Because Everyone Needs a Year in Review
Okay, so it’s the last day of 2011, and as every other blogger is doing, I am now presenting you with my Year In Review blog post.
Writing-wise, 2011 was packed:
- I wrote a new novel called Labeled which I started on January 2, 2011, and finished the first draft of on June 4, 2011.
- I migrated my blog from my a computer in my house to WordPress.com, a decision I have not regretted for even a moment. I’ve seen the traffic on my blog rise consistently through the year, though it is still not exactly where I want it.
- I got an Agent!
- I bought a new laptop for my writing.
- I reviewed 49 books. I actually can’t believe I read that many books this year. It’s rather amazing.
- I did multiple major revision passes to my books Nowhere Wild, Army of the Risen and Labeled. Each one is inching closer to being ‘done-done’.
- I volunteered heavily at the PNWA Conference.
- I won first place for a short story I wrote for a local writing contest.
- I was a founding member of the Puyallup Writers Co-op.
- I read my first books on a Kindle. I’ve now read a few more since that initial shock to my system, and though I don’t hate it anymore, it still feels a little bit wrong.
Personally, I also had some major events not related to writing:
- I became an American Citizen in May 2011.
- I had had two surgeries (one on each foot) and dislocated my shoulder once. These medical issues allowed me to spend a lot of time writing this year, and also prevented me from doing much else that was interesting, so this part of the list is a little bit short.
- I traveled back to Canada for my parents’ 50th Anniversary.
- I started getting back into shape.
- I worked a lot from home.
I’m sure I’m forgetting something that I will need to add as soon as this gets posted. But for now, that’s what I got. 2011 was an odd year personally, but I’m proud of what I accomplished on this blog.
2012 will be a little different. I will continue to do book reviews, but I will also branch out into other areas – more human interest stories and opinion. I want people to get to know me through this blog, to learn about my books, and about where my passions in life are. Hopefully my writing will move to the next stage in 2012, and with that, will come even bigger changes personally and professionally. All of which, you will read about here. I hope to see you back here frequently, and leaving comments on a regular basis.
Good-bye, 2011. It’s been real. And hello 2012. I can’t wait to see what’s in store. As long as the Mayans turn out to be wrong.
Joe Beernink 
Sounds like you had a great year overall, with some challenges that you overcame. I’ve been following your blog through FB but am subscribing now so I won’t miss any of your writing adventures. Here’s to a great year in 2012! Marlene