Ask anyone about internet forums and they'll probably say "forums are dead!" or "what's a forum?" Are forums dead? I don't know. Maybe? I don't want them to be. Let's keep this sucker alive, okay?
The year is almost over so let's talk about our goals for next year.
What are your writing goals for 2019?
What do you hope to do more of? What do you hope to do less of?
What are your recent fears, concerns, etc., about writing and anything else?
What is the one book you want to read in 2019 you've always wanted to but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to it yet?
What new book coming out in 2019 are you most looking forward to?
And, finally, what is one 2018 achievement you'd like to brag about?
I will start.
What are your writing goals for 2019?
I would like to complete at least three new novels and also obtain an agent with the novel I finished earlier this year. I would like to start earning enough to quit my night job (although I don't see this happening, but who knows?). I would like to build up enough courage to launch a Kickstarter for an indie bookstore.
What do you hope to do more of? What do you hope to do less of?
I would like to do better at keeping a schedule and staying organized. I would like to stop abandoning good projects halfway through because another idea suddenly hit me.
What are your recent fears, concerns, etc., about writing and anything else?
[deletes long paragraph relating to politics and the state of the country]
What is the one book you want to read in 2019 you've always wanted to but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to it yet?
Despite hosting a Stephen King podcast (Castle Rock Radio) I've never read what's considered one of his best, Pet Sematary, so I'm excited to do an episode about it in February to coincide with the release of the new film adaptation (from our very own Dennis!). I also have been giving serious thought to finally cracking open Moby Dick but...I don't know, y'all. I don't know.
What new book coming out in 2019 are you most looking forward to?
Probably the next Laird Barron novel.
And, finally, what is one 2018 achievement you'd like to brag about?
I sold a novel to Fangoria and also the film rights.
Fangoria is awesome. I bullied my library into buying the magazine. It's quality. Congratulations!
What are your writing goals for 2019?
I'm submitting a manuscript anywhere and everywhere that fits, and I'm hoping to end that process in 2019. One way or another...
What do you hope to do more of? What do you hope to do less of?
More relaxing, honestly. Being better about letting myself take breaks. I stink at that. I'm bad about taking a day to myself that's not productive.
I'd like to talk about work less when I'm not there.
What are your recent fears, concerns, etc., about writing and anything else?
The common wisdom that one has to be a marketer to be a writer. I kinda think that's bullshit, and also I kinda think the last thing aspiring writers need is another thing to do that's not writing.
What is the one book you want to read in 2019 you've always wanted to but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to it yet?
The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. It's been sitting on my shelf for a decade. I picked it up once and didn't finish, but this might be the year.
What new book coming out in 2019 are you most looking forward to?
Amy Hempel's new book. Her first new book in a LONG time.
And, finally, what is one 2018 achievement you'd like to brag about?
I did 12 weeks of workshop with Chuck Palahniuk and Lydia Yuknavitch, which involved a shitload of travel. And I survived.
Goals?
To have ambition is my ambition.
More?
Almost anything.
Fears?
I do sort of fear for the future of the humanities. The further I get from my school days, the less relevance a lot of those things appear to have. But maybe that's just due to the fact I don't work in a very intellectual field. The people I'm most often around aren't very heady. But then, that's no reason to not fear for the humanities. On the contrary, when you don't spend time with people who make a concerted effort to promote the humanities, their importance can easily be questioned. And I can always find a article on why literature or poetry is more important than ever because of X, but no one who doesn't already care about literature would ever read such a thing. And so on and so on. Perception will continue to fragment to the point no one can even agree on the question, but enough people will eventually agree the answer is AI, and then there you have it.
Old book?
Someone long ago gave me an early copy of Charles Williams's All Hallows' Eve which I've never read but mean to. I've been meaning to for so long that I wouldn't be surprised if I've announced this intention by way of the internet on some other occasion.
New book?
I honestly don't think I could name a book coming out next year. If I get excited about one, there's a good chance it'll be something from one of those "rediscovery" publishers like NYRB Classics or Wakefield Press.
Brag?
...
What are your writing goals for 2019?
I don't have specific goals for the calendar year. I'm a crippling perfectionist who can't keep a healthy attitude toward attaining numerical milestones by particular dates. I strangle myself with things like that. Just gonna keep writing is all. And make myself submit for publishing whatever smidgets from the larger project can stand alone. I'd like to get one thing I like published at a place I like, I guess.
What do you hope to do more of? What do you hope to do less of?
More writing/drafting when the inspiration is there. Less telling myself I'm not allowed to write a first draft cause it's not gonna be a finished draft right away.
What are your recent fears, concerns, etc., about writing and anything else?
I'm probably not as good at it as I imagine I might or could be. I might stop getting inspiration. I might not find any success and may carry bitterness throughout my years. No one will ever want to read it. I'll never finish it. I'll be too busy with or tired from work to write well. etc.
What is the one book you want to read in 2019 you've always wanted to but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to it yet?
Well, I'm not doing a Goodreads reading challenge again because that just made me avoid reading longer books. So, I'm going to try to tackle a couple of the longer ones on my shelf. 1Q84 and Anna Karenina. I will also probably continue on an Irish writer/poet binge with more Seamus Heaney and Samuel Beckett. And Dylan Thomas, but I think he's Welsh. We also have Bob Woodward's Fear on the shelf now and I'd like to terrify myself reading that.
What new book coming out in 2019 are you most looking forward to?
None/idk. I'm not current on that stuff. New fiction seems like a lot of garbage to sift through.
And, finally, what is one 2018 achievement you'd like to brag about?
I tried submitting something for publishing for the first time. Still waiting to hear back. And I moved in with my boyfriend. And I've gotten my CPTSD-related anger problems more under control. So that's good...
Duplicate.
What are your writing goals for 2019?
I'll have to see, I prefer for inspiration to come to me. From genuine inner insight and personal soul searching, not from external influence.
What do you hope to do more of? What do you hope to do less of?
More of a happy medium between Literary and LitRPG, rather than strictly one or the other.
What are your recent fears, concerns, etc., about writing and anything else?
Whether I'm ever going to have the constant focus I had like I did up in Washington. I've pretty much figured out social media doesn't work for me. I got either pick social media or writing.
What is the one book you want to read in 2019 you've always wanted to but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to it yet?
I don't have the time or focus lately/
What new book coming out in 2019 are you most looking forward to?
I don't have any in mind. I am waiting for a nice documentary.
And, finally, what is one 2018 achievement you'd like to brag about?
I finally finished publishing the majority of my main GameLit series. So I can focus, eventually, on higher pursuits.
Haven't seen one of these around here for a while...
What are your writing goals for 2019?
Finish finish the work, publish it, market the shit out of it, become wildly successful.
What do you hope to do more of? What do you hope to do less of?
Write. Not write.
What are your recent fears, concerns, etc., about writing and anything else?
None, lately.
What is the one book you want to read in 2019 you've always wanted to but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to it yet?
That's a long list...
What new book coming out in 2019 are you most looking forward to?
I never know anything about any books coming out ever.
And, finally, what is one 2018 achievement you'd like to brag about?
Meh, brag shmag. Plus, I can't think of anything specific.
What are your writing goals for 2019?
I will still be in my MFA program, so I hope to produce a lot of good stuff and continue progressing.
What do you hope to do more of? What do you hope to do less of?
While I have been in school, all of my submissions have dwindled. I want to get everything back out again and try to keep submitting in addition to my school work. Less procrastination about non-school writing would be lovely.
What are your recent fears, concerns, etc., about writing and anything else?
I have that same general fear as most writers. I'm probably not good enough. Fewer people are making a living even though more books are being published. I'll never find a good teaching gig, because the universities are moving away from professorships to adjuncts. Did I mention that I'm probably not good enough?
What is the one book you want to read in 2019 you've always wanted to but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to it yet?
That list is incredibly long. Maybe Light in August by William Faulkner.
What new book coming out in 2019 are you most looking forward to?
The fact is that I am so far behind in my to-read pile, particularly since I have to read assignments for class, that I rarely read a book as it comes out.
And, finally, what is one 2018 achievement you'd like to brag about?
I finally wrote a good sci fi story. I've been a fan for years, but I've never felt comfortable writing in the genre. I took a workshop class on Vonnegut, and I think my final story works. It reflects Vonnegut, but it's also very much me.
What are your writing goals for 2019?
To write an alternative ending for the Eragon-4
What do you hope to do more of? What do you hope to do less of?
More writing, less work:D
What are your recent fears, concerns, etc., about writing and anything else?
That anything i write will be boring:(
What is the one book you want to read in 2019 you've always wanted to but for whatever reason haven't gotten around to it yet?
IDK at the moment, just finished readind all books about Eragon.
What new book coming out in 2019 are you most looking forward to?
None right now, read prev.
And, finally, what is one 2018 achievement you'd like to brag about?
That i grabbed my tool backpack with laptop compartment and everything i need in the road, and finally moved to LA.
Ah, Jack, I can already guarantee you're good enough. Don't fear that. Fear not being lucky enough.
I'll get back to this when I get writing again, I'm in the middle of a world building blitz, in a "game world merged with the real world" extravaganza at the moment.
