2011 was sort of a big year for me.
1.) In February, I finally decided to follow my dreams and focus on becoming a published author, and I changed my major in college (for the fifth time) to the one I TRULY wanted to pursue: Creative Writing.
2.) In March, I had my first experience with critique partners (there are some MEAN people out there. But I found my writing soul mate after many trial and error critiques. Here's looking at you, Amy!). And thank you, thank you, Natalie Parker, who was gentle but tough, and helped me fix all kinds of things this year. But I also realized that my novel kinda sucked, thanks to those mean people. So thank you mean girl who told me that "people don't talk in contractions". You were... right about some things.
3.) I then spent April through September re-writing my novel for the fourth time.
4.) On September 18th, I finished my first full-length novel.
5.) From September to October, I edited my first full-length novel.
6.) On October 4th, I freaking submitted my first full-length novel to agents.
7.) In October and November, I got TWO manuscript requests (with one rejection and still waiting for a response on the other)
8.) January-December, I LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT THE PUBLISHING BUSINESS! And I definitely learned things about myself as a writer along the way. For example, I write my best scenes when there's good music playing in my ears. Or that I can only plot with a paper and pen and can only write scenes by typing. Or that I CANNOT write on the couch (the words REFUSE to come to me there for some reason. Embarrassingly, I've written my best stuff in the bathtub)
So, I must say, 2011 was a very, very productive year for me. I learned that rejection is inevitable, and that it HURTS. I learned writing a novel with a beginning, middle, end, and all the stuff in between is HARD. But in 2011, I learned that I CAN write a novel, and I plan to do it again and again and again.
I want to thank Jackson Pearce, Maggie Stiefvater, and Mary Kole for the infinite amounts of knowledge on their blogs!!!
And as for 2012??????? I have HUGE plans. :-D
What about you?
Wow, what an awesome 2011!! Congrats for all you accomplished, especially when the going got tough and you were getting hard, hard critique!
ReplyDeleteAlso, don't be embarrassed by those bathtub words of awesomeness! My critique group has what we call The Showers of Epiphany (or baths) because ALL our best stuff is worked out in the shower. When writing gets tough, my partners always tell me to go take an epiphany shower, and it ALWAYS works :D
Good luck for an awesome 2012!
I think the bathtub has magical thinking powers. Seriously.
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