Hello, everyone! Welcome back, and thanks for joining me. Once again, I'm sorry for the absence. A lot has been happening, and I hope to be more active and more present moving forward.
More importantly, Happy New Year! Of course, during this time, everyone seems to reflect on the year past and make new goals for the year coming. This new year is particularly momentous because it marks the beginning of a new decade (although some would argue differently). Looking back on the last ten years, I realized all that I accomplished.
I graduated high school, undergrad, and grad school
I wrote two thesis papers
I discovered my love of writing
I wrote my first novel
I entered the realm of publishing and have already gained so much knowledge
I've attended so many author events, concerts, performing art shows, and comic cons
I am very fortunate and grateful to have had all of these experiences, and if the past ten years have been any indication of what the next ten will look like, then all I can say is I look forward to what's in store.
And I want to say that while all these amazing things happened, there were also a handful of hurdles. I only mention this because as a society we tend to reveal our best moments instead of all our moments, and challenging times define us as equally, if not more so, than good times. I know there were some years within the past decade where I questioned everything because of a long-term bout of illness. And although living through it was tough, I also know that it made me stronger, brought me closer to my writing, and made me the person that I wanted to be, the one who I am today.
Instead of focusing on the bad, I want to reflect and think about where I am going next. 2019 was a good year, but I must admit that a faced a little burn out. During the first five to six months of the year, I was consumed with finishing up school, which was no easy feat. And then the whole summer was dedicated to my internship, which was a great experience, but made me question a lot of things in terms of career choices and publishing in general. And while I did start writing my second novel in the fall, it was a slow process that I am (hopefully) on the other side of. So, I essentially have been absent and silent because I have not only been taking a much, much needed break, but I also needed time to figure myself out.
Now, I believe I'm on the other side of this burn out hill (so to speak), and I am ready to continue on my writing and publishing journey. In 2020, I hope to accomplish quite a bit. Who knows, it might not all happen, but I have never felt this determined or dedicated in a while, so I think I might just be able to accomplish whatever I set my mind to.
Here are my 2020 resolutions:
Blogging: Be more active with blogging and social media. Ideally, I would like to post a blog twice a month and post on my social media platforms twice a week. I'm still planning out what to expect from all these posts, but I assure you it will be writing and publishing related.
Writing: Actually start my second novel and finish it. As I said, it has been difficult to get into a writing routine, but I definitely feel like I am ready to start working toward this goal. I now know that I was starting the novel in the wrong place, which is why it was so hard to make progress, and this revelation in itself is a step in the right direction.
Reading: Read 12 books. My reading challenge for 2019 was an absolute disaster. I wanted to read 25 books and I only read 13. I'm not entirely sure why this happened since the year prior I read 24 books. That aside, I figured setting a goal of 12 books would be nice because it's one book a month, which seems manageable. Unlike last year, I am not going to designate what books I want to read this year. Instead, I want to be more spontaneous and see what appeals most to me. I will post on social media what book I am currently reading, if you're interested in knowing.
Publishing: Continue on my publishing journey. The world of publishing is a learning process. It has taken me some time to navigate and decide where I fit into it. Recently, I have finally made some decisions in regards to where I want to go within the realm of publishing, and I'll be sharing more about this soon.
I hope you all follow along in my journey, and thank you so much reading and supporting me. Stay tuned because there will be exciting news coming, especially on 7/7/2020.