It’s that time again… the end-of-year taking stock post! Here’s what I was up to in 2017.
LOTS AND LOTS OF NOVELING
Instead of making a short story submissions goal, I set myself a daily benchmark of writing 500 words per day on a novel. I didn’t write on weekends and holidays and I took off all of August (to hang out with my kids) and December (holiday houseguests).
So, how did it go?
I wrote 260,522 words. I completed one novel and wrote half of two others. There were some extremely productive weeks:

And some not-so-productive weeks:

But it all averaged out in the end.
The very first short story I ever sent out on submission, “Sinshine,” sold and appeared in Kaleidotrope. And my third week Clarion West story “Granite Requires” was featured on Pseudopod. It’s pretty clear that dark humor is my happy place. I desperately want to be a SF writer, but the pull of horror is strong. Someday, I’ll give myself over to it.
I attended Norwescon, the Writing Excuses Cruise, Worldcon in Helsinki, and Geek Girl Con. I toured Germany with a group that included Howard Tayler (who is very cool) and Mary Robinette Kowal (who is a delightful traveling companion). This is also my last year of Campbell eligibility, but I’m not worried about it. I already have a tiara.
And finally, I sent my completed novel to a publisher this past spring and there was… a response. Which I will tell you about some time in the future…
