Update: January 2021

For a year that really felt like it would never end, I'm glad to have made it through 2020 with my sanity still (mostly) intact.

To End the Year

I finished the first rough of my dark fantasy WIP, so now I have three manuscripts burning a hole in my pocket, which means I've really gotta get on editing those and getting them nice and polished.

I've started working on a third volume of poems as well, but that's still very early on. I still have lots of further tweaking and editing to do with the first two volumes I want to release in 2021. I have the high ambition to get this third volume out by the end of the year too (it won't happen, but we can hope).

Other than writing, we limp through into the New Year in another lockdown in my province from COVID-19, so I've been out of work and still focusing on trying not to go insane while finished up my fourth semester of schooling.

Resolutions

The year 2021 comes with many hopes, like a return to normalcy from the pandemic and lockdowns that shuttered 2020 into the mess that it became. For me, however, my 2021 resolution is my bi-yearly commitment to restructuring my health and "getting healthy" again. I did it in 2019, so I'm doing it again in 2021, obviously.

My last year's resolution was to begin writing more, and having written three manuscripts last year, I'd say that the resolution was a success.

While resolutions may seem silly to some, I think there's something to be said about the idea of a nice clean break and fresh start with a new year dawning.

Me in 2021

In 2021, I'll be likely leaving the kitchen—maybe for good. I'm looking forward to starting a job in taxes and getting out of the physical exhaustion that comes with trying to work 40+ hours in a kitchen while balancing my life outside of it. The lockdowns have been a lengthy break and has given me a lot of time to figure out where I want to be by the end of 2021.

I'll also be officially working towards a bachelor's degree and then toward a professional designation. Obviously, being able to have a decently well-paying job will allow me more freedom to pursue my passions as well. It'll be an exciting year regardless.

Writing Plans in 2021

This next year will (hopefully) be a big one for me. In terms of publishing plans, I have three novels and two volumes of poetry that I want to push out this year, which I know is ambitious of me, but nobody got anywhere by not having lofty goals.

Novels:

The Ones Who Went and Never Came Back will be first up in the spring (I hope).

Little Midnight in the summertime.

Untitled Dark Fantasy in the late fall. It will officially have a title by then too.

Poems:

circles vol 1. in the spring

the unpublished poetry of maggie matthews in the summertime, alongside Little Midnight

Beyond these publishing plans, I'm also going to be starting to write a post-apocalypse, sci-fi story and a sort of suspense drama type of story. Those are the two most prominent ideas in my head as we roll into 2021.

The Blog: What's Next?

I've been really quiet of blog posts lately because I've been pretty caught up in burnout and trying to focus on schooling and finishing that dark fantasy WIP, but!!! I am going to get back into blogging.

I'm planning an etymology series, starting once a month for now, where I examine like-words and the etymology of each of them. I'm doing my first one on virus names, since the COVID-19 pandemic, obviously. Hopefully I can get back into doing more than just update posts every month.

I also wanna try to do at least one book review every month, but don't hold me to that.

Anyway! Happy new year! May 2021 bring you lots of happiness.

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Word Goal: 10,000 words.

Writing Total from December: 14,894 words.

Next Month's Word Goal: 10,000 words.

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See you next time.

Have a good wander, friend.

— d.i.richardson