2017: Resolutions

As is customary with the turn of a new year, I've put a lot of thought into 2017's resolutions. 2016's resolutions were hit-and-miss (though more miss). My first resolution was to read lots of fiction, and that's one I accomplished. The second resolution was to finish two novels; I finished The Procyon Strain: Book Two but didn't get farther than that. Resolution #3 was to bring the blog back; but because of extenuating circumstances (i.e. the need for privacy from prying eyes belonging not to anyone in Wisconsin but much closer to home), the blog will remain private (at least for a while). Now on to 2017's trifecta of resolutions!

School. Although it wasn't a 2016 Resolution, I finally started back to school for teaching history. I've almost gotten two classes under my belt (Western Civilization 1 & 2), and this year I want to bring that number up to 5 (the Western Civ classes plus American History 1 & 2 and American Government). Finding time to sit down and study is more of a chore than it has ever been, given that I'm married, have two daughters, working a shit ton of hours, and dealing with bucket-loads of stress. 2017 will prove to be challenging in a lot of ways, but I'm hoping to make progress with school regardless.

Writing. After 36 Hours, the Dwellers of the Night Trilogy, and the first two installments of The Procyon Strain Saga, I'm pretty burnt out on zombies. I have a lot of ideas for writing (both fiction and non-fiction), but the goal is to crank out at least two works (neither being over 300 pages).

Reading. Last year I read 102 books. I became diligent about reading an hour a day sometime in August, and it's been insane how much I've been able to read. The benefits of reading for at least an hour a day have been widely studied and praised, and I'm determined to continue with this discipline throughout 2017. Most of my reading this year will be framed around British history (from the Prehistoric Era to the Napoleonic Era), with some miscellaneous reading scattered here-and-there. As I go through British history, there are several "side studies" that branch off the main thread (e.g. the Crusades and the Hundred Years War). I would like to choose a subject (or three) each year on which to focus my reading, and British history is a good place to start. I'm eager to supplement the nonfiction with historical fiction by such esteemed authors as Bernard Cornwell (one of my new favorites), Simon Scarrow, Harry Sidebottom, and Patrick O'Brien. 

Here's to 2017!