2023 Writing Year in Review
It’s already February, but I still wanted to update here with my submission statistics of 2023. I was discussing this with the husband that so… Read More »2023 Writing Year in Review
Personal
Pushcart Nomination: Generations
I was so honored to find out that my piece, “Generations,” was one of the creative non-fiction pieces nominated by Native Skin for the Pushcart… Read More »Pushcart Nomination: Generations
2021 Writing Year in Review
I started drafting this post at the end of December 2021, and then all of a sudden, I realized that it’s already past February and… Read More »2021 Writing Year in Review
Poetry Marathon and Poem A Day in November
On June 26, 2021, I woke up extra early to start writing poetry alongside people from all over the world as part of the annual… Read More »Poetry Marathon and Poem A Day in November
2020 Writing Year in Review
Those of you who have followed me for years will know that I initially tried the Write 1, Submit 1 challenge, where I tried to write and submit one story every week. That later changed to the 100 Rejections challenge, which was to aim for 100 rejections a year. While I never succeeded in either of those challenges, it did lead me to start a habit of tracking all my submissions and new writings, which I have managed to keep up for going on 7 years.
2020 has definitely been a unique year, both in the challenges and opportunities presented. A lot could be said, but I think I’ll just focus on the statistics as a way to sum up the year:
Writing submissions rolled over from 2019: 9
Writing submissions in 2020 (including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry): 32 (though I may sneak in one more today, if possible)
Non-writing creative submissions in 2020: 4 (all photography)
Total submissions tracked in 2020: 45
2020 Books In Review
It’s important, as a writer, to also be an avid reader. Not only is it enjoyable, it’s a great way to improve as a writer, to see how other writers are approaching their work, no matter the genre (in fact, I think it’s best to read across many genres).
In my day-to-day life with a full-time job coupled with being a full-time mom and wife, I don’t often have the time and inclination to read “proper” books. It’s hard to really get into a book if I only have 10 minutes here and there, or at the end of the day when my brain is fried. So, I end up reading a lot of short blog posts, fanfiction, magazines, and innumerable re-readings of children’s picture books. The last few years, I’ve attempted to at least read one full-length book a month, but I have failed miserably. However, I managed to not only read at least 12 books in 2020, but I’m very happy that the majority of them were written by female and POC authors.
I was going to do this huge long analysis of the books I read in 2020, but instead, I found this great end-of-the-year book ask on Tumblr, so I’ll answer these questions instead:
1. How many books did you read this year?
13 books (hooray!)
Nanowrimo
It’s almost that time of the year. Nanowrimo (or National Novel Writing Month) is getting ready to kick off November 1. What is it? Nanowrimo… Read More »Nanowrimo
Update on the State of my Life
My husband and I are back from our 10-month 12-country trip around the world. It’s been crazy settling back into the normal routine of life,… Read More »Update on the State of my Life
A Reading of “Ulysses”
On our tour through the UK, we decided to also pop in for a visit to Dublin, Ireland. While gathering information for nearby attractions through… Read More »A Reading of “Ulysses”