As the saying goes, “hindsight is 20/20.” This year has been a bit challenging and different from past years due to the pandemic. I didn’t have nearly as many opportunities to go to conventions since they were all canceled or delayed to future years. While staying at home would have provided me with plenty of opportunities to write, I have also learned that having an infant daughter is a challenge that I had not accounted for in my plans. Regardless of these challenges, I managed to complete at least a few things in 2020, based on the goals I set forth at the beginning of the year. Let’s see how I did in this year’s…
2020 YEAR IN REVIEW
The Ascent of the Writer (Ironed Man / The Last Immortal)
In part due to the “hindsight” saying, I decided this year to go back and collect together all the little bits of writing I had written over the last 20 years. The result was The Ascent of the Writer, a compilation of poetry, satire journalism, and short stories that shows where some of the inspiration for my later (and larger) written works originated. This collection is also the official release of two short stories I wrote that weren’t accepted into anthologies: Ironed Man (written around 2016) and The Last Immortal (written in 2020). If you want a free copy of this collection, you can get an eBook version of it by signing up for my newsletter.
Welcome to the Alpacalypse (Be Fruitful…)
About a month into the first lockdown for the Coronavirus pandemic, The Midnight Writers finally released their animal-themed short story anthology, Welcome to the Alpacalypse. My story, Be Fruitful…, ended up being quite prescient when it came to how the end of the world might look for those who would have to live in it. Granted, our current “end of the world” scenario doesn’t involve rabbits procreating exponentially, but it does involve staying indoors for long periods of time.
Nightmare’s Endgame
The final book in the Slumberealm trilogy, Nightmare’s Endgame was my 11th win for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I actually wrote a lot slower this year than I usually did, and only hit 50,000 words on the 16th of the month. I did manage to finish the story at 75,400 words on the 23rd. It’ll be some time before anyone (including myself) will look at this draft, but I do hope to make it into something worth publishing in the future.
Buried Colony
While I was well on my way to publishing Buried Colony this year—along with advanced reader copies and an audiobook version—some significant feedback caused me to put this project on hold. I’ll be revising and revamping Buried Colony next year, so that you will hopefully have a chance to read it!
This is Not a Drill
While I queried this children’s book in very few places, I haven’t heard back from any of them. This means I’ll move forward with it and self-publish in the coming years.
Blog Posts
It was a little tough to think up new things to write on this year, but I managed to get these topics up on my blog:
- January: 2020, Looking Forward
What did I plan to do in 2020? This post explains the goals I had for the year. - February: Answers to a new writer’s FAQ
I have seen plenty of the same questions from new writers over the years. This post tries to answer these frequently asked questions. - March: The List of Best Movies
Anyone who has read Cinema Connections knows I love movies. In this post, I try and create the definitive list of the best of them. - April: Logic and the Suspension of Disbelief
Even if your story is completely fictional, it still has to make sense in a logical context. - May: An Author’s Online Presence [PART 1/2]
Social media can be intimidating as an author, but that doesn’t mean they should completely avoid them. - June: An Author’s Online Presence [PART 2/2]
If you want to be found as an author online, there are platforms and search engines you’ll need to control. - July: Eating the Elephant
Sometimes big projects are intimidating until they can be broken down into smaller pieces. - August: Why I don’t make a living on my writing
Many writers dream of supporting themselves with their creative talent. I did the math to show how difficult it can be. - September: When did the writing begin?
While The Ascent of the Writer looks back at 20 years of my writing, I was jotting down stories long before that. - October: Pretend Politics
As someone who could now run for president, what would I change in our current political system? - November: How to pivot as a writer
When a project just doesn’t go write, having multiple irons in the fire helps to keep the content ready to publish.
Once again, I want to thank everyone who enjoyed the content I created this year. I do have more exciting things planned for the next year, including a secret project that I’ve been hinting at for months in my newsletter. All will be revealed in 2021, so stay tuned!