I don't make New Year's Resolutions. I resolved to once, but then I didn't do it.
Instead, I do more reflection, looking back on the year past to see how far I've come, how much the kids have grown, how many goals I've accomplished. Seeing growth that has happened is often more fulfilling than planning the growth to come.
But looking back on 2020 is like waking up in a cold sweat and trying to remember the horrible nightmare. I don't wanna.
Unfortunately, I don't think we've all "waken up" yet. The nightmare is still happening. Whatever side of the debates you take--and there are many--it seems that the one thing we all agree on is that we are in tumultuous times. I won't say "unprecedented." I think the Black Plague and the Holocaust were far, far worse. But I also think 2021 will be worse than 2020. None of the needles are moving it the right directions...
Still, each New Year brings new beginnings, and so despite my misgivings about what this years holds, and despite my proclivities to shun resolutions, I would like to resolve to publish my first novel this year.
Back in August 2020, I started this site with the announcement that I'm "ready" to publish, which was true. In my inexperience, I believed I was ready. Then I joined a critique group and learned just how far from ready I truly was. But it's been a joyous, if bumpy, ride having my story run through an even finer sieve than friends and family could provide.
Along the way, because I had learned that no one was going to publish a 600-page monstrosity from an unknown author, I ended up splitting my novel into two halves. This created the need to tidy up the ending of the first half and cut out entire sections--and a whole chapter! I have finished the new ending, and each week my critique group tackles another chapter. At this pace, they'll be done in March, and I will submit the text to final and comprehensive editing.
Lord willing, I will have acquired some great cover art by then. When editing is complete, I should have no remaining hurdles, and I will probably self-publish in digital formats and print-on-demand. Maybe a hybrid publisher? Obviously, I would love for a traditional publisher to fall in love with my work and snatch it up, but I am also a realist. I'm not Rowling or Sanderson.
So...I'm excited about 2021. God is sovereign over all, and His plan for this train wreck we've created in our nation/world is greater than anything I could imagine. It's HIS story. He is writing conflict into HIS novel, and I get to be a protagonist in His tale...and hopefully one of the heroes. I also get to be a "sub-creator" and fashion my own tale full of conflict, with heroes who suffer and sacrifice much. I hope to present my story by Summer 2021. And this is a fresh beginning.