Things That Loom and Goals That Adjust

 
I’ve been busy lately with a number of Looming Things.
 
The biggest, and most looming, is a major update of The Journal (AKA, the software product that pays my bills). I’ve been working somewhat feverishly on The Journal with an eye to getting this update out the door before the end of summer, and I’m somewhat surprised to see it’s working. The update is in testing now, and should be available before the middle of summer. Getting this done will free up a lot of time. A good chunk of which will then be devoted to the next iteration of the product, because the bills must be paid, though in a far less intense manner. At least at first.
 
Next up is the looming release of my next novel, New Fairy Moon, which is the tween novel I have been calling GoSH1. The print-on-demand elements are just about complete (interior and cover), and I built the base ebook document yesterday.
 
Finally, the uncompleted manuscript of Gunwitch2 is beginning to loom over me and poke at me to remind me that I need to get that finished. Because I need to start work on GoSH2, and because I cannot possibly publish Gunwitch2 until I have a least a first draft.
 
So, what are these goals that are adjusting? First, and most obvious, is that I won’t be finishing 4 novels this year. My new goal for this year, and for the next couple years, is to complete 2 novels each year. At present, I would guess those novels will have project names starting with GoSH- and Gunwitch-, but I might have new ideas between now and then and feel the urge to chase the occasional wild hare.
 
The primary reason for this adjustment in goals is that I will also be working on The Journal over that time period. Besides the current update, I have mapped out several significant new updates/directions that leverage the existing product and target new platforms.
 
Over the past year, I’ve come to a better understanding of myself. I’m a programmer at least as much as I’m a writer, so I best be making accommodations on both sides of that divide. Even if I suddenly became wildly successful with one aspect of my life, I wouldn’t abandon the other. There would be changes, sure, but who I am would still be the same. The specifics might change, but I would still need to write, and I would still need to program.
 
And, because summer is also looming, I expect I’ll start taking pictures again too. Because I need to do that too. Just not as much.
 
-David
 
Related Posts:
The Approaching End – My Goals and Deadlines for 2012Re-ToolingMy 2010 Writing Goals