Power, Pages, and Politics

When you think about comparisons for the life of a fiction writer, a political drama isn’t the first thing that springs to mind. We don’t wear suits and ties, we don’t live in luxurious houses, we don’t attend galas and benefits, and we don’t try to get laws passed for the betterment of the state or country.

But there’s still all of the intrigue, mystery, power plays, and sometimes even backstabbing that you’d expect from a political drama.

For some reason I’ve been watching a lot of political dramas. I expect it’s because of my anticipation for the second season of House of Cards. While I usually make my way to the other side of the room or make like Batman when talk of politics comes up, I still find the political world fascinating. The lengths that a politician will go to to get elected or make political waves in their favor astounds me. It’s almost like watching a post-apocalyptic drama where all humanity and sense has gone astray…except for the fact that the body count is much lower in politics…usually.

And then I started thinking. Isn’t a fiction writer’s life, or nearly any writer’s life for that matter, almost like a political drama? We see from our predecessors how high we can go, how much we have to gain and lose, how much influence we can have through our works and the life that we can live as a best-selling author or a prestigious journalist or blogger. Our mouths start to water, our thoughts start to churn, and our fingers start to flick over the keyboard.

Writers and politicians both start at the bottom. In both cases, the people you know can play a part in how quickly you ascend and the future connections that you make. In both cases, you have to play your cards right and strategize in order to get exactly where you want to go. There are sacrifices that must be made, hands both physical and digital that you have to shake, deals to make, and hard times that must be endured.

As the stakes are raised, politicians and writers have to be careful of what they say and the image that they project. Politicians rely on their constituents just as writers rely on their readers as well as their publishers in some cases. Write the wrong book, say the wrong thing, associate yourself with the wrong person and you sacrifice your position in the royal court.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we realize that writers want power, even if it’s just a little. Just like politicians. We want the power to create change in the writing and physical world. The power to change our lives. The power to impact the lives of others. The power to fulfill our potential. There’s an undeniable rush that comes with seeing how far we can go, how far we’re willing to go, and what we’re willing to do and sacrifice in order to reach best-seller or presidential status.

Not all writers and politicians have the best of reputations. Some politicians are seen as nothing more than lying, power-hungry crooks just as some writers are considered little more than layabout dream chasers who need to get a “real job.” At the end of the day, both groups are ambitious and willing to see their ambitions through no matter what. Writers give themselves to their writing and their readers just as politicians give themselves to their constituents and their country.

Who’s searching for fool’s gold? Who’s doing it for the wrong reasons? Who’s truly and fully committed to their cause?

Hm.

In a way, I guess I really am a politician—a politician trying to literally write his own ticket into the Writing White House.

The Shock Factor!

Nudity. Graphic violence. Rape. Sex. Mass killings. Pedophilia. Extremely harsh language. Dark humor.

No, this isn’t a list of my favorite things, just a few examples of what we see in movies, read in books and hear in music. It’s an undeniable fact that the shock factor is a good way to get butts in seats, books off of shelves and music churning through headphones. It’s certainly not unusual to be shocked, appalled, disgusted, and mad as hell at an author, or rather at what an author writes.

But how far is too far?

How much is too much?

And are writers allowed a “get out of jail free” card for the actions of their characters? After all, if their main character is a murderer, the reader shouldn’t be surprised when that character slams a dull pencil into his disabled mother’s eye…right? If one of the characters in a book is a drug addict, then the reader has no right to be upset with that character is willing to give up their body to everyone they pass in a dirty alley in exchange for drugs…right? Neither does the reader have a right to be upset if the author chooses to go into great detail when describing how that character earns their drugs.

Where is the dividing line between sensationalism and true art when it comes to writing? There’s always been a debate about whether or not paintings of nude people is art or pornography, but I want to put the focus on writing.

I remember back in ’09 that I read a book by Samuel R. Delany called “Hogg.” If you know anything about the book, then you know it’s become extremely well known for its depictions of gay sex, incest, murder, and a full laundry list of taboo subjects. I honestly couldn’t make it through the book. It really wasn’t that I couldn’t stomach the content, just that I couldn’t grasp the story. It might be one of those books you have to stick with in order to fully enjoy, but to me it simply got too repetitive. So did Mr. Delany write “Hogg” because he truly had a story in his head, or did he write it to give people and critics something to talk about? Were his book sales dipping and he needed a way to inject some adrenaline back into his career using any unsavory means necessary?

I can’t help but wonder if I were to write the next “50 Shades of Grey” if that would get publishers and agents interested in me. Interested not because of the story, but because of the subject matter and the potential dollar signs. We all know that the publishing industry is a business, and just like any other business money is most often the biggest factor when deciding whether to go left, right or stay in the same position.

I realize that I’ve posed several questions here and I have yet to provide you with a concrete answer as to whether or not I think the shock factor should be justified or vilified. In some cases, I think going for the reader’s throat is a good way to make them aware, get them talking about things that they’d much rather sweep under their tidy societal rug. I also think going after the reader’s throat can at times be a cheap and lazy trick to keep them interested, to move the story along when you’ve run out of ideas. Cheap and lazy, but still effective.

It’s also quite possible that the author had no idea that they were writing material that might be considered shocking. What makes you uncomfortable might not even make them bat an eye, and what they find disgusting you might call everyday life. So it’s only really shocking if you aren’t familiar with it.

What’s the most shocking thing that you’ve ever read and why was it so jarring to you?

Next post: Writing for fans you don’t yet have. Good idea, or waste of time? 

“And Ain’t I A Woman?”: Male Authors Writing From a Female Perspective

I know that it can be hard to be a woman in this day and age, and it can be just as hard for male authors to write female characters. I’m not saying that as a gay and black male writer I’ve got it just as hard as my female friends who also know what it’s like to be treated like a second-class citizen who has no rights, but I always proceed with the utmost level of caution with my female characters.

Take my Furious character Bisset Torres. Bisset is a modern-day black woman who has wings, the ability to heal, and wields a sword that can cut through anything, but she’s only this person during the day. As soon as night falls, Bisset’s other personality, The Dragoness, takes over. The Dragoness believes that there is wisdom to be gained in mental/physical/emotional suffering, can withstand being hit with a missile, breathes emerald fire, and is an all-around bad mammajamma…at least I think so. Even though Bisset is the only female member of The Furies, she’s actually three characters: Bisset, Seraph, and The Dragoness. Through her I get to explore three different female perspectives. Bisset feels a bit like a teenaged girl for the second time who is adjusting to the mental and physical changes she’s experiencing, Seraph is the nurturing mother, and The Dragoness is…well, you’d probably think that she’s just a super-powered bitch until you get to know her.

I don’t set out to make all of my female characters badasses, nor do I set out to make my female characters victims, sex objects, powerless, nurturing, nerdy, gamers, geeks, powerful, angry or anything else. What I do try to make my female characters is genuine. I don’t want my reader to feel as though I’m forcing certain traits on my female characters, nor do I feel that I have to write a female character a certain way just because it’s popular and something that moves books off of the shelves.

Rape and abortion are very much hot button issues right now. I don’t like to shy away from any kind of subject matter as long as it’s relevant to the story, but I don’t want to include a rape or an abortion strictly for the shock value. Readers can tell when writers are going for the throat, and a writer’s female audience might become deeply offended if the attempt isn’t particularly well done. Not to lump all women into one category, but when a woman doesn’t like something, she’ll most definitely find a way to let you and everyone else (like the rest of your readers) know. This isn’t to say that writers (both men and women) shouldn’t let the story have its say, just that the story should have its say in the most conscious and cautious way possible. While there’s nothing wrong with having an opinion, a writer who hopes to become successful has to always keep their audience in mind.

I don’t ask my female friends to tell me what they think of my female characters and if their actions are what a real woman would do. Since I’ve always had more female friends than male friends and I’m in touch with my feminine side (yeah, I said it), I feel like it’s no problem for me to put myself into my female character’s high-heels, combat boots, bare feet or whatever other kind of footwear she might be wearing. Even though it’s easy for me to write female characters, I’m still quite careful to make sure that I’m not subconsciously using my female characters as a response to or a representation of current events. At the end of the story, I feel that what’s most important is that I write human characters.

Have you ever struggled to write characters of the opposite sex? Why or why not?

Next post: The Shock Factor: Does it sell books?

I’m Furious!

Ever since I was little I’ve always been into superheroes. I don’t remember what age I was, but I do remember that I always loved watching the Spider-Man, Batman and X-Men cartoons. I was never a HUGE comic book geek like I am now, but I did at least make an attempt of getting my hands on a few books each month.

When I started writing, I was always focused on the regular story format since I was just getting my feet wet. Comic books and graphic novels have always been something that have come and gone in cycles with me, and it wasn’t until about 2008 that I had the idea of writing something with superheroes in it. I was instantly excited about the idea and started composing a “bible” for the series with character profiles, possible storylines, backstories and the like. The only thing I enjoy more about writing an actual story is planning it out. I remember that at first I wanted to have heroes who were something along the lines of environmentalists who would stop the efforts of oil companies, tree logging and slaughterhouses. Basically they were doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, which is a concept that I’m completely enamored with (this is also the time where I was really in to philosophy and psychology).

This idea didn’t quite have the scope that I wanted my story to have, so back to the writing board I went. Eventually I settled on one idea that really struck a chord with me (which unfortunately I can’t share here since it would spoil the series that I’m working on for it now). This was it. My first novel-length project. It was like trying a drug for the first time and being completely strung out, straight-up jonesed. I had the idea of making each novel into a season like a TV show and each chapter was an episode, which is something that’s become quite common now. (If this sounds like a format that you would enjoy, check out the serial stories on JukePop Serials, something for everyone there) I incorporated my love of music, TV shows and comic books into this project. It was a time in my life that I’ll never forget.

As I got close to the end of my first novel, it occurred to me that Adam Kensie, Bisset Torres, Giorgio Quintero, Leo Kennington, Noir and Detective Perry West had backstories that I HAD to tell. And that’s how my first novel then became the second novel in my planned series…and is now actually the fourth novel in the series.

At first I went with the name Fury Us as a play on words, but now it’s simply Furious. The first season/novel is titled Thus Spoke, from Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The first season is about Adam, Leo, Bisset, Giorgio, and other people around the world having their Alpha-Omega genes activated and gaining superhuman abilities. While everyone has an A-O gene, a person can go their entire life without it activating. There’s no way of telling how, if, or when this particular gene will activate. It could happen the next time you sneeze, the next time you go into REM sleep, when you turn 80, as you’re crossing the street or even when you die. The story is set in Dominion City and it’s in this city that we find Detective West who feels that he is terribly unprepared to protect his city from criminals who can burn through handcuffs, brush off bullets and out-fly or outrun a patrol car going full speed. Noir is a vigilante who believes that all criminals are infected and can never be rehabilitated, so he does the city “a favor” by taking criminals out, even those that have been released from jail or have sought treatment for their mental illnesses. Our vigilante soon discovers that he can copy the abilities of A-Os by injecting their blood into himself, which opens up a whole new world of possibilities for him…mainly new possibilities of mayhem.

The first novel can best be described as a coming-of-a-new-age story where characters who are in their late twenties and early thirties are basically going through puberty for the second time, only this time there’s no biology book to tell them what to expect or what’s normal and what’s not normal. They have to decide for themselves who they are now and how to readjust their lives around their powers in addition to re-imagining themselves into humans first and superpowered Alpha-Omegas later. I feel like/hope fans of the new Battlestar Galactica tv show, the author Charlie Huston, comic book/graphic novels written in prose and fans of contemporary sci-fi and speculative fiction will enjoy it most.

I’ve actually finished the second novel, Ye Mighty, and am in the process of editing it. I’m looking for beta readers for the completed Thus Spoke, so if you’d like to check out the full project send me an email at mercurialnature85@gmail.com. Looking forward to sharing it and hearing feedback!

So what were some of your first writing projects about? Did they become something more or just experiments?

Next Post: “And Ain’t I A Woman?” Writing female characters as a male author

Agent Representation Declaration

The only excuse (not reason) that I can offer for not blogging in two months is that I haven’t really been focusing on writing or blogging, which means that I haven’t been thinking of things to blog about. At one point I was contemplating putting my writing/blogging aside while I focused on getting my financial house in order, but then I figured that was just an excuse, not a reason, to be lazy. A few days ago I actually starting thinking about things to blog about, so I have several posts for the next few weeks and I plan on thinking of more. So, onward The Soliloquy Suites goes once more!

I know at one point I had talked about wanting to self-publish my first novel (which I realize I haven’t actually blogged about yet) but I’ve decided that it might not be a bad idea to keep looking for an agent. I think what turned me off about traditional publishing were are all of the horror stories I’ve heard about massive changes being made to an author’s work that they didn’t approve of, authors having to give up certain privileges and rights with their work and authors having horrible book covers that they hate. It’s possible that I can have a similar experience with traditional publishing.

But it’s also possible that I can have a wonderful experience with traditional publishing.

Since I feel like my novel Furious can also work as a graphic novel, I think it would be wise if I could find an agent who represents both novels and graphic novels/comic books, or at least has connections in the graphic novel/comic book industry. I recently read a blog post from Rachelle Gardner where she wrote about how writers should be open to new and unexpected opportunities and not be so rigid about the path that they take for their career (number 3 on her list). Since I would like to write graphic novel scripts one day, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Furious was introduced to the world in the form of a graphic novel instead of a regular novel like I’d originally planned.

Another reason that I’ve decided to keep looking for an agent is that I know that it will take a while for me to save up money for an editor, cover design, e-book formatting and the like. In the meantime, I could still be sending queries out to agents to at least get an idea of how likely it is that my novel will be something that people gravitate toward. Even though I might get nothing but rejection letters, I can at least know what works with the novel and what doesn’t.

If I’m open and honest with myself and my agent (when/if I get one) about my fears and hesitations with the publishing process I’ll be much better off and will be better prepared to deal with the results, no matter how good or…unfortunate they might be. There are now so many paths to publication a writer can choose, both tested/traditional and untested/unconventional. At the end of the day all that matters is getting your work out there, doing the best that you can, and being happy with the results. I don’t want to waste any more time than I already have trying to decide which road to take when I can take them all at the same time and end up at the same destination.

So what are some of your fears and concerns with self-publishing and traditional publishing? Are you willing to take the risks and accept the consequences with either for the sake of your career?

Next Post: I’ll finally introduce you to my first novel, Furious.

King Con

So this past weekend I attended my second Denver Comic Con. Aside from the absolute insane lines, I had another fantastic time. I actually met J. August Richards from “Angel” and the upcoming “Marvel’s Agents of Shield” and showed him my driver’s license to prove that my last name is Gunn like the character he played on “Angel.” There was also a panel with Greg Weisman, Khary Payton, Christopher Johnson, Phil LaMarr and the indefatigable Dee Bradley Baker, all of whom worked on one of my favorite shows, “Young Justice.” Kelly Hu was also there to share how winning a beauty contest was the most life-changing event that could’ve happened to her. It was really nice to feel all of that energy, passion, excitement and that sense of community with other fans in the audience. I’m not one to spaz out about meeting celebrities or public figures, but there is something to be said about someone who enjoys what they do so intensely and are willing to take time out of their busy schedule to meet with the hundreds and thousands of people who appreciate all that they do.

I left feeling encouraged, inspired, sad (because the con was over) and rejuvenated. While geeks and nerds usually keep to themselves and stay in their shells, we all seem to come alive at events like Comic Con where we’re around our kind and around people who understand why we get so excited about characters who are drawn and come alive on a page or characters we see on our television screens who are involved in lives of fantasy and science fiction. While we know these characters and scenarios are fiction, the devotion and passion that goes into bringing it all to life is something that just resonates with “the true believers.” It made me want to share more about what I’m writing and working on and who I am, especially the Q&A session with Nelson Ellis.

Nelson Ellis is the actor who’s probably best known for playing Lafayette on “True Blood.” During his panel, Nelson was as open and honest as anyone could be, very raw, very real. He told us about how his parents weren’t comfortable with the idea of him playing a gay man, but that he did it despite that. As I sat in the audience watching and laughing with him, it was clear that I was watching a true actor who was just as comfortable fully becoming another character as he was with fully not only becoming himself, but exposing his true self. And exposing his true self to complete strangers.

The entire weekend rekindled something inside of me that I’ve allowed to diminish over the past few months. That sense of being raw and being open with people. I’m already writing out my pains, scars, fears and fantasies through my stories and sharing them with the world, so why shouldn’t I keep doing that with the real me? I might not become a household name anytime soon, but I definitely want to be known as a writer who clearly enjoys his work, hardships and all, and isn’t afraid of sharing the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly with his readers. Besides, who knows where I’ll end up, what I’ll end up writing and who I’ll end up writing it with.

I see now that Comic Con isn’t just a convention, it’s a sort of revival.

Take care out there

 

Comic Book Craze

In honor of Denver’s upcoming Comic Con, I think it would be appropriate for me to do a post about my love of comic books/graphic novels and how it’s influenced my writing and my life.

I don’t recall exactly when it was that I first got into comic books, but I do know that it’s been for quite a long time. I do remember really falling in love with the series “Slingers,” which was about four teenaged superheroes who assume Spider-Man’s alternate identities he had during a time where he wasn’t able to be Spider-Man. One of the members die in the first few issues, but is still a member of the team while another member has a palsied arm that he’s only able to use when he puts on special armor and another member named Prodigy is really only a part-time member of the team. My favorite character was Johnny, who had perfect aim, had Spider-Man’s spider sense and enhanced agility. I think what I really liked about the comic book was that the characters were such misfits and didn’t really fit your idea of what a team of superheroes should be. But like most things fantastic, it was cancelled.

At first I was more of a Marvel fan and really connected with the outcast heroes known as the X-Men. This is also where Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman,  became one of my favorite comic book characters. Growing up I was shy and didn’t talk much, so I always felt invisible. There were also a lot of things that I wish I could’ve kept away from myself mentally, physically and emotionally. I just wanted to put up a barrier, put up a force field like the ones Susan Storm can manifest. I also liked that she was considered to be the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four, that she was a woman and that she was intelligent as well. To this day Susan Storm is still one of my favorite comic book characters.

Now I would consider myself to be more of a DC fan. I guess I can relate to the characters more and feel that the storylines have more meat to them. Not to say that I’ve shunned all things Marvel, just that I’ve been in a DC phase for the past few years.

It really wasn’t until I started writing my first novel that I truly allowed myself the freedom of writing my own comic book in prose form. It’s a novel about superheroes, or at least people with superpowers, so I thought it appropriate that I take some cues from my beloved comic books. While lately I’ve started to realize that my first novel needs to be more of a novel  and less of a comic book, the experience helped me realize that I still would like to write comic books one day and work with artists, letterers, colorists and the like. I have no idea how to get started in the biz, but I am sure that it’s something that I’d like to try.

I’m proud to call myself a comic book nerd and I’m proud to admit to anyone that I’m going to Comic Con…dressed up as Superboy from Young Justice. Comic books helped me open myself up to being passionate about something and not being ashamed of being passionate. I remember after last year’s Comic Con that I went back to “the real world” feeling slightly…not necessarily depressed, but definitely disappointed. It’s like going to the Promised Land but only being able to stay for a few days before going back to life as usual.

So hopefully this weekend’s Comic Con will be even more spectacular. And who knows, maybe I’ll be able to make some professional connections as well like I did last year.

Take care out there

The Writing Dead

I know it’s been months since I’ve updated this blog, and I honestly don’t have any reason other than I haven’t really been writing anything new lately. I wanted this blog to be about my personal perspective on writing, so I didn’t want to bore you with details about my life that are unrelated to writing. But I will say that I’ve been doing more freelance writing to keep up with my lavish lifestyle, a.k.a. pay my taxes and try to handle my finances like the adult that I’m reluctantly becoming.

That’s it, now back to writing.

Since I posted last, I’ve been doing a final revision of Fury Us: Thus Spoke which is coming along quite well. I’ve also recently joined Critique Circle so that I can get some actual feedback on my novel and strengthen my revisions and overall writing. It’s also nice to critique the writing of others because it will help me to read my writing with a more focused eye.

I’ve also made the decision to start off as a self-published writer. While I haven’t been posting on my own blog, I have been reading the blogs of other writers. Mainly Joe Konrath (who often includes insights from bestselling author Barry Eisler), Rachelle Gardner and Anne R. Allen. It’s mainly my man Joe who has opened my eyes to the reality of traditional publishing and how much power authors give up for so little in return. While I’m not saying that I never want to be traditionally published, I am saying that I’d like to have more control over the first few years of my writing career and learn what works for me personally. I want to do a lot with my career, and I might not have the freedom to do everything that I want to do if I’m tied up through a contract.

You can now find me here on Tumblr. I’ll mainly be using it as a place to share some of the creative things I’m into, such as singing, music and of course writing. This blog is more of the professional (at least I hope it’s professional) side of me while Tumblr is more for the creative  side of me. If you use Tumblr I’d love to hear your input about how to get more use out of it as a writer. I don’t know if I’m going overboard with social media, but I figure there’s no harm in testing everything out to see how it fits.

Next up on the writing agenda is to enter more contests and try to get published in magazines and e-zines more in an effort to continue building an audience and my personal brand while also polishing my professional chops. I heard about a website called Readwave where authors share short stories. I figure this is a good place to get feedback while getting a feel for what it will be like for me as a self-published author. I’m actually quite excited about it!

So that’s where I’ve been and where I’m heading. I’ll honestly try to do better about posting more, I think right now I’m just figuring things out about the future of my career, myself and trying to find the balance between it all. Hope you all have been doing well!

Take care out there

“That’s a Wrap, Ladies and Gentlemen!”

SO I’M PRACTICALLY DONE WITH MY SECOND NOVEL!! There are just a few more passages that I have to go back and add, but for the most part it’s complete. I finished it up last night and looked back and couldn’t believe how much I’d written. I guess I was simply determined to stop at a good place. Afterwards I sat and felt…moved. It was like saying goodbye to a guest that frustrated you, made you mad, made you laugh, taught you things about yourself and showed you what you were capable of. Sometimes I feel like writing is simply another way of expressing yourself and other times I feel like it’s about discovering different parts of yourself. But the thing about it is that you don’t know what you’ve discovered until it’s all done and the final emotions and thoughts wash over you.

Creation

          Discovery

                   Accomplishment

                              Joy

                                        Sadness

                                                  Excitement

I’m gonna let it cool for a few days before I jump back in and put the finishing touches on it. Now that that project if FINALLY wrapped up, I can turn my attention to my neglected literary baby, Dark On The Rock. While I’ll still be writing about superheroes, Dark On The Rock doesn’t stick so closely to the rules and circumstances of our reality and I can allow myself more room creatively not to try so hard to make it so realistic.

I read a quote recently that said something along the lines of would I still write if I didn’t make any money from writing or never had my work published/read. I think the answer to that question is an emphatic yes. Although it would be nice to share my work with other people and get paid to do it, I think I’d be just as satisfied knowing that I had written something that changed my life if not anyone else’s. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that there are people in this world who don’t like to or feel that they can’t use their creative abilities or think that they don’t have any creative talent. But then again I’ve been writing since a very young age, so it’s hard for me to imagine myself as a non-creative individual, at least in the sense of artistic creativity.

While I’m both relieved that I finished the novel and sad to leave my character and their world for a while, I am excited about embarking on other adventures. I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

Take care out there.

How do you feel once you’ve finished a writing project? Overjoyed? Relieved? Pensive? Ready to start your next project?

New Year, New Chances

There’s a sense of healing, a sense of redemption and a sense of reflection when we arrive at the beginning and the end of a year. It’s almost like reaching the end of a chapter of a book and pausing for a moment to reflect on what we’ve read up until this point before continuing on. What is it exactly that makes us wait until the end of the year to be the most reflective and to start to change and rearrange the way that we live our lives? Why not do it in the middle of the week, the middle of the month or in the middle of spring? Perhaps there’s something about 365 days of trying our best to stick to a new commitment. Perhaps when the ball drops in Times Square we drop our bad habits and hang-ups along with it. Whatever it is, I say journey onward toward the new year, toward the new you.

This year I plan on being a better me. I know that I’m capable of doing so much more in my life if I simply stop being afraid of what may happen and stop being lazy. If current events have taught us anything, it’s that we don’t know when or how we’ll be snatched away from the grip of life. I don’t want to die knowing that I could have made more of an effort to become published, more of an effort to write more, more of an effort to really explore the ideas buzzing in my head throughout the day. How many great stories and great authors have remained in the shadows of obscurity all because they were afraid to put themselves and their work out there or too lazy to truly apply themselves to their writing? I don’t want that to be said about me, and I don’t want to go to bed thinking that I wasted another day.

This year I want to work on having more of my stories published while continuing to blog and build up an audience. I also plan on continuing my search for an agent even though I’m still on the fence about becoming traditionally published. If my agent can’t get me a book deal, then maybe she or he can at least help me start my career through another medium. I would like to write comic book scripts, TV/movie scripts and video game scripts. Maybe the agent who can’t find me a book publisher will be able to find me a TV show to write for.

I’m almost finished with the final chapter of my novel and I’m ready to devote more time to my serial story Dark on the Rock over at JukePop Serials. I’m really excited about where the story is going. To think it originally started out as just an experiment. Hopefully it will help with my exposure and efforts to build a platform.

I think it’s best if I quantify my goals rather than simply state them. That way I’ll have a bullseye to aim for rather than a target. Hitting a target is easy, but hitting the bullseye requires work. (Feel free to use that quote as long as you credit me. 🙂 ) I’m going to have at least six short stories published and send out ten to 15 query letters to agents. The first draft of my novel will be finished by January 15th and I’m going to devote more time to Dark on the Rock. I also want to do more with my freelance writing. It’s always nice to have a job you like, and even better to have a job that you like and that you’re good at doing.

Alright, another 365-day long journey has begun…well less now that it’s the third, but you know what I mean.

What are your writing goals for 2013 and why do you think it is that most people wait until the new year to make major changes in their lives as opposed to starting the next day/week/month?