2012: A Year of Writing

As a writer you can’t underestimate the importance of belonging to a critique group—and we’ve got a great one. We’ve met monthly throughout the year and have written a ton—but here are a few specifics on where each of the Scribblerati were in 2012 with their individual writing (both high and low points).

Lisa Bergin

My own writing low-point: Getting overwhelmed by a new job and not sending my query out to agents, even after I was ready.

High point: starting to write new material again, even with the overwhelming new job.

Shawn Enderlin

Personal writing highlight 2012: Getting To Kill the Goddess professionally edited. But that’s a separate blog post. ;-)

Claudia Hankin

My writing low point: It's the usual. For me, there's no such thing as "writer's block," there's only "writer's blah." If I just haul my keister up to the computer and make myself start clicky-clacking on the keys, I will eventually get lost in the process - and voile! I'm writing. It's the hauling of the keister part that can seem ridiculously hard. 

My writing high point: I finished the second draft of my novel! Not only that, but after my beta readers gave me feedback, I realized that I'm closer to being finished than I thought. 

Jon Hanson

Mine was a high and a low point. I finished the first draft of my latest work, but I'm not happy with it or looking forward to trying to fix the second draft.

Mark Teats

Writing high point(s): I think I had a few in 2012. I finished my 4^th draft of BLACKHEART in January. I finished my 1st draft of my second novel, SUNLIGHT in September (and am about 1/3 of the way through a 2^nd draft with the help of the Scribblerati). In October I was accepted into graduate school for creative writing starting next spring. I wrote a lot, blogged a lot and even took a writing class or two at the Loft.

Writing low point(s): At least one short story I entered in a contest failed to win, place or even show. Although I completed one more revision of BLACKHEART early in the year the manuscript sits on my desk untouched now for months. I know it needs to be gone through again. I know the last few chapters need fixing—but it’s so much more fun to work on new and shiny projects! But BLACKHEART is not forgotten, only waiting for the right time (like 2013) to be picked up again and completed once and for all.

Happy New Year!