically, not writing...but writing-related). So here are the goals for June:

1. Complete first round edits on 18 chapters of the first Demonkiller novel.

2. Complete work on getting my four Aston novels onto other platforms such as B&N, Smashwords, etc.

04 May 2019

May 2019 Writing Goals

Well, four months in, and unfortunately, there was next to nothing done this past month. Several factors weighed in on that, but hopefully May will be an improvement.

So, here are the results for April:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories). - Didn't finish this goal, with less than 300 words written.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Did not work on this goal.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Here are my goals for the month of April:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories).

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

01 April 2019

April 2019 Writing Goals

Well, three months in, and although I didn't put out a weekly update, there were some goals that were worked on. Results were mixed this month, and still didn't get everything done that I was wanting to.

So, here are the results for March:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories). - Didn't finish this goal, but did in fact get about 2,200 words written.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Didn't complete this goal, with only around 1,200 words completed.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Here are my goals for the month of April:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories).

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

02 March 2019

March 2019 Writing Goals

Well, two months in, and although I didn't put out a weekly update, there were some goals that were worked on. Results were better than I'd hoped, but still didn't get everything done that I was wanting to.

So, here are the results for February:

1. Complete the first draft on one of my three new Aston West stories. - Didn't get this one finished. Started one of the stories, "Dead Broke," but didn't get too far on it.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Completed this goal, with over 2,700 words.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Here are my goals for the month of March:

1. Complete the first draft of "Dead Broke" (one of my three new Aston West stories).

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

03 February 2019

February 2019 Writing Goals

Well, one month in, and although I didn't put out a weekly update, there were some goals that were worked on. Results weren't as I'd hoped, but several outside factors were involved in that. I don't see that changing in February, but here's hoping.



So, here are the results for January:

1. Draft up three Aston West short stories. - Completed this goal. Three stories have been plotted.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn. - Worked on this goal, but only got about 1,850 words done.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).  - Did not work on this goal.

Here are my goals for the month of February:

1. Complete the first draft on one of my three new Aston West short stories.

2. Complete 2,500 words on Before the Dawn.

3. Complete 1,000 words on Dark Side (tentative title for my sci-fi detective thriller).

02 January 2019

2019 Writing Goals

Well, things went a little better in 2018 than in 2017. So, I'm hoping that I'll maintain some momentum, and get some additional goals accomplished this year.

So, here goes:

1. Publish my fifth Aston West series novel, Before the Dawn. I plan to complete a first draft by the end of May, so that I can work on edits and hopefully have it out to the public sometime by the end of the year. I have some momentum going on this one, so hopefully things will move according to plan.

2. Publish my in-work "Demonkiller" WIP (which still needs a title). I would like to need to try and finish my edits by the end of March, so that I can get beta comments back in June, and then hopefully have this available by November in time for Air Cap Comic Con. This might be a bit sporty, considering how rough the first draft was.

3. Complete the first draft of my in-work sci-fi suspense/mystery novel. I anticipate this being finished before the end of December at the earliest.

4. Write three Aston West short stories. I would like to finish these by the end of the year, and hopefully I can get back on track with my triple-shots (my most recent one featuring Sweet Embrace came out back in 2015). I used to be able to write these fairly quickly, and have gotten out of practice. So, here's hoping that I can get back in the groove.

All in all, it's going to be a busy year, but I have a bit more confidence that my re-focus on goal-setting will help. Thanks to everyone who's purchased copies of my books, and I'm looking forward to bringing you even more this year.