I have a theory that the older one gets, the smaller a fraction of their life a day is, and therefore, the shorter each succeeding year seems to feel like. I gave birth to a daughter at the end of 2017, and so 2018 was an exhausted blur of figuring out how to keep a tiny human alive, while maintaining some semblance of normality. The apartment is still standing, the child is still alive (she is currently licking the table as I type), the cat is still mostly-intact, I’ve managed to hold onto my job, and I’ve even fit in some revising, so I’m counting this year a success.
On the writing front, it’s definitely been a year of figuring out a new work-life balance and learning not to be so hard on myself. I didn’t finish any new pieces, but I did have a few publishing successes (one of which will feature in a future post). 2018 was the year that I decided to more fully participate in the writing world. I managed to attend a writing workshop (my first) and a writing conference (my second), along with joining a few Facebook writing groups and one in-person one. I’ve found that writers are a really great group of people, endlessly enthusiastic and thoughtful and encouraging. Finally, I’m sprucing up this website, doing a little spring cleaning and decorating in time for next year.
Looking ahead to 2019, I’ve really decided to focus on finishing my novel. It’s been in the works for years and I need to (in the words of a conference instructor) “just shut up and write”. I would like to keep revising some of my older stories, and finish the first draft of 3 new stories. I’m also curious to see if some of my previously-published stories might find a new audience with journals that accept reprints. A new interest that cropped up in 2018, which I’d like to explore more in 2019, would be essay writing, which would take my current creative-nonfiction prose-poetry stream-of-consciousness writing and give it a more solid academic form. There’s a lot to look forward to, and I’m excited for what the future will bring.
Let me know what you’re hoping 2019 will bring to your life!