The Year in Review (2021)
I thought 2020 was difficult to cover as a year in review, but in some ways 2021 is just as hard. COVID-19 continues to impact the world, and while my life has been largely unaffected in a lot of ways, it’s hard to escape the wider repercussions of living in this incredibly strange time.
On the other hand, I became a dad this year, which makes 2021 one of the best years of my life, if not the best. Spending time with Graham and seeing him develop has erased all of the negativity in the world around us.
Kim said she hoped he would be a bright spot for the people in our lives, and he’s already accomplishing that on a daily basis. It’s pretty cool to watch.
From the writer’s desk
On the other hand, writing certainly didn’t go as expected. If there was any real negative or “setback” this year, this is definitely it.
Part of that comes down to the fact that I never really attached to any of my projects. I started one story (and got about 10,000 words in), brainstormed three others (all set within the No Room in the Sky universe), and even began planning a rewrite of my fourth SciFi book. And of course I continue tossing around ideas for my fantasy realm, both tweaking or even completely overhauling the place I’ve been building over the last 3-4 years.
But you know what? It’s been hard to be fully committed to a project. Once Graham is asleep and Kim’s ready for bed, I don’t usually have the creative energy of mental focus to sit and crank out 1,000 words per day. Even the goal of 5,000 words a week feels too ambitious.
It’s...weird. I still think about stories all the time, and I’ve probably made more “brainstorming” or “worldbuilding” notes than any year in the past decade. But the process of translating that into prose has really been an obstacle I just haven’t cleared yet.
Hopefully that will change next year. I certainly plan to make another attempt, both at writing something new and also getting myself to rewrite book four.
(Don’t hold me to it, though.)
The year in review
The good news is that I can’t imagine life will get any crazier next year. Things will inevitably happen to surprise me, but I’m happy to know that we — as a family — will continue settling into routines together. That can only lead to more fun stuff, which means happier lives, and that’s a huge source of excitement for all of us.
My job continues to be comfortable, flexible, and fairly enjoyable; Kim’s job is even better, providing both of us a lot of great benefits, activities, and friends. And while we’re looking forward to another move in the coming year, the two years spent in our townhouse (and specifically being here in Nashville) might have been the best years of our marriage.
So yeah, even in an unprecedented and often uncomfortable year, this has been a pretty great year for me and my family. And I have nothing but excitement for what’s to come in 2022.
