6 Incredible Creatives Share Their 2025 Hopes And Goals

“My goal next year is getting back to work. Coming off of Opus and having such an amazing experience collaborating on that project, I really look forward to being back on set. I have been studying Muay Thai for the last eight years, so I would love to find a project where I could use those skills.

“Two directors on my list to work with are Hiro Murai and Lee Sung Jin. I’m also incredibly interested in developing my own projects from a female point of view and most recently I’ve been working on a project with Cara Santana that looks at the commodification of women. Personally, I feel like I’m in the best place I’ve ever been. I want to keep working on taking up space and owning the path I’ve forged for myself.”

Opus is out in March

“This time next year, my debut novel, The Original Daughter – my first-born – will have been launched into the world. It’s been nearly a decade in the making, and it feels absolutely unreal, not least because it took as many years for me to truly visualize the possibilities available to a writer like me. I don’t take any of it for granted – to now be able to center my existence around writing is a life-giving, wondrous thing. While writing is a solitary activity, I’ve always found myself sustained by the grace of literary friendships and struck by how crucial community is, especially for writers who may not have easy access to resources, information, and institutional support. It’s something I’d really like to work on, so come 2025, I’m excited to be working with the Singapore Book Council to mentor emerging writers back home, and collaborating with various local organizations to design programming around supporting and improving access to resources for writers from the margins. And now, starting on the next book, which feels less like a daughter and more like a friend, I’m keeping myself open to the endless possibilities around my evolving relationship with art, which truly is its own reward.”

The Original Daughter will be published in spring 2025

“I have three goals for the year ahead:

“Enjoying the release of my second novel. 2025 is the year my second novel, Table for One, comes out, following my debut, Olive. It took me four years in total to complete. The writing was difficult, but I often find a book’s release even more difficult. You spend a year in private, inside your writing cave, and then suddenly you are out in the world, doing press, festivals, being ‘visible’ to the world, selling the thing you made. The extroverted nature of book-touring can be overwhelming. This time, my goal is to enjoy it all! I plan to slow down, take it all in, enjoy meeting readers, and take one day at a time. After all, I’m so lucky I get to do this.

“Living an alcohol-free life. My relationship with alcohol has been on-and-off since the pandemic, and now it’s mostly ‘off.’ I enjoy the clear-headedness, the boost in my energy levels, and how I sleep better. My goal is to continue choosing the non-alcoholic beers and mocktails, and still have fun with friends and work colleagues. Not drinking also improves my boundaries and overall relationship with myself. Instead of ‘drinking through it’ at social occasions I’m not enjoying, now I just give myself permission to leave early.

“Building my newsletter. My Substack newsletter, The Hyphen, is my main online home where I share new writing and connect with my readers. It’s allowed me to take a step back from social media, which has been a blessing. My goal is to continue investing in this direct relationship I have with my readers by writing regularly for The Hyphen and bringing lots of new ideas to the table. I have a yellow Post-It on my desk that says ‘Writing is your priority’ to remind myself not to get too distracted by other things that might look shiny on Instagram, but don’t bring me closer to my goals.”

Table for One will be published in April 2025