What are your literary goals for 2025?

I enter this year feeling—dare I say?—hopeful. At least in literary terms.

I closed out 2024 in a flurry of writing and reading. Writing-wise, I finished writing The Hanford Necklace and, in November and December, wrote the first draft of the sequel for To Look Upon the Sun.

According to Goodreads, I read 95 books—some of them are among the best I’ve ever read, some provided much-needed solace at critical times, and others were sources that informed my writing projects. I only wish I could have crammed more books into my head, but I did my best!

This little spark of hope I’m feeling today has me looking forward to what the year holds, so I thought I’d share some things I hope to accomplish, and maybe you’ll do the same.

Beautiful Mexico for the holidays—I read some and wrote a little, but mostly ate good food and stared at the ocean.

Reading goals

• I tend to read mostly novels, and when I venture into nonfiction, it’s to read books related to the subjects I’m writing about. This year, I’d like to read more nonfiction about other subjects, to broaden my understanding of areas I don’t know much about, which is most of them, so I have no idea where I’ll start—philosophy, science, politics? (Not politics.)

• I don’t usually care about reading a certain number of books in a year. Many of the most enriching books out there are 1000 pages, or very dense, and they take time, while it’s easy to whip through a couple hundred lighter reads in a year. So I believe this trend is more about the urge of our modern world to quantify everything rather than an indication of being well-read. I only added the reading goal to my Goodreads account to satisfy my 21st-century curiosity about how many books I’d read, not to try to bust out more of them. Since I read 95 books in 2024, maybe I’ll read 100 this year. But I want most of them to be great books that enrich my understanding of the world.

  

  She climbed in my backpack all by herself. Who among us doesn’t want to explore the dark void?

Writing goals

• Put The Hanford Necklace out into the world. I’ll let you know how and when that will happen as soon as I know. ;)

• Finish Hannelore’s story, the sequel to To Look Upon the Sun. With the first draft just about finished, I have no idea how much of it is garbage yet—but I have my fingers crossed that the bones of the story are there and with some flushing out, finessing, and hair-pulling, it’ll be ready for readers in 2025. 2026 at the latest.

• Start researching the next novel. I have a few ideas I’m excited to explore.

• Attend the DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon, Portugal. I was going to attend this last year, but due to extenuating circumstances, I deferred to this year. For two weeks this summer, I will get to meet, learn from, and explore Lisbon with some truly excellent writers.

• See To Look Upon the Sun published in audiobook form—March 2025 of this year!

Those are my goals. What are yours??