It’s January 31st, 2016. This post is coming to you via scheduler, as I will be attending PAX South this weekend and having no cares in the world for the craft of writing! Time to get my game on.

*Ahem* A month gone and what do I have to show for it? Let’s find out!

The goals I hoped to achieve this week are as follows:

1. Maintain blog. – Completed.
2. Complete Line Edits on Shapes 1 – 25% complete.
3. Another round of edits on Shibboleth and Damp Summer Nights, the short stories I’ve been tinkering with – Completed.
4. Begin looking at cover artists for Shapes 1 – Not started.

So as you can see, the big ticket item I was hoping to complete, Line Edits, barely scraped the 1/4 mark. The short story editing has been more time-consuming and attention-grabbing than I was expecting, but Damp Summer Nights is a tough cookie to crumble. I will likely do just one more round of edits on these short stories before I begin preparing to submit them for publication next month.

Next week I have an additional task on tap, that of helping a friend get organized and push her forward on her own writing goals. This will be a weekly occurrence going forward, but as it requires outside influence (she has to be producing for me to do my part to any appreciable degree) I am considering it a soft goal for the year.

So in the next week I once again hope to complete Line Edits on Shapes 1, do one last round of editing on the short stories, begin the cover artist search, mentor my friend, maintain the blog, write the first part of Shapes 2 with intent to post it the second week of February, and submit one or both of the short stories for publication consideration.

That’s a hefty docket and I kind of doubt I will get to everything. I think I will be overloading myself every week, because not getting it all done doesn’t feel as bad when I know I’m pushing myself as hard as I can and still maintain the other aspects of my life.

As another soft goal, I offered critiques for two people and entered an extended discussion with one of them regarding their new novel, and both of those were rather constructive for both parties involved.

Here’s the breakdown for the year:

1. Edit the three novels and two novellas from last year.
– Gridfall (novel)
– Triple T (novella)
– Shapeshifter (novella) FIRST PASS COMPLETE – LINE EDITS 25%
– Avalon Circle (novel)
– Savage Duty (novel)
2. Self-publish one of the novels and both novellas.
– Triple T
– Shapes 1 – AIMING FOR FEBRUARY 2016 RELEASE
– Savage Duty
3. Submit other two novels for regular publishing consideration.
– Gridfall
– Avalon Circle
4. Continue a weekly Editorial and Update schedule on the blog for this year’s challenge.
– Four Weeks Successful
5. Get started back up on a weekly novel or novella posting on the blog.
– Shapes 2 to begin writing first week of February.
6. Submit a short story a month.
– Two in January. Two more for February planned.
7. Write at least one short/flash story a month.
– January Story Complete! Thinking about short stories this coming week with intent to write one perhaps the second week of February.
8. Write the next part of the Shapeshifter novella series.
– See Number 5.
9. Write the first novel of the new trilogy in the Shades series.
– Not begun.
10. Transcribe the partially-completed coming-of-age fantasy story that only exists in notebooks. Finish the novel.
– Not begun.

That’s it for this update!

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As always, follow me on Facebook and Twitter with #breakingauthor. Keep on striving for those goals.

And always remember to write the hell on!