Introduction

Last night I got to reading the notorious Brandon Sanderson’s annual “State of the Sanderson” and decided I like the idea (he writes fantasy and is one of the most prolific authors, inside traditional publishing, of our time). Often I feel like nobody knows what I’m writing because…I’m afraid to tell them? I don’t know…anyway, I’m stealing the inspiration but not the name (although I do like “State of the Speirs” for all of its puniness). Without further ado (what is ado anyway?), I present the 2019 edition of T. D.’s To Do’s:

January–March

30 Days, 30 Outlines

As explained in my last post, I began a personal challenge to write 30 story outlines over the course of 30 days. The challenge began the day after Christmas, and so far I have averaged one outline per day. These are outlines for stories not yet completed or not yet begun, and so far I’ve made major writing progress by consulting them while writing.

Yelronpe and the Markleflips

The other January goal is somewhat of a tossup right now. Last year I finalized Book One of my Lands of Imagine series and immediately launched into Book Two while everything was fresh on my mind. About one forth through the book, it became too cumbersome because I felt like I was telling rather than showing the story. I needed a break from Imagine but found myself floundering around from one project to another (jumping between projects usually helps me remain writing productive but not this time).

While working on 30 Days, 30 Outlines, I became super-excited about an adult fantasy book I’ve been writing called Yelronpe and the Markleflips (working title, not set in stone). The story concerns a kingdom under threat by the vague but real Markleflips (boogie monster-like creatures) who kidnap kings in bloody messes, bring green moons and other omens, and generally cause a ruckus. The main character is is one of the news gatherers, a tribe that wanders throughout the kingdom sharing and gathering news.

I thought up the story during my heyday with broadcast ambitions, but haven’t returned for a while. To ease your worries, I should clarify that Yelronpe and the Markleflips is in no way, shape or form meant to be political or make any kind of political statement (not even about the current state of journalism). This is a fantasy story set in a fantasy world with fantasy morals, standards, etc. I’ve been handwriting the book for a few days now and plan to plow through to the end.

The Lands of Imagine

However.

Lands of Imagine Book Two, aka The Black Rainbow, has begun gnawing at my mind. The time to complete a first draft may be at hand. This is the sequel to The Author, which a few of you have read (or had the chance to read) and takes place mostly in Imagine. The novel plotted but don’t know the immediate precursors to the story’s climax.

As for The Author, I’ll be seeking publication. Otherwise, no news.

January could see a huge chunk of Yelronpe and the Markleflips completed or The Black Rainbow, or both if I get ambitious. Once I get deep into a novel, that usually becomes my sole purpose until the draft is complete (approximately one month to one and a half months for plotted first drafts).

Bluestone

This series remains on temporary hiatus while I figure out how best to present the story. A full draft exists (full drafts exist) for Book One, but I dislike the format. As do many people who’ve seen it. The goal is to iron out the format during the second half of February and use March to switch everything over to that format. Book Two is outlined and ready to write.

April–August

MG Loss Book

If everything goes according to current plan, by April I may need a short break from all things Imagine and Bluestone. For a change of pace, I intend to focus on a different middle grade novel I started constructing last year, title undecided. In case you’re unaware, the term “middle grade” refers to the 8-12 year old age group, not to “people attending middle school.” The story focuses on how the main character handles the loss of his best friend, and yes, it’ll be gloomy. The reason it’s my “break” from Imagine and Bluestone is because it’s a complete shift in tone and style from either of those. I expect this short book to go quickly but am allowing for it to take all the way up to the camp where I volunteer in June.

The Lands of Imagine:  The Black Rainbow

Regardless of when I finish MG Loss Book, it will be time to return to Imagine. Trust me, I get antsy if I’m away from Imagine or the Bluestones too long. Besides, the nature of camp (it’s geared toward foster kids) puts me in a certain mindset that realigns me to the stories I most want to tell. At this point (assuming I write The Black Rainbow during January), I will complete any major revisions needed, aka Drafts Two through Who Knows?. The nature of that beast should take me to the start of September.

September–December

Bluestone

And all that work on Imagine will pull me back to the Bluestones. It always does. Book 1 should only need finishing touches before I set about writing Book 2, or rather, continue writing Book 2 because it’s already outlined and started. I plan on the main draft to take two months, after which the rest (I refer you to above about formatting issues) should take between half a month to a full month.

Other

Assuming the year goes as I hope/expect/plan/will, this leaves me the whole month of December. I could begin another novel, but let’s be honest:  I’ve already got 2 completed books planned and 4 first drafts. That’s a lot of work! I watched a great TED Talk recently that points out how much time a person has outside the normal workweek and sleep, and frankly it’s astounding to realize how much time gets wasted.

December 2019 is a sort of filler month in case my plans really go off the rails, as well as an opportunity to continue playing with shorter works (I wrote a lot of poetry and short/flash stories in 2018). At worst (or best depending how you look at it), they should begin to pad my wallet so I can shift to writing full-time for a living.

Also of important note is that plans are plans. They can be shifted if needed or desired (especially if I get an agent/contract under my belt…).

Writing Totals:
First Drafts—4
Completed Books—2

Other Stuff

This last year has also seen the development of two ideas that I want to fully implement this year:

Chapter per Week – a digital book club whose selection draws from “the classics” and whose purpose is to read one chapter per week from the current book selection. I have an example site that can be found here, and the site is technically “active” in the sense that I try to post the next chapter according to schedule. The email part currently only informs people when a new chapter has been posted, but eventually would/will contain the complete text of the chapter for offline reading. Feel free to subscribe, post comments or suggestions, or volunteer to help in whatever capacity you can.

Poets Anonymous OR Poets Pseudonymous – this will be a home for poems written anonymously or pseudonymously. The goal is to post at least one poem per week with a starting pay rate of $5 per poem. That’s not a great rate, but starting out, it’s what I can safely afford and is $5 better than $0. I’d love to increase that amount or switch to the traditional dollar amount per line, but the ability to do either of those depends on available funds. If you’d like to help get this off the ground, I’d love your help.

Chapter per Week does post weekly, and Poets Anonymous is only lacking a viable site. Like I said, any help would be greatly appreciated, but otherwise, these two projects will likely remain side-hobbies until I’ve obtained actual homes (real web addresses, not phony ones) for them.

Conclusion

I’ve got lots of goals, lots of plans, and plenty of ambition. Here’s to a year without a dry spell! If you made it this far, now you know why I’m a hermit, and will get to watch me become a crab. Cheers!