Writing reflections 2023

I'm happy reading that a lot of you reached some/all of your goals! Well done!

Honestly, I was initially feeling like 2023 was a huge flop for me, BUT as I'm typing this and looking back... I submitted a 200-word "Hook 'Em" entry, various 100-word stories, last year's February contest (the co-writing one with RavingCynic), and then 1 flash fiction "mystery" piece (which placed 6th or 7th out of about 50 people). I also finished a personal short story project "The Winter Garden" that I was actually pretty proud of.

It's not a lot, but October 2021 was kind of my "return" to writing during the Halloween contest and finally not being so shy about putting my writing out there, so it is definitely a positive improvement on previous years.

I had another goal to complete at least one or two short stories I've started over the years but never finished (there are at least a dozen). I tried to tackle them and drum up the inspiration to finish, but never could commit. I'm hoping 2024 will be different.

I read something recently that a famous author would commit to writing at least 400 words a day. Whether it was "good" or "bad" words, at least it was out there. That's 146,000 words in a year -- easily the length of a long novel. If I were to commit to setting aside time to write at least 200 words a day, that's still 73,000 words in a year. Somehow that was encouraging and more bite-sized and manageable to me. I think writers tend to think we have to be pumping out 1,000 or 2,000 words or more in one sitting to be a "good" writer. It's always nice when the words flow, but as little as 200 is still an accomplishment.

* Enter more contests (with actual complete submissions)

* Enter 100-word stories more consistently

* Finish at least 2 short stories I've started

* Try to make time to write at least 200 words a day

* Read more books