Reviewing Your Writing Year by Allison Symes

It’s a good idea to review your writing year but give yourself credit for the positives. It’s easy to be harsh on yourself reflecting on what didn’t work well but there will be positives too. If you committed to writing more this year, and did so, that is a win. Onwards and upwards!

If you submitted more stories, or your first one, but didn’t get anywhere, take heart. Submitting takes work and commitment and most writers don’t get published immediately. If a story doesn’t do well in one place, try another suitable market. I’ve had work published which was initially rejected by someone else.

Reviewing your writing year implies looking ahead to what you want to achieve in the following twelve months. I use a diary to plan what I hope to have written by when, as well as helping me to work to timelines for my Chandler’s Ford Today posts, my work on Writers’ Narrative, as well as my monthly blogs here and elsewhere. 

Planning out my time is one of the most useful things I’ve done to help me meet goals and has made me more productive. I’ve learned to use smaller pockets of time to brainstorm ideas for future stories/blogs. 

I don’t plan everything. You can’t. Life gets in the way but at the same time having a rough structure in place means I know I will get to write. Reviewing your writing year should include  working out what would suit your circumstances. No two writers are the same here. Time to deduce how to use your writing time is useful. If you’ve got better at this over the last twelve months, that’s a win too.

Time spent learning your craft at in-person events, online ones, or both will boost your writing. If you haven’t yet tried these, why not commit to looking into events which suit you next year? You can always start with an ACW event! 

Consider your reading life. Are you reading in your field and out of it? Are you reading a mix of fiction and non-fiction, classic and contemporary, Christian and non-Christian works? A good reading “diet” is great for sparking inspiration for ideas of your own. 

To quote Newton, we all stand on the shoulders of giants. The more you read in terms of volume (such an apt word here!) and in mixing up what you read, the greater the pool you can “fish from” for inspiration. I’ve often found inspiration for a story idea has come from something I’ve read in non-fiction. 

The nice thing about reading is you can tell people you are researching - you are researching what you like for a start! Use the thought of what you like to read to inspire you as to what you want in your writing for your readers, actual or potential. Occasionally even a dud book or story inspires me - in what not to do!

Taking time to review can pay dividends. I hope it does for you too.