Every year brings the unexpected, but here’s what I intend to do.

Reorganize my files, both paper and computer, and discard at least some of the interim drafts and research notes of published books.

Take my laptop to the furniture store and find a recliner comfortable for writing.

Complete the fourth book of my Show Me mystery series, decide whether to write a fifth, and promote the first three.

Read the manuscript of my beloved MG/YA historical novel again with an objective eye, revise as needed, and find a publisher or publish it myself.

Pick up my clutter, give away the books that won’t fit on the shelves, and hire someone to clean my house.

Travel somewhere—preferably Norway and Argentina/Chile—without attending a writers’ conference.

Celebrate my milestone birthday by starting a new writing project, perhaps that MG set in World War II that I’ve been thinking about for four years.

—Carolyn Mulford