Next Year

2010 is almost here, and while it's always tempting to make some resolutions, I'd rather focus on keeping my options open. In part it's because I had to end so many things in 2009; I probably have a mild case of enditis. There are plenty of things I want to do, both personally and professionally, and I hope I have the chance to try, but I'm not inclined to make a list this time around. What I want most in the next year is not to commit to anything except PBW and writing. That should give me plenty of room to breathe and dream and create as needed.

Hey, even an obsessive-compulsive organizer/planner like me can learn to be less regimented, more spontaneous. If nothing else I'm giving myself a year to find out if I can.

If you're in the market for a desk planner you can write in that is geared specifically for your writing needs, check out Small Beer Press's A Working Writer's Daily Planner 2010, which you can buy in trade paper, remainder, or DRM-free e-book form at their web site.

I bought this to mainly to contribute to a charity drive, but I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it is. It's a desk diary type of planner, compact but just the right size to carry along whereever you wander. Along with one-page week at a glance calendar blocks, there are pages with details on the year's sub ops, contests and residencies; writing prompts, submission and result tables, blank pages for notes and even some paper dolls for when you need a break (click here to see two inside pages; I couldn't fit all of it on my scanner but it'll give you the general idea of the layout.) It's definitely aimed more toward academics and those who are working in the literary end of the biz, but it's the first planner I've ever seen published especially for use by writers, so I thought it was pretty cool.

As you've no doubt already noticed, PBW is undergoing some renovations (a project I had intended to finished during the holidays, but NY dropped a boatload of work on me, and that had to come first.) After five years of basic black and white I thought I'd add a little color. Okay, a very little, but there's a header now, too. As for what else will be changing, you'll have to wait and see, but I hope to freshen things up and provide some new/interesting content. Stay tuned for more on that after the new year.

One change to my Scribd.com* virtual library -- because overseas readers can't purchase it, I'll be taking down my only for-sale e-book, Way of the Cheetah, as of 1/1/10. I don't know if I'll be offering it again anywhere, so if you were interested in a copy and you don't live outside the U.S., get your copy before January 1st (cost is $1.00.)

Now it's your turn: what are some of your plans for 2010? Are you giving up anything old, or starting anything new, or keeping your options open? Let us know in comments.

*Note 9/3/10: Since Scribd.com instituted an access fee scam to charge people for downloading e-books, including those I have provided for free for the last ten years, I no longer recommend using their service. See my post about this scam here.