2015 Year in Review

It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time to look back on my resolutions and goals for 2015. It’s always a little terrifying, to know that I’ve passed another year, and to see what I could have done better.

1.       Focus on publishing.

This was a little iffy. In January, I set up a query party, and we sent queries through participants, which was a lot of fun. I learned from each of them, and I learned about online critique groups along the way. I also sent out almost ten queries for the year, and received rejections from all of them. I know it may not seem like a success, but at the same time, it means that I actually sent out queries and tried, so for me, that is a significant step.

2.       Participate (and win!) both Camp NaNoWriMos and the regular NaNoWriMo.

April was an interesting month for me. I participated in the first NaNoWriMo by writing a daily character sketch to try and get ideas for NaNoWriMo. It was a frustrating experiment, but it did give me two characters that ended up being the sole inspiration for NaNoWriMo. During July, I did a full revision of The King’s Councilor. November was an incredibly productive month. I was able to write not one, but two different novels, the first two in the trilogy. I wrote 177,000 words in 30 days, so I would say I definitely met this goal!

3.       Read 52 books in the year 2015

I didn’t get to 52 books this year, but I did get close. I read 44 books this year. One of the most amazing things that I’ve ever learned was that reading teaches me almost as much about writing as writing itself. I’m starting to notice trends, things that I like, things that I don’t like, even what works and doesn’t. I’m finding writers that I enjoy reading, and even popular books that just don’t quite work for me. I hope to read just as many books next year as well.

Well that’s my year! How have your goals and aspirations been in 2015?