NY’s Resolutions 09
And so another year closes its eyes to rest and be no more. It’s been emotional, 2009. It surely has.
I look at what I wanted to do with 2009 when it first waxed into few. I had a plan to write a lot more, and to marry my gorgeous girl. I look back on 2009 and feel that I have been marginally successful on both points.
The year started with a January full of no work for me (school holidays) and I was home alone while the lady toured Europe with a friend. So I wrote. Every day I woke, I ate, I showered, and I sat in my office for hours on end, barely remembering to take food breaks. The outcome was; I finished my first completed novel early on in the year. But I did not get married.
I quickly started my second novel and it went really well. It only took a few weeks to write, about seven, and I was proud that I did this while also working full time as a casual teacher. I completed that much shorter novel just before myself and the lady’s family went to Europe together for a wedding. The novel was finished but the wedding was not mine.
During my Europe trip of a few weeks I got absolutely no writing done, which kind of sucked, but was kind of relaxing after having blasted out two novels in about half a year. I relaxed and also managed to get engaged, and to my girl no less.
Upon returning I worked on proofing my first two novels but soon started writing a third novel, as inspiration struck me hard. My casual teaching status became a bit more serious as I took a full-time gig at a school for the rest of the year. We also started planning a wedding, which means I was really tired from watching my lady plan the wedding.
Towards the later quadrant of the year, I finished my third novel and also submitted an essay to Ed Brubaker, the writer of the Criminal comic, to see if he would want to use it as back matter for an issue. I honestly never even really expected a reply. Instead, he decided to use the essay in the very next issue, and the wedding plans seemed to be coming along pretty damn well.
By the end of the year, where I sit now, atop the slain bodies of resolutions past, I had three novels completed, two completely proofed and ready for shopping around, a short story that will be shopped to sci-fi genre mags, another essay to shop around, a fourth novel over 10k of words in and a master plan for 2010. I also got married about 3 weeks ago and it was unreal. I expected the day to be formally great, but it was also just flat out awesome in all respects. I got a to catch up with a stack of people, I got to have a few relaxed beers, and I got to swear my undying love to the girl that I undoubtedly will always love. That’s a cool day.
So how can 2010 top it?
See, that’s the thing, it can’t, but it can surely build on it. And so, here are my resolutions for 2010. Enjoy.
- Start to be a writer on a more open scale
Sure, I’ve spent the last year cracking hundreds of thousands of words out in my office, and that’s a great base, but now something needs to happen to those words. I need to start systematically hitting them into agents and publishers in Australia, and when I’ve exhausted all of those possibilities then I need to look overseas, UK and US seem the most likely opportunities. Having a novel is no good if it is not seeing the light of day, and I have been really slack with making this happen so far. I have two novels to push, I have a short and an essay to push, and I have a short film script to push. I also need to check my old short stories and see what fits a genre to be pushed, and then proof this third novel. I love my fourth novel idea, but it might need to take a backseat for the first part of 2010. 2009 saw me finally get published, as an essay in a comic, but now I want more. My writing can’t be that bad, Ed Brubaker used it for crying out loud.
- Be a better husband
I think I’m okay at this game so far, but there’s surely room for improvement. I want to do more for my wife, I want to take her places, tell her I love her in different languages, and make her absolutely happy at every available opportunity. As yet I don’t have a specific plan on how to make this happen, but something will come to me.
- See some better movies
2009 saw me miss all sorts of goodness up on the big screen, like; A Serious Man, Moon, The Wrestler, Inglorious Basterds, do I need to go on? I need to make an effort to see the good stuff as it hits screens, and with a year just starting with The Road and Shutter Island, I know I can make this happen.
I don’t think these three ideas are too much to ask for. I think I can do it, and I am damn sure I will. I set two goals for 2009 and dominated them, so 2010, look out. Here I come and I got a bunch of things to do so keep up with me.
Have a happy new year, and good luck doing some cool things for 2010!
Posted on December 30th, 2009 by ryan
Filed under: life
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