Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. Screenshots taken by me, Allison Symes, as were the two photos from The Hayes, Swanwick from 2024.
I know it is a little early but Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2025 proves to be a good year. It would be nice to have less grim news but I think that may be something I will have to put on a wish list somewhere.
The Value of Re-Evaluation
On a more positive note, the New Year period is a great opportunity to re-evaluate where you are at with your writing and what you would like to see happen in that department over the next twelve months. Not so much New Year resolutions, I think, but more of a chance to jot down this is what I’d like to achieve and then give it your best shot. For longer term work, I’ve found it helpful to break things down into smaller steps. You can tick those off reasonably quickly and I find that spurs me on.
I think it also pays to take a look back at what you have written in 2024 and give yourself a pat on the back. Many say they would write if they had the time. They don’t do so. You have got words to paper or screen. You have written. And as the saying goes, you can’t edit a blank page. So credit where it is due and all that.
As ever, taking my own advice, I can look back at writing positives this year. I can also think of things I would’ve liked to have seen happen this year but for various reasons have not. They roll over into 2025 then and, yes, sometimes circumstances do get in the way. I find it useful to not beat myself up over this kind of thing but to work out, okay, I didn’t do this for this year so when can I get it done in 2025? Think positive!
What Should Be on the Agenda for 2025
I would like to continue entering writing competitions (reputable ones obviously). I did enter a few more this year but could do with having a go at more of the flash fiction ones. At some point I’d like to have a go at the Bath Flash Fiction Award. Plus I hope to enter something for The Bridport Prize. I would love to get on their long list (and I would welcome better than that obviously but I see the long list as a useful starting point).
I’m hoping to go to The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, once more and I always enjoy running the Association of Christian Writers Flash Fiction Group which meets monthly on Zoom. What is nice here is we all share market news and competitions, which is handy as no one writer can know everything here.
In November, I set as the topic for the month the theme of Festive Flash Fiction and set exercises. Several of us had a go at these. Four of us ended up having the stories we wrote here broadcast on Three Minute Santas hosted by Hannah Kate on North Manchester FM. I hope we can (a) do this again in 2025 and (b) achieve something similar for the other shows Hannah hosts where she puts out invites for flash fiction. She often has seasonal themed shows plus a Halloween special, though the latter is not my cup of flash fiction tea.
Am glad to say I now have a single Mixcloud link to the Three Minute Santas show. Do check the 23 stories out – there is a great range.
https://www.mixcloud.com/Hannahs_Bookshelf/hannahs-bookshelf-3-minute-santas-special-14122024/
I have two longer term projects on the go, one of which I hope to submit to a specific publisher in January. (There is not much point doing so in December, given everyone shuts down for a while, but this also gives me a chance for a final review before the year end). This is something I had hoped to get out in 2024 but circumstances and spotting necessary revisions to what I need to submit has stopped that. Sometimes though a short delay can be useful in picking up things like this.
I’m not yet sure when the second long term project will be ready to submit though it is down as a first draft.
I plan to have a go at writing a story for the Bridge House Publishing 2025 anthology and, as ever, will look forward to going to their event, having had yet another wonderful time at the recent one!
I am currently editing for a small publisher and would like to do more of this.
I continue to write and edit for Writers’ Narrative. That had to take a break in 2024 due to various reasons but I am glad to say it came back in December. See link below and I hope you enjoy the magazine. It is written by writers for writers and subscription is free. There is a link inside the magazine for you to sign up. Do check it out.
https://issuu.com/scottandlawson/docs/wnarrative_december_2024
The Unexpected
Now this can range from being invited to judge a short story competition to running a flash fiction and/or editing workshop in person or on Zoom. I can never know when invites to do these will come in but naturally I would like to see plenty of these during 2025.
I’ve found story judging to be enlightening in that it reminds me of things I need to keep an eye on with my own fiction (and reminders like this are always useful).
Also I’ve found you can tell roughly where someone is on their writing journey but that has reminded me to think of my own. I can look back at my early published work and see ways I could improve these if I was writing them now (which is good, funnily enough, it shows I’ve learned more of my craft in the meantime and this should be an ongoing process) but the important thing to recall is these early works do represent where you were at the time of writing. What is encouraging here is these pieces were good enough to be published. What you do though is not rest on your laurels and you strive to be better still. That striving will produce better work.
Creative writing, of any kind, is never going to be perfect, precisely because we authors are not, but we can learn and develop. We can learn what works for our writing and what does not. We can learn the kind of writing routine which fits in with how we live – no two writers write in exactly the same way, we are unique after all, but learning the way of working which suits you will help improve your productivity no end. It has for me.
Conclusion
Writing wise, I’ve enjoyed 2024 and hope to continue with that thought in 2025. Wherever you are with your writing journey, good luck and I hope the New Year sees positive developments.
Creative writing is a wonderful thing. Our fiction and non-fiction can lift and entertain people. They can also be informative. Writing these things is a great challenge for writers (and a great brain workout to say the least).
To finish then, have a very happy (Writing) New Year. See you in 2025!
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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