2020 · 11:40am Jan 7th, 2020
Hello, and a happy new year to you all. I hope that the first days of 2020 have treated you well. Things have been a little less hectic here now that families have returned home and school routines for the little 'uns have resumed. It's given me some opportunity to actually disintegrate, and to take stock and firm up life plans.
The festive period aside, December was a pretty sucky month, and I think it's genuinely going to be a while until I've lost some of this mental fragility. It upset me greatly that I wasn't in a good place to complete any of my entries for Jinglemas; I don't take committments lightly, and the experience of failing in this regard left me more bruised than I already was. I apologise for not responding to any messages or comments during this time. It's been a toughie.
The light at the end of the tunnel has been particularly bright though these last few days. I've recently picked up my old notes for a novel I've been wanting to write, and plan to complete that this year. Properly. I'm sticking to a schedule that was shared and discussed in a writing magazine I subscribe to, and which feels like a good fit for my style and approach. For anyone interested, it's basically a broad plan that's aligned with the calendar months:
January: Developing an idea: thinking of genre, premise, locations, characters. Basically playing around with ideas and making notes. Identifying subject areas to research on them. Firing up motivation and enthusiasm for the project ahead.
February - March: No writing. No plotting. Just research. Making notes, and letting them fertilise further ideas.
April: Shaping. Basically mapping notes against a 5x20% structure. First 20% is introducing storylines and characters. Second is developing those and introducing more development and reasons for the reader to continue. Third is taking the story beyond the middle point (high point/low point/twist) and building momentum. Fourth is delivering on arcs and introducing further developments and challenges. Final 20% is accelerating to the conclusion and tying up loose ends. It's a vague and flexible enough structure to work in most shaping scenarios.
May - July: First draft (maximum 1,000 words per day)
August: Contemplation. Taking a break. Reflecting on the draft. Getting it out to proof readers. Identifying issues.
September-November: Rewrites. Aim for first 10,000 words to be bulletproof to facilitate sending out to agents.
December: Wrapping it up. Taking a break. Writing synopsis and covering letter. Copyediting and final polish. Sending out the manuscript.
Phew. It sounds like a tough timescale, and I'm under no illusions that it will be hard to deliver on. But I'm done sitting around and distracting myself from the fact I've been running scared of getting this wrong. It's time to stop hiding and to grab the yak by the horns.
Yak... Ah yes, Yona. Ah yes, My Little Pony. Honestly, I don't know how the above is going to impact on a) my mental health, and b) my writing of horsedragonwords. My initial feeling is that it's going to impact on b) in particular, and so rather than making any promises as to what you can expect from me in the future, I'll leave it with the rather nebulous "hopefully something, at some point". I plan to take this original novel very seriously, and something has to make way so that I don't end up back in the place I was towards the end of last year. I'll probably still be keeping up with my editing commitments here, and maybe the odd Flashfic entry, but in the short term at least, that's probably as much as I'll be able to manage. Still, if nothing else arrives, Hearts and Ocean are pretty good stories to bow out on. I'm proud of both of those, particularly the latter. Plus, you know, all of that Smolcellus. 
If you've made any writing goals or commitments this year, then like always I'd love to hear about them! Otherwise, I'll see you on the next update! 
Wow, that's a big schedule you have planned ! Lots of courage with all that, i hope it'll help you for everything ^^
I really hope you the best for this new year ! Looking forward what's comming. =p
It's so great to see an update from you! That sounds like a lot, and I wish you the best of luck in writing your novel.
Hopefully we’ll see more of you, either with original fiction or horse. Either is good for me!
I'm glad things seem to be looking up for you -- though of course I'd rather they hadn't looked down in the first place. My very best wishes for your original writing, of course -- and naturally you're always welcome at the Flashfic contests, for as long as they run, if you have the time and the motivation to enter any.
My writing goal for 2020 can be summed up fairly easily: "Bloody well write more, Logan!" Still all Pony for me, but even so.