It’s the thing to say now about this year, isn’t it?
2020 sucked.
We had wildfires, a pandemic, lost millions of people all over the world, and straight up revolutions happening around the world… this year was truly “unprecedented” for sure.
Another thing about 2020 that sucked was that I didn’t have the motivation to write… at all. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I tried! I did those GIF shorts that I never got around to completing. I had a new novel idea brewing. I was trying to save my YA novel from going into the trash. But, ultimately, my writing game was off.
As much as I felt like I needed to escape from the craziness that was happening all around me, I felt the craziness was making it hard to create something that didn’t seem like what was happening. I didn’t want my stories to reflect the devastation that was happening around me. The future is uncertain and all my story arcs and endings felt the same.
So, what did I do in 2020? Well for 8/9 months now, I’ve been growing a baby! And it’s been an amazing experience — in spite of being in the middle of a pandemic! There were some challenges that I faced because of COVID-19, like doctor going to appointments alone and not having my partner there to witness things they should be able to witness first hand with their growing unborn child. But… in a way I am kind of glad I am going through this during a pandemic.
We are home bodies in general, so having to stay at home more wasn’t an issue. We also hardly dined in at restaurants; always ordered take out. So, those things didn’t bother us. What did bother us was having to make sure we both didn’t get sick. My husband especially had to be cautious of who he was around while at work, and I the same. It’s been rough, but we’ve managed.
So, this year hasn’t turned out how I had hoped. I was going to publish another book in 2021, but I think that has been put on the back burner for a bit. I am hopeful once I witness the miracle that is me birthing a human, my mind will stop feeling like it’s living in chaos and I will be able to create some magic again.
In the meantime, I feel like posting some tentative goals for 2021 and sharing them with you.
Write anything and often: blog post, short story, a sentence, a paragraph, a page.
Read more books
Market my books better
This may be a small list, but I will probably add to it through the year. In the meantime, I think I’m going to keep with the idea of starting small and working my way to something bigger.
Thank you so much for still following along with my writing journey, and for those who continue to support me by subscribing on Patreon or buying my books!
As always, thanks for reading!
-Emi