Writing goals for 2024 — poetry books, horror novels, and more

I took part in the “2024 Fabulous Future Self Workshop” by Gala Darling back in December (check her out if you haven’t, she’s fabulous!), and I set some lofty goals for the year. I say lofty — some would say crazy! I began with the idea that I should spend 2024 releasing at least some of my backlog of poetry books, while also completing my horror novel series, and then releasing the first chunk of that series in 2025. From there, I broke it down into one poetry book per quarter of this year, and one horror novel per quarter of next.

Like I said, lofty/crazy! 😜 But when I decided to release Poet Iconic, Vol. 1 in 2019, it might surprise you to hear that I put it together in less than 30 days. It’s true that there wasn’t much editing to be done because all of those poems had already been posted on the blog, but it was also my first time turning a manuscript into a finished book, and I did every bit of it myself, including cover design, font choice, the whole shebang.

That experience taught me that Parkinson’s Law really is true (that work expands to fill the time alotted), and that we are capable of so much more than we tend to give ourselves credit for. So if I select some insane milestones for the years ahead, and I fall short, I’ll still be much further along than I would have been otherwise.

Opening up the poetry vault

I’ve been writing poetry since 1995, and I’ve been writing this blog since 2000, though a lot of the archives didn’t make it through the transitions to various blog platforms. I do still have all of it and I may eventually get it all back online where it belongs. If you’re interested in the older archived content, let me know in the comments!

Despite the lengthy blog history, I’ve really only been regularly posting poems here since 2007, so while there’s a considerable chunk of my body of work here to read, there’s so much that has never been shared. I’m not as in love with that older work as I am with my newer stuff (any artists reading this will understand!), but I do still want to put it out there! Looking at it in pop terms, each era is sort of like an album, and it’s a shame for those records to only spin in my own head.

I think I’ve got enough to release four or five books just from my backlog of content, but it’s been years since I’ve done any real work on that, so I opened up my Scrivener software today to see where I left off. To my surprise, I’ve got two of the manuscripts already organized and partially edited. So a nice little head start on that first-quarter goal.

One of my as-yet-untitled poetry manuscripts laid out in Scrivener software.

The big question is, do I release them as is or tweak them to my current standards? I know I’ve already done a bit of editing, and I kind of think it would be best to continue that. I don’t think I’m doing anybody any favors, least of all me, if I release something that I think is not good enough just for the sake of putting out some kind of time capsule of my work. After all, I haven’t even made my mark yet. And isn’t the benefit of this work having not been released that I can still bring it up to its highest potential? I think I answered my own question right there.

Then, once that backlog is out of the way, I’ll be caught up and ready to move on to the current era of books, and keep on moving ahead from there.

Taking my horror novel series off the backburner

I’ve been writing stories since I was very young, but I never wrote one that I felt was as worth putting out there into the world as this horror novel series. The entire concept came to me in a flash many years ago, including the title and cover image, and I’ve been tinkering away with it here and there, adding a chapter, moving things around… It’s been a bit of a backburner thing, mostly because I hit a roadblock with a certain character arc, but inspiration struck a few months back and I made a massive change to the story that opens up a whole world of possibility.

I’m so excited for this story to live and breathe. It really lights me on fire when I work on it or talk about it. I think of it as “pop horror” because it’s fun, scary, and hopefully addictive to read! Growing up, I adored Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High and R. L. Stine’s Fear Street series, never missing a single book, and I’d love for this series to connect with people in the way that those connected with me.

I’m also a huge fan of George A. Romero and the whole Living Dead trilogy (I know it’s more than a trilogy at this point but that core set of three is at the heart of it). I also love what John Russo did with his Return of the Living Dead novel which turned into the movie and yet another trilogy (again, more than a trilogy now, but the same applies here). The original Return of the Living Dead is the closest thing to the vibe I’m going for with this book. It’s not a comedy, but it’s fun, and at times, disturbingly dark. Kind of like my brain! 🤪🧠

Connecting with my readers is what matters most

I wanted to give you all a taste of what’s in store in the coming months, and I hope it all sounds good to you. I’ve got these blog posts set to go straight to the email inboxes of my subscribers for your convenience, and hopefully that new format is working for you too. I used to be concerned with page views but now I just want to connect. If you’ve read this far, you’re exactly the person I’m writing this for, and I appreciate your support so much!

Wishing you a very happy new year! 🥂✨ This time again next week? See you then! 😊