I have learned so much about myself creatively. I began this challenge without a job, then got one and have still managed to maintain creating every day. Sometimes I work on a challenge piece, sometimes not. Sometimes I finish one or even more; sometimes I do not—but I work.
I have experimented with syllabic and prose/free verse poetry; I have felt the freedom to write original fiction as though it were fanfic. The parameter of perfection fell aside and gave way to the parameters of time and necessity.
I have actively scribbled on ten different projects on a single day. (Heaven, help my productivity!) I have discovered that those who do not reread their own work have it easy compared to those who—literally—write what they want to read and already have read in their mind before they put pen to paper. I have learned that blogging and writing do not always get along and allowed my blogging to languish.
I have stumbled into a world I thought I would leave unwritten. I have grappled with how much should I allow the same characters to resemble each other. (I came up with a workaround, but were I not resigned, I would make Cate and Casaia entirely too much alike.) I have learned to accept the areas of my worlds that I would prefer to skirt. I have learned how to write gift fic that reflects a different tolerance level than mine on stories straight from my heart, that matter to me.
I have learned what my cultures boil down to. In Vardin, a guardian does not need to be right, wrong, or indifferent—only effective. They do not have the luxury of second guessing themselves. They do not have the luxury of failure. In Kingdoms and Thorn, love is sacrifice. They all love someone fiercely. They do not have the luxury of selfishness.
I have learned about my own convictions, where I will bend, where I will break if I write that. I have learned that I will have different readers for different worlds. I have learned the importance of story order.
I have learned why some stories that I love, I will never fangirl. I have learned why some stories I fangirl, I will never write fic for. I have learned how to fangirl my own work.
How has your writing year been? Any deep lessons or reflections thus far?
