The New Writing Plan: I will offer my creations to the world

Step 4 of the new writing plan is

I will offer my creations to the world in the best way I can find.

This is another tricky one. It brings up the whole self vs. traditional publishing issue, and like most people, I don't know which way is best. It is different for every author, and probably for every book or story.

I will publish "Roomies" on my website. (Done! This is a Defenders of the Covenant short story. Go check it out!)

I will publish my Christmas stories myself. (Look for that this holiday season.)

I will publish Shattered Skies (Defenders #3) myself. (By the end of the summer!)

I will seek professional markets for new short stories. (I just finished one today called Zeke vs. the Dust Devil. A western fantasy. I'm kind of excited about it. Submitting to short fiction markets again kind of feels like going back to the beginning of my writing career. And I'm okay with that.)

I will decide on publishing options for each future project separately.

I will NOT sign a bad contract. (I hate to say it, but I think this means I will not go with any LDS publishers again.)

Overall, I think I will probably stick with self-pubbing. It suits my personality a lot more. But I am not going to ignore the traditional publisher option either. As I said, I'll take it one project at a time.

Apocalypse Panel: The best apocalyptic books and movies

It's time to start thinking about the end of the world again! This month's apocalypse panel question is:

Other than the stories you have written which is the best apocalypse movie or novel?

I don't know about the best, but I can tell you which are my favorites.

My favorite apocalyptic book is one Randy mentioned in his original post. Folk of the Fringe by Orson Scott Card. It's not a novel, really, but a collection of short stories. Stories that moved me in a profound way. Here were my own people dealing with a world-ending situation. I had never seen anything like that before, and obviously, it had a huge influence on my own writing. If you've never read Folk of the Fringe, I highly recommend it!

As far as movies go, I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but I really liked 2012. Despite it's cheesiness and obvious flaws, I really cared about those characters and what happened to them. Somebody did something right in the writing there. Still, I'm glad I didn't fork over money to see it in the theater.

(Please do not confuse this film with 2012: Ice Age. That is another matter entirely!)

If you need a good laugh...

 
Don't forget to check out the answers from the other panelists. Maybe you'll discover some new books to read!

New Writing Plan: I will create wonderful things, joyfully, courageously, and with reckless abandon

 I will create wonderful things, joyfully, courageously, and with reckless abandon.

Well, now we come to the hard part. The part I have been failing at for months on end. The part I'm not sure I can ever achieve again. The part that all the other pieces are trying to lead me to.


I will write stories I would want to read. Stories I feel excited about.

I will let go of my need for worldly rewards. (Where have I heard that before?)

I will set reasonable goals.

I will focus on daily writing, preferably for at least two hours a day.

I will practice believing that it matters. (See this list from Mette Harrison)

I work on knowledge-time-enthusiasm and relaxed-focused-prepared. (See these posts to find out what I mean here.)

I am still not having much success in actually creating anything. But I am trying. Honestly whenever I sit down to write, I am overwhelmed with fear and doubt. I know these things take time, so I will continue to work and to pray so I can get where I want to be.