Dreams for 2024
So 2024 has arrived!
I like to take a moment near the start of every year to look back at where I’ve been over the past year. What goals did I have? What dreams did I make? And where did God take me throughout the year?
And then I like to look forward a little bit and make some new dreams.
So, to start off, let’s look at last year’s dreams….
2023’s Adventures
Writing
The plan:
Publish Three Novels -
That… was slightly more ambitious than I probably ought to have been. But I did manage to publish both The Orb and the Airship and Steal the Morrow, and Mantles of Oak and Iron will be releasing this coming Friday… so… I’m going to consider this one a smashing success anyway.
More Intentional Marketing -
I’d have to say that again, I managed to hit this goal out of the park. From running a successful Kickstarter campaign to help fund all 5 Turrim Archive books, to getting a #1 New Release banner on all three of my latest books, to building up some solid launch team excitement, to joining a really epic author newsletter swap… I actually managed to grow my audience a bit and send out a few ripples in my tiny corner of the pond.
Line Edits On Turrim Books 3-5 Finished -
This… I’m not sure exactly where to put this on my list, but no… I did not manage to get this far ahead of schedule. Everything always takes longer than I expect. Obviously, books 1-2 are finished, as well as Steal the Morrow. I made it through the line edits on book 3, and developmental edits are done on book 4. I still have a lot of work to do on book 5… but it’s coming along.
Draft Something New -
I did not draft a whole book, but I did get 18,000 words written on the sequel to An Echo of the Fae, and I plan to continue working on that this month.
Reading
I planned to read 25 books last year. I read 82.
Blogging/Social Media
I hoped to blog about once a week and participate in the Silmaril Awards again, and I think I managed to keep up with that goal. Maybe not as consistently or as well as I hoped, but I did what I could.
Life-ing
I wrote last year that I wanted to be more flexible, more present, and take life as it came. I wanted to enjoy life and do things I enjoy with the people I enjoy being around the most.
I’m not sure how to quantify whether or not I succeeded. Life still seemed to rush by at a break-neck pace. I still spent a lot of time feeling like I was rushing around rather than really taking it in. But there were also wonderful moments and beautiful memories made. I got some good time with family. I had adventures. I spent quality time with my kids and people I love.
Adventuring into 2024
Life-ing
I’m putting this first, because, y’all… I am first and foremost, a wife and a mother.
I don’t have a lot of new goals for this year. I really enjoyed trying to focus on being present in each moment last year. I didn’t always succeed, but I think it was a worthy dream, and one I need to keep at the forefront of my plans. My kiddos are getting bigger and they just continue to grow into such awesome people and they are so very much fun, and I really love spending time with them and being their mom. I am excited about all the adventures we are going to have this year! We’ve got some epic ones planned… but I’ll talk about those more in another post.
Writing/Authoring
I plan to publish the next two books in the Turrim Archive this year.
Mantles of Oak and Iron in a few days here and Hearts of Stone and Steel in June or July.
I will also need to work through the line edits on of book 4: The Prisoner and the Pirate, as well as the content edits on book 5: Towers of Might and Memory
I also want to finish the rough draft of Jana of Sea and Summer, which is the sequel to An Echo of the Fae.
I also plan to attend Realm Makers this year! So excited about that!
Blogging/Social Media
I actually want to step back from the blog and social media a little bit this year. I know, I know, I’ve been stepping back a bit from the blog every year, and no, I’m not going to suddenly stop blogging all together, but these posts take a lot of time and energy and I need some margin back in my life. I want to focus more of my efforts around the release dates of my books and spend more time writing actual books. I’m not sure what the blog/social media will look like this year, but it might be a little quieter in general.
Reading
I will continue to read as much as time allows. As I’ve managed over 80 books for the last 4 years in a row now, I’ve actually set my Goodreads challenge up at 75 books for this coming year. I’d love to make a dent in the paper books that are on my physical shelves that I haven’t yet read, as well as the couple-hundred books waiting unread on my kindle, but I know that shiny new books will come out between now and the end of the year and I will heed their siren song if the mood hits me.
A Word for 2024
Last year, my word was “Adventure.”
And I’d say that we definitely had plenty of those.
But as the year started to wind down to a close, a new word kind of came in and took its place… fear.
Fear is not a good word to live in step with.
But somewhere in the second half of the year, our family really became marked by a lot of fear. My daughter struggled with shin splints and ankle problems during her freshman cross-country season and spent a lot of time afraid that her season would get cut short by injury. My son spent a lot of time struggling against fears of people leaving and never coming back. I spent a lot of time afraid that I was failing as a homeschooler, an author, a wife, and a mother. I also dealt with a lot of fear regarding falling behind in a variety of things, of letting something slip and not being able to catch up. And then there were some even bigger, scarier fears that hit right near the end of the year.
God was faithful to walk through all of these trials with us. He continued to hold us all together. And through it all, the Holy Spirit began to whisper, “Courage, dear heart” into my spirit.
I don’t always pick a “word” for the year. I think the idea is kind of cool, but I also know that in the years I’ve picked a word, I’ve generally forgotten all about it by February 1st. grin
But this year, I feel like the Holy Spirit picked one for me. And He didn’t give it to me on January first. He handed it to me in late September, and it’s still resounding in my heart.
COURAGE
I hope that there aren’t a bunch of scary things coming that I will need to have courage through. It would be nice if those scary things that shook me this past year are behind us. But I do know that walking in the shadow of fear is no fun. I did that for far too long these past few months. So whatever 2024 brings, I am going to cling to the hand of Jesus and face it with the courage that He lends me.
Even if it’s just everyday courage to get out of bed and face the day and make breakfast and teach my kids and go about our daily routine… I’ve been realizing lately that there’s a certain amount of courage required even to face the simple, everyday things. There is a courage required to push past weariness, to get up from being overwhelmed, to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Courage isn’t always found in facing big, scary fears. Sometimes it’s simply found one step at a time, in people doing everyday things: like calling the dentist to set up an appointment, or taking the car in for an oil change, or taking a chance and smiling at a stranger, or in going up to someone at church and introducing yourself, or even in trying something new. The big feats of courage get recognized. Sometimes, it’s the little ones that matter the most, though. And there is honor in those little acts of courage, too.
And so, I take this word and this song into 2024.
What are you dreaming of this year, dear Reader?
Do you pick a word for each year? What is yours?
What do you hope to accomplish this year?
How were your holidays?
Do you have any big plans this coming year?
Most importantly…. are you going to Realm Makers?