End of One Year, Beginning of Another
First of all, Happy New Year! I still can’t believe we’re entering the Year of Our Lord Two-Thousand-and-Twenty-Four. When I was sixteen, I couldn’t imagine living past 30 and, God willing, I will turn 39 in April. Hopefully, I will be able to wrap my mind around that number by the time I get there.
What will this year bring? No idea. This is both thrilling and nauseating at the same time. I like to know what’s going to happen. Like most people, I enjoy being in control, though half of maturity is realizing that you are never as in control as you think. All that being said, let’s do a brief recap of the year and then go into what I hope to accomplish in the new year.
2023 Was a Wild Ride
The highlights:
In mid-May, I left my full-time job as a parish secretary to return to writing full-time.
In May, I did the unthinkable (for me). I took two plane trips back-to-back. For someone with anxiety, this is A Big Deal. One of those trips was for an intense retreat for survivors of abuse. The second trip was an overnighter for a job interview. I didn’t get the job, but I really appreciated the experience.
May was just a wild month.
In June, we put down our dog, Scholastica. Scholly and her brother, Ben, were gotten over our honeymoon thirteen years ago. Ben died in 2022. It was really hard letting Scholly go but it was for the best.
Over the summer, I made several attempts at beginning a novel. It had been over a year since I wrote fiction of any stripe, and it was like I had suddenly forgotten how to do it. In August, I hit on the idea for my current work-in-progress. The WIP is currently approaching 70k words with no signs of slowing down.
In late September, I created this Substack. The first State of the Library came out October 2 and the first story, “The Door”, was published on Friday, October 13.
In early November, my mother-in-law passed away. She’d been fighting several health issues and God finally told her the fight was over.
On November 25, I posted “The Cost of Memory: Part One”, joining The Blackwater Project with
.
Looking Ahead to 2024
Everyone makes goals and resolutions around New Year’s. While I’m not really great at keeping resolutions, it’s good for writers to have goals. My goals for the year are:
Complete “The Cost of Memory”.
Post my first *planned* serial, beginning (hopefully) in February.
Complete the rough draft of my work-in-progress.
A full year of posts!
I also plan on putting a paywall up on this site. You’ll get more details on this in January’s State of the Library.
What About You?
What events in 2023 would make your highlight reel? What did you accomplish? What do you hope to accomplish in 2024?
I want to dig deeper into fiction writing and maintain a weekly devotion or post about defaulting to grace. I wish I could afford subscriptions, but without an regular income, it just isn't responsible. I am always open to a paid sub swap (I put my Defaulting to Grace book behind the paywall.)