2017 in Review

It’s been quite a year! Here’s a wrap up of what I’ve accomplished:

Writing

Early in the year I completed a 92,000 word YA contemporary fantasy. It needs heavy revision, so I’ll most likely attack it as a rewrite when I come back to it.

Then I worked on edits for my fairytale but didn’t complete them because I’m lazy.

In July, I started a new manuscript with Camp Nanowrimo and wrote over 35,000 words.

In September and October, I went back and forth working on that manuscript and starting rewrites for another. I mentioned it before, it’s another YA contemporary fantasy that needed a ton of work. It’s 180,000 words, so I decided to pull out a few subplots and change it to first person. I wrote nearly 17,000 words before deciding I needed to put more thought into one of my characters. He went from being the perfect boyfriend in draft one to being a POV character in the rewrite, meaning I need to develop his dark side a little better.

In October and November, I finished editing my fairytale! This is only the SECOND manuscript I’ve ever polished enough to query! I hate editing. I hate editing. I hate editing. I’m very proud of this accomplishment!

After vacationing in early December, I took the rest of the month off from writing to focus on reading.

Reading

I’ve read 82 books this year! I only read 22 last year and less than 20 the year before. So 82 books is a big deal.

There are several reasons why I read so many books:

1. I was trying not to write. When struggling to find the enthusiasm to finish my first manuscript of the year and waiting until July to start my second, books were an excellent distraction.
2. Library Card, Net Galley, Overdrive, and Prime Reading. Basically, I suddenly had access to books like I never have before. Let it rain!
3. Audiobooks. Since August, when I discovered audiobooks, I now read twice as many books per month as I previously did. I mainly choose books I wouldn’t regularly read or that I know I’d struggle to finish.
4. I like to cuddle my itty bitty babies. Snuggles and a good book go hand in hand. Literally. You usually need an arm for each 😛
5. I’m looking for comp titles for my WIPs and trying to get a feel for what books are already out there. I accidentally read eleven books in January because of my mad dash to read more fantasy novels and learned a lot, twice. I’m still searching for comparative titles, so if you have any YA/NA fantasy recommendations let me know!

Family

I know I accomplished a lot in the realm of reading, but honestly, I feel like a bit of a slacker when it comes to writing accomplishments this year. I’m in no way annoyed about it, however, because I had a baby in August! My writer-life will probably continue to move slowly next year, but again, I’m not worried about it. I’ve got sweet babies to love and plenty of books to read.

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