Hello to all, and a happy 2012!

I’ve got a lot of plans for this year, and I’m encouraged by the response I’ve received so far towards my new plan to focus on writing and editing fantasy and science fiction stories. This will involve a lot of reading and a lot more writing than I’ve done in the past. NaNoWriMo was just the warm-up to what I’m planning this year, although one that was necessary to build my confidence.

In any event, the arrival of World Fantasy Con to Toronto this year has provided much-needed motivation to get my butt in the chair, my fingers on the keyboard, and my nose in my (very new, very shiny) eReader. The sheer variety of eBooks on sale through publisher’s sites, bookstores, and independent distributors will prove to be a very sore trial on my wallet, but all growth requires sacrifice. I’ve given myself a limit of how much money I should spend each month on eBooks and mp3s, so that will (probably, hopefully) help.

This year I’m also going to track what I’m reading more carefully in the past. Goodreads has been a godsend to my reading list, and now that the new year has started, I will be able to get a better sense of how many books I read on average in a month, and how long it takes me to finish a book. I’ve set myself a goal of reading at least 40 books this year – a number I consider doable in light of the writing and WCDR stuff already in the works. No doubt as the year progresses my “to be read” list will grow longer and longer – but, knowing other readers and writers, that’s to be expected.

Overall, I’m optimistic. Will the stories I plan to write shatter the world with their loveliness and precise prose? Probably not. Will I win any contests or awards? Who knows, maybe if I’m lucky some will. I’ve heard it said that a writer has to write 1,000,000 words of crap before they write anything good. My hope this year is to write around 250,000 words, so if I manage to write anything worthwhile, I’ll be ahead of schedule. Maybe you’ll follow me as I walk down this new path, and maybe not. But at least I’m finally doing so after years of fear and mental hibernation.