Yesterday afternoon I met up with some NYC-area Clarionites (Robert Levy, Sean Manseau and Chris Cevasco to start an informal workshop/critique circle, after which most of us went on to the KGB reading - Delia Sherman read from her first novel Changling, and Ellen Kushner (whose novel Swordpoint is out) gave us a ½-hour radio-style performance comprised of a story and some rather beautiful and haunting songs. I also got to speak very briefly (well, apologize very briefly) to Crispin Glover as he politely vaulted out of our way when we lumbered up the steps to the bar. He was in the middle of a photo shoot, and could have been an asshole about it, but was quite diplomatic instead. Looking back on all the "celebrities who are raging assholes" moments I've had in NYC, I must say this was a delightful change of pace.

At some point the discussion of upcoming projects came up, and I realized that it was about this time last year that I'd decided to make 2006 the "Year of the Story" - that is, to concentrate not on novels but short stories and novelettes. My reasoning was twofold: 1) I wanted to work on my craft, and felt the shorter form was better suited for seeing what I was doing wrong and what I needed to fix - there's no hiding in a 5000-word story, where as the novel can be more forgiving of flaws; and 2) I wanted an inventory of "product" that I could send out and hopefully get published while I worked on my next novel.

I think it's safe to say that by December's end I'll have fulfilled both parts of that goal I set for myself in late 2005. I'll have a little less inventory than I'd hoped for, but I've come to accept that I'm not a fast writer of short fiction. I can successfully write, revise, and polish one story every month. With 3-½ months to go, I should have another three stories and one already half-written novella ready by January. Those four pieces, along with two stories already in submission, and two stories that are currently under revision, will total nine items I can submit to various markets during the first half of 2007. While those stories circulate, I'll write the novella trilogy I've already outlined - it was originally intended to be mainstream erotica, but I've decided to give it a little Lovecraftian steampunk twist and pitch it to small genre publishers. Once the trilogy is finished, then I'll spend the rest of 2007 working on two short (under 100k words) novels that I'm in the first stages of outlining. I'll probably write a few stories during the year, but for the most part 2007 will be "Year of the Novel".

2008 will no doubt be the year of "OMG Why Won't Anyone Buy My Weird Novel Shit?!" But that's a long ways in the future - I'll worry about it then. :)