Is it December 31st Already?

Yes, I purposefully put this post off until New Years Eve so I could finish 2013 with 200 posts even.

Moving on.

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Tomorrow, I’m going to say “Seems like just yesterday it was 2013.”

No, really. I’m going to say that.

I wait all year for, well, the end of the year so I can say things like “what are you waiting for? Christmas?” on December 23rd.

Inevitably, though, as fun as these little phrases (that aren’t quite as amusing the rest of the year) are, they mean goodbye to another revolution of the Earth. The end of another 365 ¼ days (unless it’s a leap year, which this isn’t). And every year, as is custom, I recap.

So 2013, how did we do?

Pretty good actually.

I participated in three reading competitions, two of which I won, which was awesome. But not quite the point. I had a blast at all three, and that’s what it’s about. Winning is great, and it fills one with a sense of excitement and accomplishment. But it’s the fun that counts.

I survived another year of grad school. This is no small feat. Really, this deserves a metal of some kind. (K, maybe that’s pushing it.) Truthfully, though, I really feel as I improved as a writer this year. Looking at my work from January compared to now…night and day. I fell in love with my thesis (finally). It only took me almost two years. I completed my final draft! Now it’s just onto the edits, which are going pretty well. I’m in decent shape for my final deadline in April. More on that to follow.

And an excerpt for the daring

I won my first NANOWRIMO. #feelingaccomplished. Granted, I used it to write 50k of my thesis, but that still counts. Believe me.

I met and passed my goal in the 2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge, clocking in with 127 of 125 books. Go me. I read some amazing material this year. Some of it was for school. Most of it was for fun. Between Brandon Sanderson and David Eddings, I refound (is that a word?) my love for epic fantasy. They helped in the “learning to love my thesis” project.

Perhaps most exciting, though, I learned to get along where I live. Mid 2012, I left my home of 23 years and followed my family (due to lack of funds) about 800 miles south. I was resistant to this change, very resistant. I hated it here for a long time. Then, this past February, I went to a writer’s group meeting. It took some time, but I adopted these people into my life. I made friends out of them, and now we do the friend thing—movies, parties, general funnies. We’re doing the New Years Eve thing tonight, and I’m grateful for every one of them.

And, of course, thank you to my family for putting up with me for another year.

Looking forward. I’ve got one semester left at Seton Hill. I’ve got lots of edits, two great critique partners, and a group of fellow June 2014 prospective graduates to make the last hurrah…hurrah. I’ve got ideas for new projects. My thesis is going to end up being expanded into a 3 or 4 book series (fingers crossed). Things are gonna happen next year.

And so without further typing of words, let’s welcome the new year.

Folks, thank you for sticking with me this year. Hope to see you back next year. Has been a bumpy but fun ride. I thank you for reading.

Mary
@desantismt on Twitter

And if you haven’t, join me over at Kit ‘N Kabookle in 2014 for book and author fun! 

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