Well, haven’t done one of these in four years. But figured, no time like the present. In this recurring installment, I take a look back at the past year in my SFF writing life–and what I might hope for in 2024. Here we go!

The first time I did one of these was waay back in 2015. Can’t believe it’s almost been ten years! In that initial installment I wrote about discovering that I was indeed a writer and my hopes for my writing life. A lot has happened since then. I became a junior tenure-track assistant professor in 2016. In 2017 I bought a small Edwardian castle in New England. In 2018 I expanded my family by a factor of twins. Also in 2018, I had my first book published–a novella called The Black God’s Drums. Then I wrote some more stuff, won a few awards, somebody actually put up a wiki page on me… yadda yadda yadda, and here I am. I became an author, with all the perks and responsibilities that entails. It’s been fun, exciting, humbling, surreal, and… actual work! Writing went from something I did on the side, to an actual job. With deadlines and tax forms. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for this turn of fortune. But work is work, and that’s been a sobering part of this new reality.

I’ve had to figure out how to balance everything from family to academic life (yes, I chose a second writing career) so it doesn’t all collapse in on me. Or I don’t burn myself out trying. So, how am I doing? Were my goals met this year? Did I finally manage to find the perfect balance and reach the flawless Omega molecule state of writing-work life-family-life-uniformity? Did the spinning top fall at the end of Inception, or what? What happened in HBO’s Watchmen when Angela ate that egg exactly? Where in the supernatural or not heck is Season 3 of True Detective going? I can’t answer none of that, but stick around and I’ll tell you about the rest.

Write More: At the top of the list, of course, remains every writers pledge to just “write more.” Writing is like a stunning spell–to paraphrase Harry, it’s an author’s bread and butter. On the one hand, I’m doing lots of writing now. Can’t help it. I got contracts and I owe people stuff. That’s what success is in writing kids–you get contracts, and you owe people stuff. Jot it down. And don’t forget my academic life, where it’s publish or perish. So, it seems I’m always writing. Or editing. Or revising. And, new ideas keep coming. So, there’s always the next thing I wanna work on, even while I have the old thing. The one place where I’ve slacked off a bit is in the short story department. I published several short stories in 2023. But all of them were written a few years previous. I didn’t write a single short story last year. Not a one. Not even the beginning of one. I didn’t even have any short-story concepts come to mind. Short stories remain a graveyard.

Part of it is, to be honest, I was never strong at writing short stories. My first attempts at short stories embarrassingly ended in novelette or novella territory. Took a lot of practice to get the hang of keeping the stories short. One of my early reasons for writing short stories was to practice the craft and get my name out there. Now that I’m out there, short stories have fallen by the wayside. As a fellow writer put it to me in purely practical terms, there’s simply more financial return in long form writing than short stories. It’s not even comparable. Writing short stories over long form novels when you have an agent who’s eager to get you out there, is leaving money on the table. Literally.

But, as I’ve said before, I like writing short stories! I like reading them. I like small worlds and characters I may or may not ever return to. I like short outlines that don’t require entire pages in Scrivener to plot out, as with novels and novellas. No, I don’t miss submissions and waiting and then possible rejections. No one likes that. Don’t lie to yourself. But, short stories remain good practice to jog my imagination and help me practice writing. Plus, as I’ve learned, it’s always good to have a folder of shorts that aren’t published–for when anthology solicitations come around. So, the question I’ve asked for years now is, how do I get back to creating more shorts? Dunno. When I figure out, I’ll get back to you.

Finish.The.Damn.Story:  As I’ve said many times, there are folders, endless folders, on my computer (now Dropbox) with unfinished stories. Because I’ve had novels and novellas to finish, I put this one on the back burner. Let’s be real, some of these need to be surrendered to sleep in the abyss. There are stories’ dating back to the early aughts. The person writing back then was me, but not me. How I thought, my writing style, my ideas, have changed vastly in 20+ years. Some of those stories still excite me. Others are embarrassing, or worse, boring. Some, will no longer work, because I’ve cannibalized them for new ideas that have been published. But there are a few I’d like to fiddle with. However, time, remains the greatest challenge.

Novel Writing: So as you all know, before 2010 I was a would-be novel-writer. Only, that idea went nowhere. I decided instead to focus on short-stories and my first published long-form works were novelettes and novellas. My novel-writing game diminished to nothing. Then in 2021, I wrote and published a whole NOVEL! Two years later, in 2023, published my first middle grade novel–Abeni’s Song. That one has two sequels due out in the next few years. So, looks like novel-writing is back on the menu!

Read More: Reading is fundamental. Support RIF. As a writer, it also helps the imagination. After a hiatus due to academic life, in 2015 I pledged to start reading more genre. And I’ve been doing a decent job of it. In 2023, I admittedly read less new works than usual. Did lots of rereads for some reason. Still into the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. Really enjoyed both of R.F. Kuang’s recent works, Babel and Yellowface. Caught up with and finished Ken Liu’s breathtaking Dandelion Dynasty trilogy. And there’s probably a few more I’m missing, including shorts. This year I’d like to get back to more reading–just have to make the time.

Submit: So my submitting in 2023 was pretty… non-existent. I thing I submitted one story: a non-fiction reprint to an invited anthology. So again, don’t expect to see lots of short stories by me anytime soon. Part of this is the reality of having contracted long form works. The whole writing a thing, not really with a hard deadline, and then pitching it out to see what happens, and then moving onto the next thing, has been replaced. Now it’s: I promised the thing, I signed a contract for it, I got an advance, editors are expecting the thing, get it done already! Like I said before, it’s a job now. 2022 was a better year for submitting. I submitted three stories, all invites to anthologies and magazines. These included “How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub” in Uncanny Magazine, “What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata” in The Book of Witches, and “Hide & Seek” in Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror. That last one was co-edited by THEE Jordan Peele! Year’s early yet, so will see if 2024 is an improvement.

Get More Involved in Mainstream Genre: When I first started doing this way back when, I promised to become more involved in genre, to see what I might be missing out on. Because so much of this literary world is about creating relationships and just being aware of what goes on in these spaces. I’m not for the drama that also takes place in those spaces–cuz watching nerds beef will always be weird to me. But, thanks to having books out and a fiyah publicist, I’ve also been doing a fair share of interviews, podcasts, cons, book festivals, school visits, etc.–forcing me to get out there. It’s been a learning experience: figuring out how to navigate these spaces; strategizing how to utilize them; meeting and greeting readers (my fave part!); meeting, sharing, and learning from other authors. It can be tiring–and the schedule at times hectic–but it’s worth it! Cuz these books don’t sell themselves! Going to be trying to do more in the coming year.

Brand New Year: So, what’s in store for 2024? Putting out two books for starters–a novella called The Dead Cat Tail Assassins, and part of my middle grade trilogy, Abeni and the Kingdom of Gold. That’s keeping me busy enough! Will be attending cons and doing interviews and stuff. You can keep up with them on the News & Events page of my author site. In the mean and between time, got two new novella ideas I’d like to get done. Also, sketching out notes towards another (adult) novel. My plate remains full!

Blog More: We’ll see. I’m out here trying.

So, all in all, a decent year in this SFF writing life. I’m thankful to be here. Thankful to all I’ve managed to accomplish or be blessed with. Thankful for readers (LIKE YOU) that make it happen. Here’s hoping that 2024 lives up to your own writing hopes as well. Till next time. Excelsior!

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