Year 2009 Review

2009 is coming to a fast close. Time to review my yearly progress. I have to say I did better than I thought I would.

Challenges: This year I participated in several writing/reading challenges.

Page-a-Day - this was a goal/challenge I set out to complete this year. The goal was to write a page-a-day everyday (except for one allotted day of rest) for the entire year. I recorded each day I wrote and it all added up to 159 days, a little over half a year. I guess that's better than nothing but will shoot for a full year in 2010.

AbDWriMo - February marked the month long Nano-like writing challenge for the website Authors By Design. The goal was to write 15,000 words in 28 days. I ended the month with 14,288.

Read 12 Books in 2009 - the purpose was to read 12 books cover to cover in the year 2009, signed up in February, and mine ended with 13 thanks to a book review I was asked to write (my reading list).

NaNoEdMo - With March came National Novel Editing Month. I finished surpassing the 50 hour requirement. Managed to edit four (finishing three) short stories: The Not Known, The List, Love and Lost, and A Tale of Two Sisters.

2nd AbDWriMo - this challenge was much like the first except half of it was writing and the other was editing. I wrote 14,605 words for the first half and didn't complete the editing portion. The site went down around this time and felt it didn't really matter, although it should have.

Website - Before Nano began, I updated my website. There are several features I haven't added yet but got the ball rolling in October.

NaBloPoMo - This challenge coincided with Nano. Post to your blog everyday for the entire month for a chance to win a prize. I set up my first Nano blog, Sinister Tales, and posted excerpts from my writing project everyday. Didn't win anything but still felt I accomplished something.

NaNoWriMo - This was the last challenge of the year and considered the biggest. 50K in 30 days. Completed with 53,736, especially proud of that.

Submissions/Rejections/Withdrawals/Contests: Not as many as I should have had

- I submitted three short shorts to Tweet the Meat. All ended in rejection. I also submitted to their contest and lost.

- Submitted a short story The Boy in the Book to Authors By Design Twisted Fairytale contest. Also didn't win.

- Submitted Blood Diary in December 2008 to Pseudopod and received a rejection in February.

- Withdrew Phantom House from a project Janrae Frank started Things are Not What They Seem Anthology after two years in limbo. I waited through all the ups and downs with this project but ultimately felt my little story wasn't getting anywhere.

- Submitted Sealed With Anguish to Fear and Trembling Mag. Ended in rejection.

-This acceptance was received last year but I received the finish project and my first writing "pay check" in January for Phantom House and Dark Sunset in the Authors By Design anthology.

I think I had a semi-productive writing year. All the challenges kept me writing/reading but didn't do as well when I was on my own. Along with the lack of submissions, I'm hoping to improve for 2010. Finish updating my website. Make out a list of magazines/ezines/anthologies/contests I want to submit to. Edit the pile of short stories I have laying around. Really get my stuff out there. Hopefully when December 2010 comes around, I will have more to show for it.