This is part 2 of T. D.’s To Do’s 2021. To read part 1 (2020 Year in Review), go here. Without further ado or adon’t, here are the projects I plan to work on this year.

When the World Grows Dark

I finished the first draft of this and it’s about two-thirds polished. I’m sensing a need to step away from it before polishing the rest or working on another draft, but I hope to have it completely finished by June. Most polishing up to this point has been thorough, and I feel quite confident about most of the story.

My goal is to get an agent by the end of this year, but that is dependent on more than me (I will do my part). In the meantime, I had a voucher for a free domain. You can check out this site whentheworldgrowsdark.com to get further updates when they are available. Note: if you’re greeted with nothing more than a black page, give it a few seconds to load.

Although this book works well as a standalone, I originally outlined it with sequels in mind. If I do more work on these books this year, it will be to thoroughly outline Book 2. Sometimes my outlining becomes scene-writing.

Bluestone

Between decluttering and “30 Days, 30 Outlines” last year, I feel ready to start taking on this massive beast. Rather than write one book at a time, I’m going to be constructing it in chunks. That may mean writing one storyline through to the end or weaving other storylines together. It may mean writing the climax of each book and then working backward from those. It may mean stumbling into a completely different format of storytelling. Regardless, as I take a break from When the World Grows Dark, my foot will begin pushing down on the Bluestone throttle. It’s time to get this tale up and running.

Imagine

As I said in pt. 1 of my 2021 T. D.’s To Do’s, there are a handful of tweaks I will be making to this story which will occur simultaneous with my Bluestone story-constructing. If, after the tweaks, the story reads as smoothly as before, I feel it is also ready to start sending out voraciously. I’m also getting antsy about Imagine bk. 2 – it’s heavily outlined and many scenes have already been written. I may try to write the second book this year, but life may get in the way.

MG Loss Book

I have felt like an important part of stepping away from When the World Grows Dark (temporarily, remember) is to look at many of my other stories and poems. MG Loss Book was progressing quite well before I stopped. This is one I may put emphasis on because it does not need planning so much as writing (I love writing far more than editing…).

Lesser Projects

There are a number of other projects that take turns teasing my mind, and I expect I will make major progress on at least one of them this year. Could be Jesse the Pirate, The Healer Town, One Sick Brother or The Organizer of Files, but it could also be a dystopian story that’s been simmering in my head since 2003, a Peter Pan/Neverland fanfiction (because admittedly it’s fanfiction if it takes place in another story’s world), or a story with this kid trying to prove adults right. It may be half a dozen other short ideas whose first drafts can be completed in one sitting. Regardless, none of these are new ideas, but they are all ones I have craved to work on from time to time.

Also important to remember is “30 Days, 30 Outlines.” As per usual, this will take place in December. I think this year I will go through all my stories/books and organize them so that I know which ones need outlining and which ones do not. For “30 Days, 30 Outlines,” those which need outlines (or better outlines) will receive them.

In Summary

My main foci this year are When the World Grows Dark, Bluestone, and Imagine. Between those, I could have two books out in the market this year and one series heavily under development. The completed books should be able to enter the market no later than the end of June (if not sooner).

+2 books
+1 series in production

A lesser focus is MG Loss Book. If possible, I would like to get this completed this year, but that’s not a definite plan.

+1 book maybe

Other projects will probably not be completed but should see significant progress. Maybe some of them will make their way into next year’s main plans.

+? stories/poems progressing

“30 Days, 30 Outlines” will result in outlines of 30 works already in my files.

+30 outlines

= 3 books, major progress, and 30 outlines