Dear Me 2026

 Last week I looked at how I did with my 2025 goals, so this week, it's time to write myself a letter outlining the things I hope to achieve in 2026.  So, here goes.

Dear Me,

I did a lot of writing in 2025.  Far more than I expected to.  I wrote a couple hundred pieces of flash fiction (one most days) and also started and completed a new novel.  Even after a few weeks' break, I'm feeling creatively limber and ready to keep writing in 2026.  I haven't quite got back into the swing of the daily flash fiction yet, but I hope to manage that at least five days a week.  It's such a good way to keep that writing muscle in shape when I'm not actively working on a project.  It also really stretches me because I use the Writers' Cramp prompts for these flash fiction pieces and they're often not the kinds of thing I'd usually explore on my own. 

My portfolio on WDC is too full for me to add any more stories, so I've been deleting old stuff to make way for new stuff, but a lot of those stories exist only on the site, so I'm planning to spend a day or two downloading all the old stories into a laptop folder so I can work on them and maybe submit the better ones to publications.  Most of my flash fiction was written in 30 minutes or less, so it needs some tidying up, and often the endings are somewhat rushed because I realize I'm running out of words and need to finish.  But a few of them are really quite good and I should do something more with them.

I finished the novel I'm tentatively calling Street Smarts late last year.  It didn't exactly turn out the way I expected it to and I'm not 100% sure it works the way I've written it.  It's out with my critique group at the moment and so far they've been, maybe not enjoying it because it's not actually that enjoyable, but appreciating it.  I mean, calling it not enjoyable is probably not the right way of talking about it, but the subject matter is tough.  One of my crit group couldn't take it and has only read the last section. I know I will need to do some more work on this one, but I'm going to need that feedback before I can move forward.  I think I may also need to do some thinking about whether I want to try and sell this as YA or not because it's even grittier and darker than my usual stuff.  And my work is always gritty and dark...

I will continue querying A Stranger to Kindness even though it is beginning to feel a little futile.  I just feel so strongly about this story and these characters. I re-read the book over the holidays and it is definitely the best book I've written.  Yeah, I'm probably a little biased, but I really enjoyed reading it as a reader, not as an author, and I think there are other people out there who will enjoy it too.  I understand that it's a tough sell with a 15-year-old boy narrator and no real romantic subplot to speak of, but I know there are readers out there who would welcome a story about relationships without them being romantic.  So, I'll dig my heels into those query trenches and hope for a few more full manuscript requests.  I thought having previously had an agent was supposed to make it easier to find a new one, but that does not seem to be the case at all.

Weirdly, I don't have any new novel ideas clamoring to be told right now.  There are a couple of things brewing at the back of my brain, but they're not ready to be written yet.  So, I'll wait.  I know a new idea will come.  They always do.  Usually at a time I'm not really in a position to be able to write them.

Outside of writing, I'm still teaching at the gym so keeping fit is a must.  While the weather is good I plan to cycle to work every day too.  It's been so windy here the last few months it's been  kind of a challenge, and the wind is even more crazy today.

I still have a lot to learn at my new job and it's going to be a very busy year.  My goal is to try and get everything done at least two weeks before any deadline so I have time and space to check things properly before they get put in place.  There are so many elements to the system we use, it's easy to think things are working as planned only to discover something wrong a little way down the track.  And sometimes they're not easy to fix...

My word of the year is "yes" and my goal is to say yes to everything unless there's a really compelling reason to say no. And I mean, a really good reason.  Not just because going home and curling up on the couch feels like a nice idea.

I think I've finally broken my lifetime nail biting habit, so my goal this year is to keep them looking good.  I'm not great at filing them so they keep a consistent shape, so I need to work on that.  I think they'll be a lot less tempting to bite f they're all nicely smooth and even.

And finally, I plan to keep going to the movies and supporting the cinema business.  Streaming has really messed with the business and if we're going to keep having the opportunity to go to movies, we need to support cinemas by going.  After spending the bulk of my career working in movie theaters, this is something I feel very strongly about.  I do watch movies on streaming platforms, but the experience is not the same as sitting in the dark with a bunch of strangers and sharing something.  I'd hate to see that experience disappear.

I think that's all my goals for now.  What do you hope to do in 2026?