The Year-End Post
Okay, so let's wrap this dumpster fire of a year up. First up: Last year's resolutions:
DO NOT go to the hospital
DO NOT lose any weight
DO get strong again
Those were rather optimistic, turns out. I did have one hospital stay and I did lose weight right before it, but as of October my health is A-ok! I'm back up to my fighting weight, though I have studioiusly avoided any actual exercise and so I now have a quite marshmellow-like consistancy.
Now, my year as a fiction writer:
I made 80 fiction submissions this year - down from 88 last year and 90 the year before. I had four acceptances, also down from last year. I feel sad as a writer, but I look at my end-of-2015 LJ entry and see I had expected to do much worse this year, since I pretty much did not write in 2015 - all of 2015's sales and submissions were stories written in 2014 or earlier.
I'm tracking 42 pieces in The Grinder right now, btw. My trunk, it is full.
I finished my Nanowrimo novel and I love it, though I am of course certain no one else ever will. I gave it to Grace and Brian to read, and although they have both gushed to me about it, neither has finished reading and it can't be all that good, can it, if they could put it down??
Still, it feels good to have written a new novel. I haven't done that since 2014.
My year as a knitter:
I did not knit much this year. I made a pink cardigan for my niece, Jennifer, for Christmas. I made an Oak leaf patterned tea towel as a wedding gift for my friend Azimars. I made a lace shawl that was tricky but much fun to wear, and I made this simple mostly stockinnette sweater for myself that i love.
I also made, like, 8 pairs of baby booties, having learned a simple pattern for them. Baby Booties are quick and adorable and my friends obliged me by being very fecund this year.
My year in reading:
I barely read this year - a paltry 38 books, mostly tasty pulp. I did rate 6 five stars in Good Reads, though, which might be a high. Quite a few of these will stick in my brain meats. Karen Joy Fowler's "We are All Completely Beside Ourselves" and Charles Obendorf's "Foragers" in particular.
Spending time every day with Jennifer has obviously impacted how much time I spend on solitary pursuits like reading and knitting, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Having a twelve-year-old living with me has taught me a lot about life and parenting and my own opinions on both. Also I've gotten her interested in my favorite TV shows as a way to have less exhausting bonding time.
The girl does love to tickle fight.
Ok okay - so now for the resolutions going forward. For 2017 I resolve:
1. To beat my 2014 high of 90 short fiction submissions.
2. Do 100 push-ups a day for 100 days. (Get my strength back! grar! This challenge worked for me in the past.)
3. Be more politically involved, especially locally, as a democrat and a liberal and NOT A NAZI. Be able to say I did my part to stop the fucking Nazis. Because seriously: FUCK.