One thing I did last year with my writing community was implement a planning session at the beginning of the year, with a six-month check-in midway through the year. We talked about what was coming up during the year, what we wanted to achieve, what might derail us, and strategies for making the most of the year.
For me, that worked very well, and it’s helped even more to add “Motivation Monday” sessions to my school, a weekly online session where we talk about what’s coming up that week and what problems we’re facing as well as share coping strategies and productivity hints. This year I’m doing it again, with quarterly check-ins, because it worked. I realized I got a LOT done last year once I sat down and listed it all. Looking back at the list of what I accomplished, I feel a lot less guilty about the times I just goofed off and played Stardew Valley or Baldur’s Gate 3.
Want to try this for yourself? Here’s the questions I’m asking people to think about this year, along with my answers to each one. (If you are interested in joining us for the planning or motivation sessions, here’s details about the Patreon campaign.)
2024 Review (Don’t worry if a question isn’t applicable! I’ve been thorough and used the list I use)
What did you get accomplished in 2024 and how do you track these things?
I had a new book, RUMOR HAS IT published in hardback (recommended by Bookish, Gizmodo, Publisher’s Weekly, Reactor) and my book DEVIL’S GUN appear in trade paperback, finished two books (SAHALAH and WINGS OF TABAT), taught a bunch of classes, traveled to Orlando, Savannah, Atlanta, New York City, Bellingham, Indianapolis, Surrey, B.C.and Chicago. Wrote three stories and published four.
I track stuff mainly through my big schedule spreadsheet and Scrivener, but I did also track my reading and movies I watched in a blog post. It’s not the end of the year yet, but I have read close to 200 books this year, and in looking at it, I’m pleased to see I read fairly diversely as well.
What did you write in fiction?
Two novels and three stories
What did you write in nonfiction?
An on-demand class (Eating Your Words), some Medium articles (Writing Speculative Stories, What’s Up with the Hugo Awards This Year, and Thoughts on F&SF Awards, Being Desired at Sixty, Solo in the Theater, Thoughts on Recent News of Neil Gaiman, and What Is Cozy Fantasy: Definition and Suggested Reading) and some blog posts, including I am Cat Rambo and This is What I Believe.
Interviews included author spotlight for Lightspeed by Alex Puncekar, a blog post for Jennifer Brozek, an interview with C.M. Caplan, an interview with Nora Peavey, talking with Paul Semel about RUMOR HAS IT as well as DEVIL’S GUN, and the Walter Day Trading Card site and a birthday write-up on File770.
What other art did you make?
I decorated a guest room and drew some cartoons, inspired by Lynda Barry’s book on cartooning.
What did you edit?
I edited four novels for Arc Manor, including ones by Yaroslav Barsukov, Randee Dawn and Ben Bova. I edited a bunch of stuff for private clients, including three novels and a number of short stories.
What appearances did you make, virtual and live?
What publications appeared?/What sales did you make?
What other things were notable?
Of the accomplishments of 2024, what are the top 3-5 that you had?
Finishing not one but TWO books!
Co-ran a writing workshop that was SPLENDID
Witnessed a total eclipse
Ran the craft book and short story discussion groups, as well as an assortment of other Rambo Academy events that enriched my writing.
What are 1-3 of the worst writing-related disappointments?
Mainly I didn’t get some short stories in to various anthology calls. I also have a story that has been sitting in limbo for FOREVER and I’d really like to see it come out. I also want to do another collection, but that requires me getting my butt in gear and sorting through all the recent stories.
What did you do in 2024 that had the most positive impact on your life?
I started being serious about taking Tuesday and Thursday off since most weekends I teach and/or write. I can write on those days if I want to, but I don’t have to do paperwork, teaching stuff, or Patreon things. Often I go to see a matinee, which resulted in seeing a lot of movies I wouldn’t have normally seen. This really recharges me and keeps days from blurring together.
2025 Planning:
What are 3-5 things you want to accomplish overall in 2025?
What’s one thing you’d like to successfully incorporate into your work routine?
I would like to be better with my to-do list.
How do you want to refine or improve your tracking system?
I’d like to keep some electronic notebook where I put down what I get done each day.
What’s one pleasure that you don’t have enough time for? Can you use it to reward yourself for hitting goals?
I really love rock-hunting, and driving up to Michigan to find fossils on the shore is one of my favorite things. I’m going to schedule a monthly trip to do so that will be my reward for monthly goals.
What three things are likely to derail you in 2025? How can you plan to diminish their impact?
I am a programming lead for WorldCon, and that will eat up some time. I’m trying to stay on top of items right now and also not plan anything else for August.
Doing the dev edits for WINGS OF TABAT, although I hope that will be an easy task. Turning them around quickly rather than procrastinating would be good.
Doing the marketing for the release of WINGS OF TABAT. Since it’s the last book in the series, I’d like to pull out all the stops. That requires being organized and doing a lot of planning beforehand.
What’s going to bring you hope in 2025?
My community – friends, family, students, mentees, fellow writers. That’s what keeps me going.
What are you looking forward to in 2025?
Writing my current projects, which I’m stoked about. An upcoming trip to the Barbados. Chances to visit good friends and spend time with family. Having WINGS OF TABAT come out and marketing it. Being Guest of Honor at Confluence. WorldCon in Seattle. Seeing if those yellow rose bushes bloom this year and getting a chance to sit out in the yard and watch fireflies appear in the evening. Seeing what happens with the fantasy novel I just turned in to my agent (*fingers crossed*). Continuing to live a happy and productive life that gives back to the world.
What’s going to be your theme song/ slogan /image to keep you going in 2025?
I am still thinking about this one.
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When I first buckled down to seriously try writing after graduating from college, I dreamed of crafting epic fantasy similar to books by George R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie. Their works were breaths of fresh air. Unlike the novels of Tolkien or Robert Jordan, these authors eschewed the black-and-white worldview of good versus evil for shades of gray. I wanted to write just like them.
Of course, I eventually discovered that there’s a reason Martin and Abercrombie are best-selling authors, and Martin takes many years between books. What they do is really, really hard.
Discovering that writing epic fantasy is a monumental task was the first step in finding my authorial voice. My critique group told me that my writing was more suited to a young adult audience. At first, I was dismissive of this observation, but I came around when I started reading more young adult fantasy and science fiction. I soon appreciated these books possess an intoxicating sense of adventure and discovery.
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I knew I needed to become a writer after reading Frank Herbert’s Dune. I must’ve been about eleven years old at the time. I didn’t have an inkling about writing a rough draft, let alone the laborious editing process required to craft a decent manuscript. But I was captivated by how Mr. Herbert spun such a fascinating and realistic world of sci-fi splendor and swashbuckling adventure in such a slender volume. If you discount the appendices, Dune is well under 500 pages. To this day, I’m hard-pressed to think of another author who created such an enthralling and believable world with so few words.
Frank Herbert isn’t the only author I owe a debt of gratitude. My novel Dragons Walk Among Us is a young adult urban fantasy written in first person present tense. I never would have considered such an undertaking when I first found the stick-to-it-iveness to sit down and crank out words. That was before I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I admit I found the style a bit off-putting initially, but I quickly warmed up to the immediacy the technique gives Katniss Everdeen’s adventure. When I first started writing in first person present tense, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I feared I’d find the first person narrative limiting and the present tense aspect hokey. Not the case at all. Turns out, it’s a heck of a lot of fun.  If it wasn’t for Suzanne Collins’ example, I never would have even considered experimenting with the technique.
Two themes that play essential roles in Dragons Walk Among Us are being an outsider and questioning one’s perception. The works of Fonda Lee and Rachel Hartman helped me solidify my thoughts on these themes. In Hartman’s Seraphina series and Lee’s EXO series, the protagonists are pariahs who end up questioning the social order of their respective worlds. In Dragons Walk Among Us, Allison Lee, the protagonist, is a member of a minority. She often feels she is an outsider and, after being blinded, questions reality, even her sanity. The protagonists’ character arcs in Seraphina and EXO gave me insight into how to elucidate these themes in a manner that I think resonates with readers. Of course, Rachel Hartman’s books include dragons, and just about any book containing dragons is inspirational.
Lastly, I drew inspiration from observing my son’s experiences, who is biracial. Not being a minority myself, I can’t claim to have ever experienced racism. My son, however, has experienced it. He was upset and pensive over the incident but has since moved on. His experience had a profound impact on me. I was already aware of the racial tension permeating the United States, but having my child brush up against the ugly beast of racism brought the issue to my doorstep. I fear the fault lines of bigotry and bias run deeper and wider than many people care to admit. One example is the anti-Asian sentiment emerging in the wake of the pandemic. All this is to say, some of Allison Lee’s experiences are loosely based on my observations of my son’s experiences. I can honestly say, I don’t think Allison’s story would be authentic without my son providing some inspiration.
BIO: Dan Rice has wanted to write novels since first reading Frank Herbert’s Dune at the age of eleven. A native of the Pacific Northwest, he often goes hiking with his family through mist-shrouded forests and along alpine trails with expansive views.
If you’re an author or other fantasy and science fiction creative, and want to do a guest blog post, please check out the guest blog post guidelines. Or if you’re looking for community from other F&SF writers, sign up for the Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers Critclub!
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Want access to a lively community of writers and readers, free writing classes, co-working sessions, special speakers, weekly writing games, random pictures and MORE for as little as $2? Check out Cat’s Patreon campaign.
"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
(science fiction, flash fiction) When Bjorn and his fellows were selected to supply context for the alien overlords who kept insisting they were just there for the Earth’s own protection, he’d expected something different.
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