1.05.2015

2015

Turning the page feels good, and I always look at these first few months of the new year as an opportunity to touch base with some core goals that set the rest of my year up for success. This year, as I head into comprehensive exams at UCF and dissertation work, my goals are a bit different. I have two releases forthcoming in 2015 (a story collection and a novel), but I don't see much happening in the way of new fiction. That's both a little bit sad and kind of exhilarating, as I've never written a book-length work of non-fiction. So my first goal is to dedicate myself to the academic text process, and switching gears takes some practice--on the reading, writing, and thinking fronts. It's just a different creative lifestyle, I think...

I'll be spending much of the next few months writing a prospectus and reaching out to authors in the speculative fiction community. I'm mulling project design and drafting research questions. I'm considering ordering and coherence in the various essays that I'll be putting together. I'm investigating the level to which I want to include visuals and multi-modality (interesting workshop coming up in February on this very subject at UCF).

In terms of personal goals, the girls and I have a bunch of stuff to continue to work on as a family (all of it positive and hopeful). We'll stick with soccer and ballet, and try to play more golf and take more hikes and camping trips. These girls! Man, very fortunate...

I want to train hard for the Gate River Run in March, and I want to chill out on biting my fingernails (criminy, why is that so hard?). I want to excel in these exams and continue to grow in my role in the Converged Communications program at FSCJ.

2015 should be a fine year. As I write this, it feels like an Oregon spring day here in Northeast Florida. The air is crisp and the sun is bright. I'll pick Lyla up from kindergarten in a bit and we'll head out for a hike. I dig it...

Hope it's a banner year for those dropping by. Set some goals and knock 'em down, and keep that optimism throughout the journey...

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