#71: This Is It
2018, man. What a year.
Welcome to another Writing Update—a weekly journal where I document the ups and downs of my writing life. The first update of 2018 was number #20. Full of hopes and dreams for the year, I wrote about my plans and a short story I was writing at the time. I kept it intentionally vague because I was sitting on the raw first draft of my novel at the time, not really sure what I was going to do with it.
Number #71 will be this year’s last. The surreal ride of 2018 is over. I worked my ass off, and now I’m sitting on a revised second draft. And, well, I still don’t know where this whole thing is going. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The revisions were possibly the most difficult thing that I’ve ever done. It was my first time editing a novel, and, to be honest, I was expecting the process to take 6 months in the absolute worst case scenario. There was only a tiny flaw in the plan: it was bollocks.
Despite that, I consider 2018 a success. I read 50 books and 70+ short stories. I posted hundreds of quotes and links and 52 writing updates on the blog. I started a newsletter and built a website for myself and begun collecting bookshop photos and many other things. Most importantly of all, I learned how to revise novels.
There were many ups and downs, but it’s been a good year, and I’m grateful for that. I took a few days off over the holidays to get some rest and take inventory of everything that’s been going on—to celebrate the good and reflect on the bad. I’ll be back in 2019, trying to move my drinking cabinets a little closer towards publication again.
Thank you for sticking around and supporting me. I really appreciate it.
What I Am Reading
With the extra time on my hands, I read a number of books this week. I finished Dubliners by James Joyce—a collection of short stories that paint a portrait of Dublin at the onset of the 20th century. Much like Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, it portrays the universal struggles of everyday life. I have a soft spot for this type of realism.
Then I picked up Neil Gaiman’s Art Matters which is, in fact, a collection of three previously published essays on art and creativity illustrated by Chris Riddell. I loved the format with the raw drawings. When you read it, you might recognise a number of Gaiman’s quotes from this blog.
After that, I read If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura. I received this as a gift for Christmas. It’s a heavily character-driven story with bits of magical realism thrown in to make it work. I enjoyed it, particularly the twist at the end.
Now, I’m reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman, which has been sitting on my kindle for years.
Short Stories
I also read these short stories:
- Clay by James Joyce
- A Painful Case by James Joyce
- Ivy Day in the Committee Room by James Joyce
- A Mother by James Joyce
- Grace by James Joyce
- The Dead by James Joyce
- The Kiss by Anton Chekhov
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