By now, I’m sure you’ve heard Martin’s admission that he may never finish Game of Thrones. Let’s be honest, we all knew it. I think it’s good he’s accepting it. What you don’t know is that we have a lot in common.
I understand how he could get into a series that long and just run out of steam on it. I don’t have any inside information, but I’m guessing he just isn’t excited about it anymore. If I’m right that we are similar, writing something I’m not excited about is torture, so it makes sense to me why it isn’t finished.
That got me thinking. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t leave my series unfinished. I want my readers to be confident that they will get a complete story when they give my work a shot. At the same time, I could see myself getting stuck on a long series and not being able to write a brick of a book.
My other issue is that I’m not a one-trick pony. There’re a lot of stories I want to write that I have been unable to. These stories nag at me and leave me wishing I could write them. It’s made it hard to finish books I’ve been working on. I’ve told people to be expecting a certain book, so I feel obligated to write it, and it drags on and on. Sound familiar?
I came up with a solution. Novellas. I have four stories I will be working on, writing one after the other. My goal is to write five novellas a year in four series. I’ll release them in ebook as they are finished. When I get three novellas finished for a series, I’ll bundle them into Omnibus editions for paperback and audio. If everything goes according to plan, this will give me constant new material while giving me the ability to still write to my passion.
As far as the woodworking side of my business goes, I have some exciting things going on there as well. I’m going to be expanding my business to include knitting/crocheting items. Crochet hooks, drops spindles, and other items in that area. I’m still in the development stage of this. I had to purchase some new equipment that has arrived, but I haven’t got to play with it yet.
As far as pens go, I’m changing my pen lineup as well. So far, I’ve just been making whatever. This has led to a lot of inconsistencies with what's available. I’m going to standardize my pen styles. I will have two models that can easily be converted between fountain or rollerball. I am also going to have standard designs available. Some of these are things you’ve seen before, like the black walnut shell and epoxy. Many of them are new things I’ve thought up that I think will do well. I will be running Kickstarters for the designs as I make them official. I plan to do three this year.
Besides that, I’m upping my exercise game. I need to get in shape. I am forty-five now and feeling every year. I’ve found myself struggling with things that a few years ago I wouldn’t have thought twice about.
That is what my 2025 will look like. I really appreciate your support up to now. Keep an eye out for a lot of awesome things!
Comments