I am aware it is already almost March (what is this madness?), so I want to get this 2021 writing wrap-up out there before it becomes even more ridiculous. The good news is, it’s taken me so long to get this posted because I’ve been writing a lot.
2021 was actually a really great writing year for me. I remember back at the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020, riding the metro home after a trivia night with my writing group friends (back when such things were safe), and talking with a friend about feeling stuck in my writing. It wasn’t that I didn’t have projects to work on, but more that we both felt we weren’t progressing in our craft and it was time to move to the next level. And in 2021, I think I finally got to that next level.
Early in 2021, my agent gave me feedback on my middle grade space adventure project. Part of that feedback was, basically, “Your pacing is a bit out of whack. Have you read Save the Cat! Writes a Novel?” And so I read Save the Cat! Writes a Novel, and it changed my writing so much. While none of the advice in the book was entirely new to me, it was presented in such a clear way that really spoke to me, with lots of easy to follow examples. Now, not only do I understand how to structure a novel better than I ever have, but I can actually articulate it to someone else, which honestly feels huge.
I’ve been recommending Save the Cat! Writes a Novel to all my writer friends, and consistent with that, if you’re interested in how stories are structured or want to get a really firm grasp on how to do it yourself, definitely go pick up Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Broddy.
So, armed with my new understanding of story structure, in 2021 I worked through many drafts of my space adventure, including one draft with a sensitivity reader, and yes several drafts where my agent said my characters needed more voice and I failed to understand what she meant, but we got there in the end. This project means so so much to me, and finishing it, for now, was really great!
I also took my better understanding of plot and went back to an older project I’d set aside, did one major revision, and sent it off to new beta readers to get some more feedback. Finally, I started a whole novel, which I’m really excited about, even though I’m flying by the seat of my pants here a bit.
On the short story front, I wrote three or four short stories in 2021, and I think they’re some of my strongest short stories. One of them, “Moon by Moon We Go Together,” was accepted by the first market I submitted it to, the Triangulation: Habitats anthology. I’ve been shopping the other stories around, and I hope to share them with you soon.
I had two other short stories published in 2021, “Harmonies for Cadence” was published in the Voyage YA Journal, and “Noa and the Dragon” was published in the Artificial Divide anthology. And my story “Roomba Requires Your Attention” was accepted by Kaleidotrope and will be published soon. These three stories are all work I wrote a few years ago, but they are still near and dear to my heart.
I also got more involved in the writing community in 2021. I attended WorldCon (virtually because Omicron ruined my in-person plans) and voted for the 2021 Hugos, and I became a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and joined a critique group put on by my local chapter.
Finally, I want to briefly describe my writing goals for 2022. Basically, I want to keep doing what I’ve been doing. I would like to finish the first draft of the new project this year, and I would like to finish revisions on the older middle grade fantasy project I’ve pulled off the shelf. I’ve also started refreshing my research on WWII Italy in the hopes of finally revising my senior honors project from college.
2021 was a great year for leveling up my writing game, and I’m really excited to keep applying everything I’ve learned to my work in 2022. Happy writing, everyone!