We made it! Welcome to the end of 2022!
After the many notably momentous years that preceded it, 2022 was for me a “sleeper” year—both in the sense that it was much quieter and less externally eventful, but also in that it still ended up surprising me with the deep changes and transformations it has wrought particularly on an internal level. I’ll be sharing some of those insights and lessons next week in my annual New Year post.
- My most exciting news this year is that, after what pretty much amounted to a four-year dry spell, I started writing fiction again! I’ll share a bit more about that next week; for now, I’ll just say I’m happily neck-deep in outlining a new fantasy story.
- On the personal front, I spent much of my time working on healing some minor but chronic physical issues and upgrading many of my personal habits and routines to hopefully support my health all around in the future.
I take my morning walks seriously!
- I also had the pleasure of visiting New York in October, just as the leaves were starting to turn, which was a delight in every way.
- Professionally, I was deeply honored to have Helping Writers Become Authors receive its 9th mention as one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Websites for Writers.
- Several of my books were published in France, including 5 Secrets of Story Structure and Creating Character Arcs.
- Creating Character Arcs was also published in Korean.
- One of my bucket-list daydreams has always been to be interviewed for a magazine, and this year I was tickled to be featured in two: Nebraska Life and Podcast Magazine.
- Last but not least, I spent most of my time this year working on what will be my eleventh writing-craft book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs. You can look for its publication within a few months!
As for 2023, my definite plans involve publishing Writing Archetypal Character Arcs (which I am so excited and passionate about!) and finishing my outline and starting the first draft of my new novel. I am also hoping to start producing short videos once again, for YouTube and Instagram, probably in a Q&A format. I have a few other new ideas up my sleeve, including what might develop into a regular webinar offering, but I’ll have to see how that develops.
On the personal front, I’m definitely hoping to resolve my living circumstances. My dream is to find the perfect little cottage out in the country, something manageable for little ol’ me but with the potential to grow into a sustainable homestead. I’d also like to do a little travelling, perhaps to a state I’ve never visited before.
2022 was a (mercifully) quiet year for me, and I am grateful to think back on its bounty—both the seen and the unseen. I am excited to step into 2023 and see what adventures and stories await us all. Happy New Year!
And now, just in case you missed them (or want to revisit them):
My Top 10 Posts of 2022
1. 9 Positive Character Arcs in the Enneagram
2. 9 Negative Character Arcs in the Enneagram
3. Deepening Your Story’s Theme With the Thematic Square
4. What Are the Best Places to Write? 15 Tips to Create the Perfect Writing Space
5. Conflict in Fiction: What It Really Is and Why It’s Important to Plot
6. 6 Ways to Find Your Best Ideas Before You Start Writing
7. How to Structure Stories With Multiple Main Characters?
8. 9 Ways to Approach Relationship Dynamics in Fiction
9. How to Write Emotional Scenes (Without Making Them Cringey)
10. Is Your Story Too Complicated? Here Are 9 Signs
Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! What was the most memorable writing event in your 2022? Tell me in the comments!
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What Do You Want Me to Write About?
Top 10 Writing Posts of 2021
Merry Christmas, Wordplayers!
Announcing the Full-Cast Audio Production of Wayfarer!
About K.M. Weiland | @KMWeiland
You’ve had a very good year and all the best for the next one.
Thank you! I hope the same for you!
Kate,
Congratulations on a productive 2022. May 2023 be even more fulfilling for you.
2022 has felt like a terrible year for me with much of the year spent sick or in rehab from a jousting match with a mini-van. During most of the rehab, I could write, but it was a slog rather than a joy, and that showed up in my words. However, I did have short stories published in 2022, and I’ll be sending out query letters on my novel prior to the end of the year. This has also led me to a deeper place spiritually, and I’m starting to notice the joy come back into my writing.
I have high hopes for 2023. I expect to do some marketing stuff, and also will start the next novel, maybe even finish the draft. With God’s grace I look toward better days to come.
I obviously continue to struggle with typing tricky words like “Katie”!
(I also struggle with typing tricky words like “Katie” [literally mistyped it–for the millionth time–while typing this comment!].)
Thank you – you are a kind young lady. Bless you in all your days.
I’m so sorry to hear that! Health challenges can be so very demoralizing. I hope 2023 proves to be much smoother sailing for you.
Wonderful that you’ve had so many great things happen this year!
Yes, it’s always fun to compile this post and realize how many great things *did* happen!
Happy holidays. If the top photo is an actual image of your WIP, then we use the same pen and a similar-if-not-exactly-the-same spiral-bound notebook!
Yep, actual pic. That’s not my usual pen though; my usual one ran out of ink!
Finally, an update about the archtypical character arcs book. I had been wondering about that, and I look forward to its publication.
Have you been to Alaska? If not, I recommend it for travel to a new (to you) state. Warning: it is expensive, though it’s cheaper if you bring your own tent & camp (everywhere in Alaska, even the urban cores of Anchorage and Fairbanks, have legal tent camping areas) & you bring your own food.
Yes, I got to visit Alaska a few years ago. It was definitely a mind-blowing and memorable trip. And, yes, Writing Archetypal Character Arcs has been on a long and winding journey to publication, but all I have left to do now is proof the hardcopy. I’ve pushed back my original goal of a January publication date and am probably looking at March.
I’m delighted that you’re writing fiction again, Katie, and that the past year was one of revelation and growth. Congratulations on the new translations for your craft books!
Thank you so much for your presence, generosity, and insights. Wishing you all the best in 2023.
Thanks, Louis. No one is more delighted than me. Wishing you a wonderful 2023 as well!
Awards and recognition well merited. Happy new year!
Thanks for the kind words. Happy new year to you too!
Ah, this post made me so happy! Looking forward to your new writing craft book!
Thanks, Molly! Me too! 🙂
Congratulations on a good year, and for your inestimable help for authors such as yours truly.
On your first photo, writing on paper is the most creative and best way to write, though perhaps not edit. I do the same. I switched to a fountain pen from ball point and pencil last year. I have a matte black pen from Amazon for $17 and an old gift from my wife of a Mont Blanc pen now selling for about $500. They both write well and are a great saver of my fingers.
https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Fountain-Classic-Converter-Hongdian/dp/B07Y8KN5QD?pd_rd_w=Auosr&content-id=amzn1.sym.deffa092-2e99-4e9f-b814-0d71c40b24af&pf_rd_p=deffa092-2e99-4e9f-b814-0d71c40b24af&pf_rd_r=0QJHWQMYS2Q9PXDCSGHH&pd_rd_wg=thCGJ&pd_rd_r=b60b0703-b4c2-4454-928b-23f1a10aa64d&pd_rd_i=B07Y8KN5QD&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_7_t&th=1
Your longing for a perfect little cottage out in the country is perfect. Perhaps you would like to be visited by wildlife. My longing is for a cabin in Utah’s canyon country with a feng shui cliff behind to protect from cold north winds and a stream in front. I currently have a mounted photograph on my wall to mentally visit in the absence of the real thing. I asked fifteen Indian tribes if they had such a little space to rent. They did not, but the governor of the Ohkway Owingeh Pueblo south of Taos has become a close friend.
My new year’s resolution is to study and absorb all your writing guidance.
Good luck for 2023.
That sounds lovely!
Looking forward to your new book! Can you tell us anything else about the story?
I don’t have a proper logline yet, but I’ll share a bit more about it in next week’s post.