Morgan’s 2026 Resolutions

Morgan Hazelwood, , ,

While New Years resolutions aren’t for everyone, most years I like to step back at the start of my year and think about what my priorities for my writing life should be for the coming year. After a year hiatus — I’m back! 2024 was a year of binge reading, cons, and a November project while 2025 was a year of revisions, more reading, and conventions.

This year? My focus is going to be on writing and revisions.

As always, I like to set SMART goals –

  • Specific – Which projects am I prioritizing?
  • Measurable – Wordcount and page goals
  • Achievable – Things I have control over — number of pages or words, not ‘getting a sale’
  • Relevant – These are my writer-related goals, my health and day-job goals don’t need to be here
  • Time-sensitive – Obviously, these are intended to be completed in 2026, but some items may have specific dates associated.

So? Let’s take a look at this year’s list.

1. Writing

The Plan:

  • Finish drafting my second space fantasy (‘A Song in the Aetherstream’) by the end of January.
  • Write 15 poems
  • Write 50k on a new writing project in November

2. Revising

The Plan:

  • Revise and finish draft 1 of my urban fantasy (‘Twice Bitten, Thrice Shy’) in March-May
  • Revise ‘A Song in the Aetherstream’ in July-September

3. Reading

Shelves full of books, in a decently lit library.

This isn’t really a priority so much as me recognizing how much time I’ll be spending on this in 2026. After a ridiculous number of books read in 2024 (680 books — average page count of 280), my goal is the reverse of most people — to read fewer books. I expect to easily read over 100 books, my goal is to read fewer than last year (553 books — average page count of 275).

The Plan:

  • Read fewer books than 2025

4. Conventions / Writing Groups

I’ve made many good friends at conventions. Plus? I didn’t create nearly 10 years of writing blog content because I hated talking about writing.

The Plan:

5. My Agent Database

In July, Patrick Hopkins and I launched a Patreon from Imaginarium. What is it? Our database of over 2,000 vetted agents. It’s querying made easier. We put tons of online sources and agent research in one place to help you find the right agents to query.

The Plan:

  • Finish debugging my script to check agency websites for updates
    • Note: I’m not scraping the sites for data, we just want to know when they get new agents, lose agents, or update their wishlists and submission status.
  • Work to migrate from a series of spreadsheets to a real database
  • Host query and first pages revisions when we have clients
  • Host a query and first pages workshop with Patrick

6. Blogging/Vlogging/Podcasting

You are my supporters, my community, and my friends. You cheer me on and watch me learn and grow. As always, blogging helps keep me out there, keeps me accountable, and gives me a way to give back to the community.

Unless I end up writing full time with an assistant, I don’t imagine I’ll return to blogging weekly. That said, I plan to blog when I have something to say or share.

The Plan:

  • Blog at least 6 times
  • Release a full Podcast season (22 episodes)
  • Host weekly productivity streams (with about 1 week off a quarter) on Youtube and Twitch.

7. Beta Readers

I’m not sad that I’m prioritizing my own projects, but I do enjoy being able to help my friends and family with their writing. So, I need to make sure not to overcommit.

The Plan:

  • Beta-read no more than 2 full manuscripts
  • Beta-read no more than 3 shorts
  • Send ‘Twice Bitten, Thrice Shy’ to a beta reader in June
  • Send ‘A Song in the Aetherstream’ to a beta reader in October

8. Querying, Submitting, & Publishing

While I’m not encouraged by the state of the publishing industry, there’s no reason not to send out a few queries, just to be sure.

The Plan:

  • Nudge the small press that has my first space fantasy
  • Send out at least 3 queries/submissions between manuscripts or poetry
  • Research self-publishing

My Year

So, what is my year intended to look like?

January – Blog my resolutions and retrospectives, finish drafting ‘A Song in the Aetherstream’, nudge the small press, attend Spilled Ink
February – Present new workshops at ScribbleCon (Get Ready To Add Romance To Your Writing (for middle schoolers) and Making Rough Drafts Shine), attend Spilled Ink
March – Start revisions on ‘Twice Bitten, Thrice Shy’, attend Spilled Ink
April – Continue revisions on ‘Twice Bitten, Thrice Shy’, panel at RavenCon
May – Rewrite ending of ‘Twice Bitten, Thrice Shy’, staff and panel at Balticon
June – Read, send ‘Twice Bitten, Thrice Shy’ to beta readers, attend Spilled Ink
July – Panel at Imaginarium, start edits on ‘A Song in the Aetherstream’
August – Continue edits on ‘A Song in the Aetherstream’, attend Spilled Ink
September – Finish edits on ‘A Song in the Aetherstream’. Panel at CapClave.
October – November writing challenge prep, send ‘A Song in the Aetherstream’ to beta readers, attend Spilled Ink.
November – Write 50k.
December – Rest.

Note: whenever I attend Spilled Ink, I usually write poetry to share the day-of, so that’s when my poetry will be written.

In Summary

This year, I want my focus to be on writing and revisions, finishing one manuscript and turning two rough drafts into what I call my first draft — a revised and edited version that is ready for beta readers. That said, I plan to get out and talk writing with friends whenever given the chance.

Except for December. I’m not a writer in December — everyone needs a chance to breathe.

Best of luck with all your 2026 projects!

What does your plan look like for 2026?
Did you build in flexibility?
And, how SMART are your goals?

See my previous years’ resolutions and reflections:
2017 Resolutions | 2017 Retrospective
2018 Resolutions | 2018 Retrospective
2019 Resolutions | 2019 Retrospective
2020 Resolutions | 2020 Retrospective
2021 Resolutions | 2021 Retrospective
2022 Resolutions | 2022 Retrospective Part 1 & Part 2
2023 Resolutions / 2023 Retrospective
2024 Resolutions

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Published by Morgan Hazelwood

Morgan Hazelwood (she/her) is a fantasy novelist who blogs and vlogs writing tips and writerly musings. She likes taking pictures of the sky, reading a good book, and ambiverting from her living room. She's also a voice for the fairy-tale audio drama: Anansi Storytime and its sister podcast: Legendsmith. She's been known to procrasti-clean her whole house and alphabetize other people's bookshelves.

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