The Forty Weeks

What are The Forty Weeks?

The Forty Weeks is a major writing endeavor that I am starting today, with an official story release day on 31 March 2024 that will conclude on the final Sunday of the year.

The reason for this is to first challenge myself as a writer in the hopes of succeeding and improving my skills in an art form that I am passionate about. Another reason for the project is that since completing the first draft of my novel series and just before I started, I've been inspired by many stories. So I had the great idea to release a story every week from spring to the end of December 2024.

What to expect during The Forty Weeks?

During The Forty Weeks, I will showcase a range of stories across the fiction genre, possibly some non-fiction works, and poetry. Some of the stories will be a part of the challenges presented by Vocal that I chose to participate in.

The stories will either be stand-alone/one-off tales or a part of a series consisting of two or more parts.

I will also provide links for the stories in a series within the story. A small write-up about the inspiration for the story will be provided at the end of each (Once for a series at the end of the first story). For stories that have a vague interpretative meaning, a statement of explanation will be written on my interpretation of the story.

What are some of the stories?

There are stories of dragons and hostile worlds. Some stories touch on themes of love and loss. Those who choose to participate and read throughout the weeks will be pulled into the world of the characters as they confess their innermost feelings, unearth secrets of their worlds, combat evil, and conquer obstacles before them or die trying.

Here are a few names and brief descriptions of stories that I am most excited about:

The Dragonfall Series

A story about a young boy's journey to restore balance to a home he hasn't known at the behest of a dragon he finds himself bound to.

The Bradford Culling Two-part Series

A story about one woman's struggle to survive in a world no longer suitable for her kind to settle.

Untitled Series

A story with a lesson of selflessness and respect with a protagonist that is at first elusive and strange and transforms into a figure of profound power and beauty.

Daybreak and Nightfall

These two pieces can be read as standalone stories but derive a deeper meaning when understood together about gain and loss.

Lovers Lilies

A tale of two lovers and a love that endured through time.

The Forest Edge

A poem about the wonders of things that lurk in the night.

Goals for the year?

Aside from The Forty Weeks, I also have a few goals for this year that I will be working toward

Write 4-5 screenplays based on stories released this year

Complete a round of editing on the rough draft of the first novel

Write the draft for a children's chapter book

Publish children's book

Hire an agent to sell screenplays

Participate in NANOWRIMO 2024 to complete the first draft of book two of the novel series

Conclusion

A very busy and ambitious year for me. Those goals will extend until next spring, unlike The Forty Weeks. I also welcome my newborn son in June so I'll be very busy for sure. I don't know what to expect from the next year but I wanted to do something that is aligned with the future I am creating for myself as a writer.

I am aware of the constraints I might have on time-based on life and other variables that might present over the year. This year is about greater effort. The same mindset I applied for writing my first novel, I'll apply for the next year, to do a bit every day, and whether or not I post a story all forty weeks and achieve the goals stated, success will lie in the effort to complete them.

Hope you all enjoy.

Thanks for reading!

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