Onwards to 2023!

So, I had a few goals for 2022…
~FINISH WPWA BOOK #4
~FINISH WPWA BOOK #5
~START ANOTHER BOOK
~PLOT 1 OR 2 MORE BOOKS
~KINDLE UNLIMITED
~WRITE 120,000 WORDS

Sadly, I met only 2 of those goals; I finished WPWA #4, which was named ‘Saving Declan,’ and I was able to get all my books into Kindle Unlimited.
The medical issues with my adoptive grandfather carried into a good portion of 2022 (including a few week-long stints in the hospital and a 2 month hospital stay at the end of March), and it really zapped a lot of my creative energy. I barely wrote over 50,000 words in 2022, which I think has been my worse year to date.
So, I’m calling 2022 my own ‘annus horribilis’ and taking it as a wash.

That being said, my goals for 2023 are

~FINISH WPWA BOOK #5
I’d say I’m somewhere between 50% and 60% done with this book. According to my notes, I have 7 more pages of plot notes to cover. If I really apply myself, I can probably get this done by the middle of February. When I finish it, Edits will be done the following month, aiming for pushing 'Publish' about 7-10 days after edits are completed.
So, I’m thinking I am going to publish around the end of March.

~START ANOTHER BOOK
This could go two ways. In October, I had a scene just bothering me. I mean, this scene was just SCREAMING at me... and I've always heard if something is SCREAMING at you, don't ignore it! So, with no plot notes or anything, I just started writing.
I am about 2600 words into this scene. I still want to formally plan this, so I don’t end up with some ugly plot holes. I pantsed one of my books and ended up with a GLARING plot hole I needed to fix after I published it.
I will say this scene/book deviates from my normal style of writing. However, I am NOT going to get another pen name for it. I plan to publish it as Daisy Loveless with HEAVY warnings that it’s not like my normal writing.
I also have a set of plot notes completed that have never been printed out, so I have them to fall back on, in case I get stuck in either a plotting file or one of my WIPs.

~PLOT 1 OR 2 MORE BOOKS
I have at least 15 more ideas that are nothing more than a few sentences… just enough to get the gist of the plot… plus a few more bouncing in the noggin. I’m halfway through planning one book (which is going to be the 2nd book in my Country music series) and I want to get at least one more book planned this year.

~WRITE 120,000 WORDS
I only have ‘records’ back to 2020, where I wrote 80,000 words. 2021, I wrote over 115k words. My challenge for 2022 was 120k words, but that never happened.
So, that’s my challenge for 2023… 120,000 words.
It SHOULD average out to 10,000 words a month, but with April, July and November taking 15,000 words each, it knocks the other months down to roughly 8350 words.
Totally doable, as long as I don’t slack off.

I also want to update this blog more, but I don’t want to make it into a full-blown goal, because I may slip up on this one.

I’m signing off for now. How you all have a great 2023!