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Jan 1

2024 Writing Recap & 2025 Writing Goals

It’s 2025! Happy New Year!

But before I launch into my writing goals for the new year, I thought it would be best to have a brief overview of what I wrote and accomplished this year.

2024:

  1. I set a goal to publish 6 short stories this year. Four were self-published and two were traditionally published. I had been saying for years that I wanted to self-publish some of the short stories that I had written and published years ago. This goal pushed me to do so and also got me back into submission mode. By April, I had my 2 acceptances and the rest was me sitting down to do the other four. Happy to say, I did it and knocked this goal out.
  2. Write a finished draft of my WIP novel. Well, this I didn’t accomplish. My WIP is still not finished, but I am moving into the last third. I think if I hadn’t take the time to finish two other stories I might have made the deadline. No worries. I haven’t given up and will plow ahead in the new year with this novel.
  3. Wrote 13 blog posts! The total words was 7, 135. In the past, I have barely updated this blog, but this year, I had lots to talk about and I tried to put myself on a schedule.
  4. I finished 1 new story and rewrote 1 older story. The new story is turning out to be a longer work, but I’m happy that I finished one new project this year. Also the short story I rewrote had been neglected for too long and I had hoped to submit it at the end of the year, but I’m still not quite happy with it. (See 2025 goals for my plans.)
  5. I started a Youtube channel! As of this writing, I have 14 videos and 12 (?) subscribers (I got a few in the last day of the year.) I’ve had fun filming and learning the ropes. If you haven’t seen my videos, here is the video of my 2024 recap.

Goals for 2025

  1. The first half of the year, I want to finish a draft of my novel that I feel comfortable submitting to literary agents. Yes, I want to pursue traditional publishing for my novel. I consider myself a hybrid writer and will continue to self-pub some stuff, but for my novel, I want to try the traditional route first. So, hopefully, by the end of January, I will have finished the 1st draft and will be planning on how I’m going to rewrite. The beginning has changed since I started, so I already know where changes are needed. Six months feels like a good amount of time.
  2. Rewrite and submit out the 2 short stories I have in the wings. One of those stories is mentioned above (the one I rewrote at the very end of the year) and the other is a story I haven’t looked at since very early 2023. I plan to rewrite them and start subbing them this year.
  3. The second half of the year will be for the new work (probably a novella, maybe a novel) I finished in 2024. The story was supposed to be a long short story, but I had so much to write and ended up cutting out a lot of scenes. When I workshopped it, my fellow writers said that it felt like a longer work and I agree. So, July 1 – Dec 31 will be devoted to whatever this story wants to be. It would be hilarious if it ended up being another novel. The girl who spent that last decade or so writing short stories, now can’t stop getting novel ideas!
  4. Read 24 books this year. My reading has fallen off! So, 2 books a month and maybe I can whittle down my TBR pile this year.
  5. Commit to 2 blog posts a month. The 1st and 15th of every month will have a new post. Along with that, I am joining Substack to start a newsletter which will go out on the same day. If you already follow this blog, no worries. It will be the same posts, but if you prefer a Substack, it will be available. I will be setting it up on January 1, so over the weekend of the 4th and 5th, I will update with the link in the About page. (I have to work the 2nd and 3rd, so I may not have the time.) I’m doing this to grow my audience and there are a lot of writers on Substack, so I will try it out. For now, everything will be free. If I decide to charge in the future, there will always be a free tier. (But for now, I’m not even sure if it is right for me.)
  6. Commit to 2 videos a month on Youtube. I would love to be monetized this year, but I don’t have control over that. Instead, I will do my best to be consistent and post regularly. However, the fiction writing has got to come first. If I don’t write, I don’t have much content. So, writing will always be the priority.

Here’s the video version of my 2025 goals:

*Bonus Goal:

If I find myself crushing my goals, I may lose my mind and self-pub a collection of short stories. My mom mentioned a few months ago that it would be great to have a physical copy of my stories, so I got it in my head that I should do that one day. If I do this, it wouldn’t happen until the summer. The priority is the novel-in-progress. Maybe I want a palette cleanser after the novel and before I start on the other longer work. Not sure, but it is in the back of my mind. Mostly because I wouldn’t need to write any new fiction. It would be more of a formatting and organizing writing project. We will see. I’m not so sure this is a good idea, but I’m not going to completely dismiss it.

Well, that’s it. My 2024 achievements and my 2025 goals. It was a great year, and 2025 is shaping up to be an ambitious year too. If you fell short of your goals, please don’t feel like you didn’t do anything. Trust me, I’ve had those years where just making it to the end is an accomplishment. You survived 2024! Take time to celebrate that and see how you can make 2025 better.

Don’t compare your chapter one to my chapter ten. Writing is an accumulation of small steps and before you know it, you are much further along than you realize.

Here’s to a great 2025! Happy Writing.

Dec 15

How to Deal with Writer’s Rejection

If there is one piece of advice I can give any writer it is this:

Be professional.

It is easier said than done when you have a mound of rejections. It’s hard to stay motivated, to not take it personally, and most of all to not quit when you see the rejection after rejection of your stories.

You’ve spent months, or even years, writing something that you love and now you have the task of trying to get it out into the world. To work so hard on something and invest time with no reward coming in site can discourage even the most motivated writer.

Publishing is a business. Often rejections have nothing to do with writing. You may be a great writer, but the publication, or agent, just isn’t a good fit. I’ve been rejected because my work was too long, too short, or the very common “not right for us.” *Sigh* We’ve all been there, and if you haven’t because you’ve just started your journey, you will be there.

But rejection can be good too.

It’s good for the ego. You may think you are the next Hemingway, Baldwin, or Atwood, but really you are not there yet. Your work is derivative, or not polished enough. The diamond is still struggling to come out of the coal. Getting rejected may force you to take another look at that story. Is it still your best work? Can you improve it somehow?

Also, it takes time to find where you fit. You writing style develops over the course of years and finding the right place to showcase your work hardly happens overnight. Okay, I’m sure there are some writers who got their dream agent and dream publisher on their first try, but most of us are not lucky like that. We have to try and try and try some more to get a “yes”. I’ve had story rejected 10, 20, or more times. Some writers have more than me.

I read a meme somewhere that read, “Rejection is evidence of trying.” If you have a inbox full of rejections, congratulations! You are putting yourself out there and trying to be a published writer. You are going further than a lot of other people.

I met a young woman a few years ago at a writing class. She told me she took class after class to get inspired to write. I was a bit horrified, but I politely told her that nothing will motivate you to write, you have to just sit down and do it. I realize now that she was scared to put herself out there. So she didn’t even try to write and was caught in an endless loop of taking classes and thinking about writing.

Don’t be like her. Start writing. Don’t be afraid to get rejected.

Rejection may also make you a better writer. If I had my first novel published at nineteen, I don’t think I would be the writer I am today. I know I wouldn’t be the writer I am today if I had my novel accepted back in 2008. That rejection is what made me go to grad school and focus on my craft more. It takes time to find your voice, develop as a writer, and get that experience under your belt. Now rejection is not fun, but I don’t let it affect me.

The good news is that every year someone decides they are going to start a literary journal, become a literary agent, or go work at a publishing house. That person may love your work and want to give you a chance. There is always hope and as long and you let rejection fuel you and not discourage you, you may see great results.

I hope everything is going well with your writing. Next post (around the end of the month) will be a recap of my 2024. So Happy Holidays (if you are celebrating) and everyone keep writing!

Dec 1

Burnout

We’re coming to the end of 2024. For some, the end of the year is exciting, but for other, it can be stressful. Did you accomplish all that you set out to do back in January? Did you move forward with your goals? Just thinking about it may conjure exhaustion, and you wouldn’t be alone. I’ve been hearing and seeing a few people online and IRL, who are feeling the burnout.

I had my own phase back in 2022. If you scroll back, you’ll see that I wrote in January 2022 that I was going to finish my novel by March 2022, or quit the book all together. I didn’t even make it to March. By February, I was done and I limped to my March deadline with no interest in the book. I then decided I needed a few months to reassess and decide what I wanted to do with my writing career. I never thought I would quit writing, like I did in 1997 or 2008, but I needed to take a step back. Did I want to really pursue serious publication to build a sustainable writing career, or did I want to just keep this a hobby?

I spent six months thinking about it. I tried reselling and exploring other parts of my life. I wasn’t just a writer. No one should be all one thing. I learned a lot about myself, like that I wasn’t lazy (I had the hustle mentality to hit the thrift stores every weekend, list the clothing, and then drive 3-4 times a week to the post office) and that trying new things can lead to new interests and surprises. Around September 2022, I got an idea for a new short story and, with that, I eased my way back into writing.

I spend 2023 working on new material, got a promotion at my job, and by the end of the year, a new idea for a new novel. This novel is what I’m working on now and I hope to finish the first draft by the end of this year.

I have a friend who was experiencing burnout and I suggested that she live a little more life. I hate that writing is sometimes romanticized into a mysterious act that one can only do when they are locked away from the world. The reality is usually very different. People are writing on their lunch breaks, early in the morning before work or school, late at night after kids have down for the night, or only on the weekends because weekdays are way too hectic. The luxury of solitude and peace happens in spurts, not an everyday thing.

So if you are feeling burnout, live a little life. Get curious about the world around you. I believe that curiosity feeds creativity, so learn, or do, something new. It can be a small as trying a new restaurant, or as big as trying to start a business. You will learn about yourself and maybe have a fresh perspective on whatever you are in the middle of. I know that is easier said than done, but try. I think you will be better for it.

I hope all your writing projects are going well and you are taking care of yourself.

Nov 9

I’m Not Doing NamoWrimo, but maybe you should?

There’s a lot of controversy this year surrounding National Novel Writing Month. There has been plenty written (and discussed on YouTube), so if you want to know the ins and outs of the story, I urge you to look it up. I’ve never really been a fan of the challenge, but I do see where there are some advantages.

The first is community. Writing is a lonely activity and joining a community of like-minded people is comforting. I think that one of the primary reasons I continue to write is because I have a critique group and took classes off and on throughout my city. Also, I have recently joined the author community on YouTube (here’s my channel). Having encouragement and people who push you to continue on with your writing will help you overall your career.

The next advantage concerns how far you are in your writing life. If you’re just starting out and you always wanted to write something, this may be a perfect opportunity to try. All you have to do is commit for 30 days. This can test your stamina and whether or not you are really ready to embark on this adventure called a writing life.

For some this is exciting. For others, this is exhausting. Either way, writing challenges are not for the weak! A few years ago, I did the one year, one hundred rejection challenge. It pushed me to submit a lot (and I did get an acceptance). It also numbed me to the sting of rejection. It never feels good, but I also realized it wasn’t the end of the world if a story came back rejected. Also a few weeks ago, I tried the “Write 10K in a Day” challenge. I only got about four thousand words, but still, almost quadruple what I normally write, so I think that was pretty good for a first try.

The biggest reason, I don’t to NamoWrimo is… well, I haven’t really focused on writing a novel for most of my career. I tried writing one from March 2020 to March 2022, but that was a failure. I’m back at it again, but I’m also writing (and rewriting) other stories as well. Since most of my writing has been short stories, if I were to try and write for the challenge, that would be 10? (or more) stories in one month. That’s a lot for me. I don’t think I could stick with that and would probably burn out.

And we are not trying to burn ourselves out from writing.

If you have a solid routine and you’re getting after your work, forcing yourself to do a challenge that may hinder your writing is a bad idea. Nothing wrong with trying if you want to, but only you know for sure. Funny, I actually don’t know a lot of writers who do it. We’ve all just been plunking away at our own pace and aren’t really to embark on a change for a whole month.

Because of the controversy this year, some are choosing to write, but not participate formally with the organization, or they started new challenges (which I love). So I guess the bottom line is do what is best for your writing career. Ultimately, it is you and the page. Whatever is the best way for you to grow and create is the answer.

Me? I’m focusing on getting this first draft of this novel done by December 31st. I’ll be doing another 10K day on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving here in the US) and try like hell to push as many words as I can for the next few weeks. Between this blog, the new channel, and my fiction, my plate is full.

Happy writing everyone. Stay safe this holiday season!

Oct 23

New Fiction Publication – The Fire

My latest publication is live now. Please go to Androids and Dragons to read my story “The Fire”.

I wrote this story back in 2017 and I’m pleased it finally found a home.

Oct 5

How Do You Measure Growth? – Beginning of Oct 2024

Last month marked a milestone for me. Ten years ago, I got my first fiction story published. Prior to that, I had a couple of non-fiction pieces published, but nothing else. I was happy to realize that I was still on this journey, writing and publishing. I’ve had bumps along the way, but I’m still picking up the pen (or booting up the computer) to get the story down. I mentioned this to my mother, and I had an epiphany.

I had real, measurable growth in the past ten years.

My first two stories were published in two anthologies. I knew the editor and she had encouraged me to submit. I had a pretty good feeling that I would be accepted (about 90%). It was a good beginning and I was happy to finally have some stories out in the world to show people. My family could have something in their hands that would prove that I was a “real” writer. (I should note that no one ever made me feel bad about being unpublished. It was just nice to show them after all the years of talking about it.) It was good for my ego too. I had two books in my hands that listed me as a contributor. Humble as they may be, it was a start.

My next two stories came out in 2018 and 2019. These were two stories that I had workshopped in grad school. They had gone through multiple revisions and had at least a dozen people comment on the work. Both had been rejected from 20 or so places, but I persisted because I believed in them. They, at last, found a home and I was proud of both of them. The growth aspect came from the editors. They were complete strangers. These folks received submissions all the time. My stories had been good enough to convince them to publish me.

And, finally, we get to the two stories that got accepted this year. Both of these stories were written after I graduated. No workshopping (but I do have a critic group and they read over and commented on both stories) and no prior relationship with the editors.

Folks, I’m off the training wheels and riding this bike on my own! I may be slow on this journey, but I’m getting there.

The growth in my writing career is there. I can see it, but it is only obvious when I look back over the years. In a snapshot of a year or two, you won’t see much. But ten years later? Yeah, there is movement. It’s a reminder to me that a writing career is a marathon, not a sprint.

I’m still on this journey and I’ve made progress.

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