nichepoetryandprose

As usual, I have lots of writing plans for this year. I find it helpful to set goals at the first of the year (well, at least by March!) and keep track of my progress.

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In setting your own goals, make certain they are realistic. As a rule, goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. For a lesson on setting SMART goals, see the Participaction website here.

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My writing goals this year are 9 in number. This number of goals is realistic for me since I am quite productive. I will plan to report on how well I did at achieving these goals in December.

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1. Continue to introduce my new poetry book ‘meniscus – soundscape and birdsong’ to the world. By mid-summer, I will attend at least six reading and signing events and feature my book in 5 blog posts. The manuscript for this book won the WFNB Alfred G. Bailey Prize for Poetry in 2016 and I have been enjoying the readings and book signings I have done so far. To purchase a copy of this book, go to the Chapel Street Editions webpage here.

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2. A new poetry project – details soon!

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3. Continue to work on my suite of five Urban Mysteries. By the end of the year, I intend to complete the draft of all five books, edit the five, and format them in KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). These adventures are set in cities where I have lived or worked: Halifax, Fredericton and Saint John. They are short books, about 20,000 words each, entitled ‘Urban Green,’ ‘Roundabout,’ ‘Stately Elms,’ ‘City Grotesque,’ and ‘Hollow Hotel.’ Eventually they will be released as a set of novellas.

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4. Meniscus: The Reckoning – By the end of May, I will have completed the editing and formatting for this book and published it on KDP. This book is in final format with all the illustrations complete. I have to incorporate my editor’s comments and paint the cover art before it is published. This will be the last novel of thirteen in the Meniscus Science Fiction Series. In this book, several of the characters introduced in the previous novels take a perilous journey to rescue the leader of the Human Resistance.

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5. A Glimpse of Sickle Moon – By early December, I will review the final proof of this book and publish it with KDP. This poetry manuscript won Third Prize in the WFNB competition for the Alfred G. Bailey Prize for Poetry in 2020. It works through the imagery of each of our four seasons, cycling through 15 years of my life.

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6. A new children’s book (as artist) with a writing friend – details soon!

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7. writing in the dark‘ manuscript : Each month this year, I will workshop 2 poems in my ‘writing in the dark’ manuscript with my two writing groups. The poems are about my encounters with writings on stone in three cultures. Included are poems of my reactions to the stelae of the Maya, the runestones of the Vikings and the pictographs of the First Nations peoples of North America. My editor has commented on the manuscript, and I am in the process of reading and discussing the poems with my two writing groups, Wolf Tree Writers and Fictional Friends.

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8. ‘Meniscus: A Flora‘ – Complete a list of the alien plants featured in my Meniscus Science Fiction Series and check this against the drawings I have done to see if more drawings are needed. This will push forward my work on a manuscript featuring coloured drawings of plants encountered on the planet featured in my science fiction series.

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9. More frequent blog posts! This year I will do four blog posts per month featuring elements of my writing goals. This allows a lot of scope since it will explore my interests in writing, drawing and painting, botany, bird watching and history.

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I am energized and looking forward to my writing life this year. In my next post, I will look a little closer at ‘mnemonic’ and the inclusion of sounds in poetry.

All my best!

Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)