Okay this is getting ridiculous… It can’t be the end of 2025 already?!? Holy Hell! How can time be going faster each year? Wonder if it has to do with me turning 60 this year? Some sort of weird Time Warp like they did in Rocky Horror Picture Show? Not familiar with that? I’m showing my age? Okay, moving on…
I sure hope when I go through this process this time that I see some nudges forward, because I’m not confident I actually made any. I feel as if this year was a bunch of two steps forward, 1 step back for me. We shall see… although unlike this guy I won’t be using anything from a company named ACME to look. There I go… showing my age again…
As I write this, I am in the beginning stages of writing the first draft of P&W (my witchy romantasy) and I’m still unsure of the name and where it is heading. I am about 30,000 words in, which in fiction standards for my genre is about 1/4 to 1/3 done. The characters are showing up, introducing themselves, and now are all standing around waiting for me to tell them what to talk about and do. After this long writing, you would think my characters would have learned a thing or two, but nope… they pretty much don’t start telling me what they are going to do until about halfway through the book. I always get stumped around the 25,000 mark also, so this time I’m not stressing about the delay. I realize it’s my process. But it is time to get moving…
After a trip to Salem, MA and then to Seattle, WA, in the fall of 2025, I was able to draft a workable outline, so I have high hopes that I can have something useful drafted by the end of the first quarter of 2026. I do have plans to attend a conference in early 2026 and to pitch an agent, so at least I have a goal to work towards. Fingers crossed, I can stick with the schedule I will need to accomplish it. It is going to require a lot more writing time than I am getting in currently so that is a change I am committed to in 2026. Making way more time for writing has to be a priority!
My theme word in 2025 was Prosperity… and I believe I need a few more years with that one, lol. Just sayin’, with all the traveling I may have gone a bit the other way. While I don’t expect my creativity to pay for my life, I would like it at least paying for itself, so I still have a way to go on that front. I’m not sure that word will bring me what I ultimately need more of, so I may be switching it up a little this year. But for now…
Anyone who is interested in checking out last year’s post can find it here. In summary, here are some of my past theme words:
- 2018 – Balance
- 2019 – Patience
- 2020 – Balance (not surprising I went back to that word especially that year!)
- 2021 – Grace
- 2022 – Alignment
- 2023 – Deliberate
- 2024 – Joy
- 2025 – Prosperity
I have spent the last year limiting my Social Media exposure, and what a difference that has made! My intention for 2026 is to back off even more, now that I understand which platforms will help me the most in my goals moving forward. There will be platforms dropped, or most likely “ignored”, and perhaps one or two added or “revamped” which will help me streamline my efforts. What that means for me is more writing time, which is honestly what we both want, since more writing time for me means more books for you to read. So win-win!
What I will say about my 2025 word is that prosperity came to me in trickles. It gave me glimmers of reassurance that I was heading in the right direction just at the moment I was ready to give up. The trickles aren’t nearly enough to retire, of course, but they were helpful… are helpful. I have plans for the next couple of years, and have things I want to try that will require investment, so realistically it is important that I’m still working. What I’ve been doing instead is practicing gratitude. When my day job is a little much to deal with, I am thankful I am making money to pay for my writing journey, and to go on trips with my friends where I can experience new things and put them into the books I write. Most of all, I’m grateful to be on the right side of the dirt… for waking up each day and having the ability to go out in the world and learn something I didn’t know before. Lifelong learners are jazzed by that kind of thing… trust me.
So before I select my word for 2026, I will give us both a recap for 2025. I’m a little scared to see it, not going to lie, since last year wasn’t what I considered productive. We will just have to see…
DA’s 2025 Writer-Do List
Prepare Book 1 of Supernatural Mystery series for publication as I finish Book 2 – Book 1 is complete and being read by Beta now, my Book Designer will be working on covers for the entire series.
Research and Outline Books 3 and 4 of the Supernatural Mystery series – Decided on locations for both of these books and started research for Mackinac Island & Traverse City
Order covers and develop blurbs/back matter for the Supernatural Series and prepare to launch – Will be a 2026 project
Learn more about YouTube and creating audio content – Have this in mind for 2026
Learn more about Kickstarter – This is definitely a 2026 idea, would love to do fancy edges and hardcovers
Continue to take courses that align with my Author Journey – Didn’t attend any courses, but have purchased a few
Launch “Shifters In New York Collection” – OMG! I DID THIS!
Update all back matter and digital files on all platforms – Both Series – This is half done…
Launch Goddesses In Love Collection (Books 1-4) in Hardcover – Not yet
Develop audio files of Books 1-4 for Goddesses In Love series & the New York Shifter stories – Haha, way to be an over-achiever!
Continue Research and Drafting of Witch Single Title Project and Non-Fiction Project – In the middle of that!
Continue to Rework Short Stories/Essays and submit for publication – On Hold
Blog at least 2x per month – Started back up late 2025
Play around with children’s book ideas – Have some ideas drafted – back burner
Find more amazing readers to join my journey on Goodreads & Book Bub – Increased numbers in 2025!
TRAVEL! – Went to: Sarasota, FL; Traverse City, MI; Charlevoix, MI; Golden, CO; Cruise to the Bahamas; Hilton Head, NC; Salem, MA; and Seattle, WA. – Whew!
Work on RETIREMENT from my paycheck job – Made the plan… now need to work the plan…
Not bad. I honestly thought it would be way worse, lol. I did a fair amount of travel, spent quality time with family and friends, and filled my terribly drained creative well, which was much drier than I led myself to believe. The burnout I went through the past couple of years set me back, so I won’t be doing that again. I needed 2025 to give myself the space and love I needed. Perhaps the Prosperity I was looking for wasn’t tangible; perhaps I needed to feel rich in spirit. I’ll go with that for 2025, but in 2026 I need to sort out how to make this journey sustainable. For that, I need some book sales.
New Focus Word for 2026 – Freedom
Really, what I’m looking for is freedom and ultimately happiness. I want to be the captain of my own ship and to travel wherever the Muse leads me. Financial freedom is part of that, but I also believe that freedom for me in 2026 will be a state of consciousness. No longer feeling trapped, or forced to do things I don’t want to do out of obligation or guilt. I have lived long enough to deserve some me time, and at age 60, I’m finally going to take it. The how will work itself out…
In the meantime, I am making plans for 2026 and trying not to overload my plate, but I’m anxious to get things done. I have a few years before retirement to get a nice backlist behind me, so my focus will be to WRITE & PUBLISH, RINSE & REPEATE!
Here is how my 2026 list is shaking out:
DA’s 2026 Writer-Do List
Make writing new words a priority!
Develop artwork/covers/blurbs for Supernatural Mystery Series
Prepare Book 1 of Supernatural Mystery series for publication – Late 2026
Finish Book 2 of Supernatural Mystery series – To editor by fall 2026
Complete outlines and organize research for Books 3 & 4 of the Supernatural Mystery series
Develop YouTube Channel and find followers – https://www.youtube.com/@dahennemanauthor
Learn more about Kickstarter – Consider complementary projects
Continue to take courses that align with my Author Journey
Attend Writer’s Conference and pitch WIP – Spring 2026
Update all back matter and digital files on all platforms – All books
Investigate Hardcovers
Investigate Audio
Continue finding avenues for multiple streams of income – Advertise Direct Store
Continue Research and Drafting of Witch Single Title Project and Non-Fiction Project
Continue to Rework Short Stories/Essays and submit for publication
Blog at least 2x per month – Share research, tools, and journey
Develop children’s book ideas
Find more amazing readers to join my journey on Goodreads & Book Bub and to follow me on YouTube & Insta.
TRAVEL to places I’ve never been!
Work on RETIREMENT from my paycheck job
On a personal front, I still need to tackle the closet in my office, but I have a plan, so it is just a matter of finding the time to implement. I hope to get started this winter and fingers crossed the job is much smaller than I dread it is. My thought is… it’s bigger. We all know what happens when you chop of the Hydra’s head… right? I did manage to find a 2 drawer file cabinet I liked as well as an office chair which I desperately need. I have already rearranged my office to accommodate them to aid the manifestation process. Fingers crossed they will show up in my life since I really need the storage to help with the clutter.
I will also try to exercise, meditate, and eat healthy, all the things I know I should do but get in the way of my fun at times. I decided to pay way less attention to the shoulds now that I’m 60 and much more attention to the creative spark that keeps me up at night. Feel like writing… going to get up. Want to try my hand at painting… going to do it, albeit poorly. Thought of a new thing I make out of the gazillion beads my girlfriend gave me… I’m going to haul them to my BFFs house and have a craft night with my friends. It’s time for me to follow the Muse and to trust she knows the way to the life of freedom I am imagining for myself. I’ve tried it the first 60 years and haven’t gotten there yet, so it is time to give her a chance to teach me. I’m so ready to learn!
That is it for my goals, now time to start pursuing them. I am excited about 2026 in a way that is hard to describe. Sure, the world is a dumpster fire right now, but I would argue that is precisely why you need the dreamers. No matter is happening around us, we continue to do what we do and write the books, sing the songs, dance the dance. Creativity is hard to squelch and sometimes comes out in ways that you recognize much later after you have painted wooden gingerbread figures and lollipops for days (ask me amount my day job and the event we had for Christmas 2025). What 2025 helped me see is that there is no end in sight for my creativity, and the connections my brain makes between random beads and a windchime or bookmark brings me back to a sense of wonder that I haven’t felt in ages. So ready to be a kid again now that I’m 60!
Do you write annual goals? Do you find it helps as much as I do? Share your post in the comments, I would love to see what you have planned for 2026! In the meantime, I wish you all the creative energy and the drive to see it through. Excited to see what we create together in this next year!
You can find out more about what I write here:
For my Goddesses in Love series, the best link is:
My new Shifters In New York Collection can be seen here:
For my Mythical Creatures posts, head over to:
For more Soundtrack of my Life posts:
And for my Shorts and Tidbits:
As always, I hope this post finds you happy and healthy. Until next time! XO
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D.A. Henneman - Romance Author 