When I look back at the beginning of 2024, it feels impossible that it was just a year ago. I looked back at the posts on my professional account and found myself talking about first-draft edits of my novel. No website, no queries, no writers conference… As I started a list of the the things I have accomplished this year, I was in absolute shock over the magnitude of what I have completed. If it helps to make me sound a little less self-centered as I give you a list of the things that I’m proud of myself for, please picture me as the little kid who is so, so excited to tell you about the story she created with her Lego minifigures. Because that’s who I’m doing all of this for.

Main accomplishments of 2024:

• Drafts 2-6 of The Reaper completed
• Participated in live poetry reading
• Accepted 4 beta reader reviews of The Reaper
• Began writing the sequel to The Reaper
• Completed building my website
• Launched monthly newsletter
• 34 query letters sent to agents for The Reaper
• Received scholarship to attend WriterCon in Oklahoma City
• Successful website and social media rebrand
• Began writing my new novel, Laced

This doesn’t even include the research and work that led up to those, all of the other submissions that I am waiting for acceptance on, as well as some projects that I am still keeping under wraps. (More on that in the new year…) In 2023, I achieved a something great by writing my novel. I had never done anything like that before. In 2024, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone even further as I began pursuing publication. It still seems strange to me to think of how many people have read the first chapter of my novel. Having my work out there in the universe can feel a little uncomfortable to think about at times – almost as if I knew that my private journals were being read by strangers – but it is also so thrilling to know that someone could be holding my words in their hands at this very moment.

I think that one of the things that was so exciting about this year is what I did for my professional life that was not writing. Though I am always striving to improve on my abilities, the writing will always be the easy part. It is in the things that were not writing where I learned and grew the most this year.

I built a website. Though I had some graphic design experience from high-school that I was able to apply to this process, it was still one of the most challenging things that I have done this year. I am fairly sure that the employees at the local coffee shops can still remember the noises of frustration that I made about every five minutes as I sat with my hot chocolate attempting to teach myself basic web design. It was a long – sometimes infuriating – process that pushed my patience to its outer limits, but now that it is finished, I can be proud of everything that I put into it. The compliments I have received on it have also validated the entire experience.

I went to a writers conference. Let me rephrase. I went to a writers conference and thrived. Before you say that that sounds easy, it must be mentioned that I am not an incredibly social person. I like people in small doses where I have the proper time for my social battery to recharge. But over the course of the weekend, I met countless new people, exchanged friendship bracelets and business cards, and made personal as well as professional connections with so many other authors. As someone who was very willing to turn into a writer-hermit, it was very exciting to find an environment where I was happy to be around people and sad to see them go.

This year I learned about my capabilities, and how much they can grow if they are pushed in a safe way. I had goals, and I met them. But what is even more important to me than that, I did things that I never would have expected. I will be happy to leave this year with these accomplishments to hold onto. And that’s just the things that I’ve done in my professional life. This year has proven to me that in every aspect of my life, the best thing I can do is set my sights on something, and make the decision to go and get it. I have pursued my goals this year with outstretched hands, and have found my dreams are easier to achieve when they are a little closer to my reach.

Though there are still two weeks left until the new year, this will most likely be my last post of the year. I believe in the importance of the Christmas season for a multitude of reasons – most importantly its significance to my faith – but in addition to that, spending this time with those who I am close with, and reflecting on my gratitude for all of the blessings that have been put into my life. I look forward to everything that the new year holds for me and my writing, and cannot wait to join you, my readers, in celebrating the adventures that await us in 2025.