Punching letters (See ya 2010)

Everyone's doing a year in review retrospect kind of post in their blogs. I've got a lot of things rattling about up in this old noggin of mine so here goes...

Where should I start?

It's been a fast, dizzying ride around this obstacle course of a year. You know what it feels like?
It feels like I've dodged some bullets and maneuvered through treacherous roads: falling boulders, sharp turns alongside cliffs (and you know how much I hate heights - It's not so much the actual fall, it's the abrupt stop at the end that gets you).

Had I known the trip was going to resemble a stunt in one of those box-office action-adventure hits of the summer then I would've suited up appropriately, maybe even packed up some provisions.

But life just don't play it that way - no heads up, no memos, no reminders, no forewarning, no tips, not even a friendly reminder to buckle up. Just BOOM!  Before you know it, I'm engaged in what seems like a high velocity chase: steering past people, places, and scenarios. THAT'S the kind of pace I've had for most of 2010.

It's always nice to see how far you've gone since the beginning of the year. Where you stumbled. Where you failed. Where you outperformed even your own expectations. If you're gonna do an end-of-year flashback, get the good and the bad in there.  It's always good to reflect - a way of tracking your progress, to see where you need to improve on. I'm all for that.

The good.
I can honestly say that 2010 has been my most productive year writing. Ever. I've written a lot of short stories, started a couple of novellas/novels (which are still in progress), have a couple more ideas for books/comics/screenplay waiting in the wings, jumped in and messed around with a lot of new media just to get a feel for what works for me and what doesn't. Even started a second site that's closing in on its 100th post.

The bad.
I've started a lot of things that I didn't follow through on. My reasons for dropping it? It varies, really. It either didn't feel right, took too much of my time to produce, just wasn't fun anymore, or didn't have the potential for profit. So I trashed it.

The ugly.
Too much fucking drama. Just a lot of distractions. Personal and professional. A lot of it was beyond my control. Anybody that knows me well, knows that I despise that kind of thing. Who needs that shit? It goes against my grain.

In summation:
It was a rocky year but my accomplishments far outweighed anything negative that happened. What about you?

So what now?
Full speed ahead baby!!! I prefer to plan ahead and look forward to things to come. Take steps to get the ball rolling. No resolutions. Those things are bound to get broken, compromised, even forgotten.  You know it. I know it. Yet people continue to make 'em.

How about setting goals instead? Start with smaller, actionable, easy to achieve ones that build your confidence so you can crush the larger ones.

Make it a year with less distractions and more focus.
More action and less excuses.
More confidence and less doubt.
More storytelling. More interaction.

Whatever it takes right? Whatever our goals may be. Since this, for the most part, is a site to chronicle my (mis)adventures in writing and making money off it, then I'm primarily addressing all of us who sit alone and spend an unhealthy amount of time sitting on our asses and staring at a screen, punching letters and hoping that the story unfolds the way we see it in our heads.

I've roughly written out an editorial calendar of sorts for my writing. Specific dates for specific works. Looking at it right now looks like an impossible task especially since I'm going back to school. But I work well under pressure. At the end of 2011 even if I come up short with these self-imposed deadlines, I still win. 

As with any creative endeavor, it starts out with an idea. Then you break down how to get from point A to point B. Then you just do it.

Here's to 2011.

Let's make more signal and less noise.

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