2025-51: Goal setting
With 2026 fast approaching, a lot of writers are thinking about their goals for the next year.
I’ve got two rules for goal setting:
Keep it clear.
Keep it attainable.
Am I going to write 18 novels, sell 270,000 copies, win a Pulitzer, become the biggest newsletter on Substack, and bench press 300 lbs. next year?
Maybe, but I’m still going to set goals I know I can complete.
Here are mine:
Complete the first draft of the sixth Deviant Magic novel.
Complete the first draft of my third Black Yonnix novel, completing the trilogy.
Complete the first draft of a novella.
Write a new Deviant Magic short story every month.
Continue posting to Substack once a week.
Double my subscriber count.
Create one marketing post for TikTok every week.
Bench press 200 lbs.
Improve my 10K pace.
All of those are reasonable and understandable. I know what I have to do for each one. I’m not going to burn myself out by trying to do too much. And even if I whiff on a few, I’ll still be able to look back on the year as a success.
Happy goal setting!
This week’s movie
Jurassic World: Rebirth is yet another film that’s good enough for what it is. Maybe I have a type?
The dinosaurs are cool. The action is solid. The characters and story exist. It probably would’ve been more fun on a giant cinema screen.
Do I need to watch another Jurassic Park movie this decade? Probably not.
Updated Rankings: Jojo Rabbit; The Menu; Baby Driver; Thunderbolts; Transformers One; Godzilla Minus One; Charlie Wilson’s War; Nobody; Annihilation; Now You See Me; Happy Gilmore 2; Superman; Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; Free Guy; Fantastic Four: First Steps; Rear Window; X-Men: First Class; Arrival; The Last Witch Hunter; Ghost in the Shell; Lucy; Graveyard of the Fireflies; Ready Player One; The New Mutants; X-Men: Days of Future Past; Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves; Dark City; Independence Day: Resurgence; Taken; Borderlands; Season of the Witch; The Old Guard; Captain America: Brave New World; Jurassic World: Rebirth; X-Men: Dark Phoenix; Sonic the Hedgehog 2; Beetlejuice Beetlejuice; Uglies; The Marvels; Subservience; This is the End; Bill & Ted Face the Music; The Super Mario Bros. Movie; Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver; Ladyhawke; Damsel; X-Men: Apocalypse; Into the Deep; Rebel Moon Part One: Life Did Not, Uh, Find a Way
Til next week!
Got a lot brewing, which I’ll talk about more in my next post. 2026 is looking likely to be a very good year for yours truly…or at least an interesting one.
Happy holidays!
