So, this is going to sound a bit strange, but my goal for this year, as a writing, is to train myself at being more efficient.
Now, I know some of you are like, “What are you talking about, Marshall? You put out two books a year, you’re a machine.” And that pace is going to continue, of course.
And while I like the label of, “writing machine”, the machine could be more efficient. I could do better. More to the point, I feel like I need to.
As I’ve mentioned before, I kind of fake being “superfast” with planning and outlining. There’s a long building, planning and germinating process that takes me a long time, and much of that for the Maradaine books was frontloaded well before any of you even heard of me.
So, some of the building, planning and germination for other projects have now reached the point where they’re blooming. Stories that have been just sort of percolating in the back of my head have now starting coming out. Of course, I also have to do other work, work that’s under contract. Work you all are looking forward to. Heck, work I’m excited to finish and get moving on.
For example, this week I wrote several hundred words on two different secondary projects, one of which is Maradaine-tangential, they other is something else entirely. I’ve also finished hand-written edits on a manuscript, and I’m about to start putting those into final edits. So I should be sending a finished manuscript out in a couple weeks. And then I need to start hand-edits on another manuscript. PLUS drafting another new novel.
That’s a lot of creative juggling. I can do it, but right now, it’s clumsy juggling. I can do better. And that’s the goal for next year.
So, I better get to that.