I have a lot of writing goals for 2025. Blogging, books, and video scripts are just some of the ones that are set in stone. However, there are a few things I’m seriously considering adding throughout the year that may be both fun and productive.
These will most likely be side projects during the weekends or when I have time to work on them. If there is enough interest, I’ll prioritize them moving forward.
But for now, here are some of the things I have been toying with for quite some time. Perhaps this is the year that I make a few of them a reality.
Creating Online Courses
I’ve been asked several times over the years if I was ever going to put together online courses. Apparently, a few people think I have a knack for teaching how to write for blogs, freelancing, and self-publishing books.
It was something I’ve thought about doing since I started making YouTube videos back in 2018.
It might be fun to make a few online courses covering the different aspects of everything in which I’m involved. The problem is that setting something up that I feel would be worth the money would take quite a bit of time.
I’m not the type of person who’ll just slap anything up and add a price tag. I want to make sure there is value in what I provide. Nonetheless, I think there may be some online courses in the very near future.
Games In Between the Books
I thought it would be fun to create games that happen in between the books of the Witcham series. Although part of it has a lot to do with marketing, I thought it would be something neat to add for those who play games.
The trick is not to divulge too much about the overall plots of the books. I’ll add Easter eggs here and there, but the idea is to coax players to actually buy the books to see what happens next.
Or, perhaps I could run separate plots that run parallel to the series. Maybe they could be from another character’s point of view.
I’ve been toying with the idea of using the Neverwinter Nights Aurora engine from the early 2000s as that is one that I have on hand and it would be barely an inconvenience to put it together.
Building an Indie Bookstore (on and offline)
I would love to build an indie bookstore here in Denver. I’m no stranger to owning businesses, and have a variety of ideas to make it profitable to the point of staying open longer than six months.
Part of the idea is to buy the press to print copies of books and offer affordable printing costs to self-published authors without needing 1,000 units as a minimum.
Unfortunately, I don’t know if I have the time available to build another business. Last time, I was putting in over a hundred hours per week making sure the computer center stayed afloat.
Still, part of me really wants to get back into owning a business. It was a lot of fun and I helped a lot of people along the way.
Creating Anthologies with Fans
I’ve been talking about creating challenges for my viewers on the YouTube channel for a couple of years. I think it would be fun to set up a way for them to contribute to an anthology.
Of course, there are a lot of legal issues I’ll have to work out first, such as IP rights and copyright. Still, I think it would be a lot of fun, and hopefully, it would give them some exposure as authors.
Something like creating an anthology with the fans would have to be later in the year. Currently, I’m working on getting two books published in the next few months while finally wrapping up VII. So, it won’t be for quite a while.
However, setting something up for later in the year would give me plenty of time to look up all the legal ramifications and protections for all involved.
Screenplays on YouTube
I’ve been asked a few times whether I plan on writing some screenplays. Currently, the tentative plan is to set up some live-action commercials for my books on YouTube. So, in a sense, I suppose screenplays are in my future no matter what.
Also, we have talked about doing a few skits recently for the Creative Sanctuary YouTube channel just for fun. It’ll give my son some practical experience as that’s what he’s going to school for – visual arts and special effects.
I have a ton of ideas for screenplays. Some of them might actually be pretty decent.
It’s getting to the point where I am looking at effects and software. So, this one might be more than just a pipedream as we’re starting to put together some fun and creative pieces.
The Biggest Hangup is Time
All of the above is in addition to the things I’m trying to manage throughout the year. That means my biggest hangup of making any of these happen is time.
There just isn’t enough of it to go around.
Sure, I could probably do a few of these on the weekends or after hours throughout the week. And that’s still a distinct possibility. After all, this is The Year of Time…and its management is something I’m working on in 2025.
If I spend some time teaching others how to help me in the various projects I have going, it could free up more time down the road. Since I am generating a bit of extra income from YouTube, I might be able to start paying for some help.
So, I can’t say that none of the above will happen this year. It all really depends on how well I can manage my time and how cheap I can find decent labor. And no, I will NEVER use AI to write books, blog posts, or video scripts for me. I don’t care if I have to sacrifice content to make things happen.
Out of the things above, which one do you think would have the greatest impact on the year? Screenplays on YouTube have the potential to bring in some ad dollars, but some of the ideas also have great potential for other experiences.
I suppose I can start with the lowest-costing idea first and then build up to the others. In that case, setting up screenplays and creating courses are the most cost-effective ideas for my financial and time budgets.
How about we just work on organizing the time better and see what happens over the next couple of months?
Keeping All the Tops Spinning for Now
This is going to be one busy year. Between keeping three blogs consistent, building up two more YouTube channels, and getting the books published, it’s been a non-stop ride for the past week. Still, I don’t think it’s anything that is out of my scope of capability.
I just need to make sure I’m not burning too much time sitting around and watching YouTube or Hulu. Lately, I’ve been kind of on a MASH kick.
This year is going to be something else, that is for sure.
- An Evening with Gary Kidney on After Hours - April 7, 2025
- Fixing a Dead Blog: March 2025 – A Bit More Growth - April 5, 2025
- Master the Art of Writing: 19 Expert Tips to Help New Authors - March 31, 2025