This year I have a decided to make a New Year’s Resolution.

This is the year I am going to work hard to get published.

Ultimately, my main goal is to write a full novel and get that published.  However, that is my moon goal.

“Always aim for the moon.  Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
-W. Clemant Stone

While writing a book will always be in the back of my mind, my main focus for this year will be writing short stories and send them to various science fiction/fantasy/general fiction magazine.

My reason for doing this is three-fold.

First, writing short stories takes significantly less time than writing a full novel.  Many magazines I’ve researched have very strict word count limits.  Many don’t accept stories past 20k words.  There are some which have word count limits as small as 1k.  Since the start of the year, I’ve already completed the first draft of a short story that comes in around 850 words.

Secondly, if these stories are accepted for publication, many magazines pay on acceptance.  Money is going to be tight again this year, I feel, so getting paid for my writing in the short term is something that really appeals to me.  Even if a magazine pays on publication, that publication usually happens in a matter of weeks or a couple of months.  Better than being forced to wait an entire year or more writing a novel before seeing any return for my work.

Third, my main focus for writing is going to be in the science fiction/fantasy genre.  A goal of mine is to join the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America guild.  However, one of the stipulations of membership is to have actual published paid works under your belt.  These include novels, short stories, or full-length dramatic scripts.  In order to be eligible for application, I would need to have written and published at least three short stories from their list of qualifying magazine/webzines.

I’ll still be writing other things, such as poetry and fan-fiction, here and there.  However, this year my focus will definitely be turned towards my original works.