It’s the end of another year

It’s the time of year where everyone shares their accomplishments for the year. And while this post will be no different in that regards, there is also a bit of reflection as well.

I had several author and writing related goals I had jotted upon a piece of paper at the beginning of this year:

• Publish my novels Luna and Heirs to the Realm.
• Continue working on the things I wrote for NaNoWriMo2021 and NaNoWriMo2022 and see where they take me.
• Get 5000 views for the year on this here blog and post at least twice weekly.
• Grow my following on my social media applications.
• Read and review/rate at least 50 of the works of other indie authors.
• Get $100 in royalties for the year.
• Practice honing this craft of mine.

And most of those I accomplished. Luna was published in March and Heirs to the Realm was published in November, marking the 16th and 17th works in my Portals Series. My NaNoWriMo2022 work is now my serial novel The Magician (complete with audio book versions here!) and I have decided my 2021 work will likely never see publication (it’s a fictional memoir based on some stuff that happened to me in high school that was very cathartic to write, but also extremely personal). I have almost 9000 views on this blog and this post makes 130 posts, which averages to 2.5 posts per week of continuous writing. My social medias have waxed and waned throughout the course of the year, with loyal followers on all platforms commenting and cheering me on and even helping me get my words shared with the world. I have read 54 books this year (though GoodReads hasn’t recorded all of them since four aren’t on the platform) and at least rated them.  In regards to my royalties, I am a mere cent away from getting $100 this year and have had over one thousand books downloaded during my free book giveaway this week. And even if it was only a sentence or two, I have written something every single day, honing this craft of mine and become a better person and a better writer with each word I pen or type.

All of this I have done, but it’s only a fraction of what I have achieved. I spent the year sending out an average of fifteen cards a week to friends, family and even perfect strangers, wishing them peace and love, hope and light, joy and magic through my “glad tidings” project (which made me a local celebrity as well). I have brought joy to people’s faces with the adventures of my little unicorns, the Squishies. I have hiked many miles as I trekked through forest and plains looking for adventure and completing the Warren County geocaching adventure for this year, gaining inspiration for my writings as I did so. The other half and I started the process to buy a house as well, not expecting that we’d fall in love with the first one we’d see and end up being the bid the sellers would accept and closing before the end of the year is up. In the coming new year, we will begin the adventure of packing up our belongings and exchanging this tiny, albeit rented abode for a more permanent one we can call our own.

And I did all of these things while also feeling like throwing in the towel some days. I wanted to give up and give in. Life some days was so difficult to face I had to force myself to get up and get dressed, plastering on a happy face even when I didn’t feel like it. There were days where my genetic joint condition flared up so bad I could barely walk, let alone function. There were days I just wanted to delete every where I ever wrote. There were days that I just hated myself and the world, even with a snack and a cup of water, some sleep, and a shower. There were days I was called all sorts of names from people that knocked my self-esteem to lower points and days where a simple off-handed comment could send me spiraling into a pit of despair and meltdowns that lasted most of a day.

But I persevered through it all, just as I am known to do, finding the hope and love and joy and peace where I can. I remember the silver linings, the moments I just listed, the goals I managed to achieve even when others might be wishing for me to fail. I celebrate these moments and cherish the memories that I have created this year.

And if all you have achieved in this year is just putting one foot in front of the other, I celebrate you too. It’s hard to overcome the things that weigh so heavily in one’s soul at times. Just getting out of bed is a thing to celebrate. And when it seems as though all it does is rain and pour on your parade, it’s difficult to do much else but wait protectively for the storm to pass, if it ever does.

There were years of hardship for me in the past. I am sure there will be such years again in the future. For that is as much a part of the story as is these moments we find that make life seem magical. So if you’ve had a hard year, let me know. I may not be able to make it right, but I can tell you that things can get better in time. I can drop you a line, find a way to connect you to people who can help, or even just keep sharing my magic until you find your own.

Stay magical, friends.

Keep writing your own story.

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And as always, #writeyourownstory