New Year’s Resolutions

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.

Don’t forget to click the link to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.

Happy New Year! Set a goal for yourself and let’s track it through 2026 to see how it’s going.

Happy New Year, everyone.

I have big plans for 2026.

The last time I dared to look in my WIP folder, I had 14 novels in various stages of completion. And there were 8 of what I think will be short stories (you can never really tell) that I’ve started and have yet to finish.

They’re a mixture of sequels, prequels and spin-offs, as well as some new projects. All in all, I’ve written just under 160,000 words of them.

If I can manage 2,500 words a day on them, on top of my normal output, I ought to be able to get a lot of them finished this year.

I’ve set up a spreadsheet to track my progress, which means I must be serious.

I have a secret weapon to assist me in this endeavour, which I asked for and received at Christmas, thanks, Yvonne.

In the past, I’ve tried (unsuccessfully) using my phone, with and without an external microphone, to dictate notes and ideas when I get them. I’ve lost more good stuff that way than I’ve managed to save, which is disheartening.

I’m hoping that a dedicated device will help me capture (and save) the thoughts that I have when I’m out and about. All I should have to do then is transcribe them, expand the themes and tidy the spellings/grammar.

Then there are my plans for the things that I didn’t do last year.

I have a completed novel, My Place, or Yours? which I’m hoping to publish soon.

I never got around to recording all the content I had planned for my YouTube Channel in 2025. I now have over a hundred short stories and flash fiction pieces to recite and turn into video.

Which all feels a little daunting.

Despite my good intentions, I wasn’t very active on Social Media or Substack. My excuse is that, as an introvert, I find marketing exhausting. It’s something I need to get to grips with.

Maybe this year?

Check with me again in a month or so and see how I’ve got on.

What do you think about this week’s subject?

Let me know by leaving me a comment.

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I’ll be back with another post on Thursday, see you then. Meanwhile, have a great week.

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