*flings 2014 in front of a passing subway train*
*a train piloted by 2015*
*splat*
Actually, I shouldn’t be too hard on poor 2014 — while I know many others had a hellish year, I was actually pretty fortunate. The year past was full of good stuff. I did a lot of traveling — Toronto, Vancouver, Tucson, Phoenix, Colorado Springs, and more. Did quite a lot of writing, too: Zeroes, Thunderbird (aka the next Miriam Black book), The Harvest (the third Heartland book), a YA thing (as-yet-unpublished) called Dust & Grim, and I finished up my serialized novella, The Forever Endeavor. Mucho big grande word count, there. Plus: wrote a couple new short stories — “Big Man” for the Dangerous Games anthology, and “Queen of the Supermarket” for Trouble In The Heartland (which is a Springsteen-themed anthology, not one related to my young adult Heartland series). Oh oh oh, and let’s not forget that me and Adam Christopher penned the first couple issues of The Shield reboot for Archie/Dark Circle, thus fulfilling the ancient blood pacts and allowing me to have done work in novels, games, film, television, and now comics. WITH THE GATEWAYS OPEN THE WORLD SHUDDERS LIKE A DYING, FEVER-BITTEN ANIMAL AND ALL SHALL SOON END.
Or something like that.
I wrote about 750,000 words this year, between bookish stuff and bloggy things.
This was also the year I got to share a stage with the likes of Lev Grossman, Erin Morgenstern, Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood to celebrate her 75th birthday in New York. (My life is super-weirdo-amazing, you guys.)
Did I have a writing shed installed? Why yes, I did:
(Haven’t moved into the shed yet — still needs furniture. This week!)
On a personal level, everything has been pretty damn great. B-Dub is growing at an alarming rate, suggesting that by the year 2016 he will be gleefully stomping cities underneath his kaiju feet. Christmas with the tot was a wonderful time — he has now graduated to the BIG KID LEGO sets, leaving his Duplo bricks in the dust. (His first sets in the larger LEGO space were, of course, Minecraft because holy shit is this kid obsessed with Minecraft.) My wonderful wife continues to be fooled by my ruse, and has not yet realized that I am a terrible human being and bearded weirdo. (And this was also the year we took our first family vacation.)
The one personal hit this year was the loss of our little taco terrier, Tai, who wrestled for months with a gastrointestinal disorder that ultimately forced our hand and so we had to put our little poochie to rest. A sad day and I still sometimes hear her little paws clicking on our floors.
One thing I know for sure? 2014 was hella busy. And 2015 will be the same.
But, let’s be honest. That’s a damn good problem to have.
The Books of 2014
Publishing-wise, I had a few books out this year — The Cormorant (Miriam Black, book #3) technically released on 12/31/13, but it didn’t really reach shelves until 2014, so fuck it, I say it’s fair to call that a 2014 book. (Releasing a book on the very ass-crack of the annual transition is not ideal, by the way. Sadly easy for your book to get lost in that fissure.)
Blightborn, the second Heartland book, came out over the summer. It’s a book I’m very fond of, honestly — and no, I don’t say that about all of my books, many are books I’d like to go back and pick at again and again like a monkey grooming its child of ticks and mites. But Blightborn is for me a complete package, and is a book I’m content to psychically let it exist as it is. (I’ll note too that Blightborn is like, two bucks at Amazon right now until the end of the year. So too is the first book, Under the Empyrean Sky.)
At the same time Blightborn released, so did a short story — “The Wind Has Teeth Tonight” — a little $0.99 endeavor that is actually set before the entire series begins, chronicling the, erm, cornpunk mutant-rat-infested meet-cute between Cael and Gwennie out in an old Empyrean corn processing facility.
Finally, I self-published a couple new writing books this year, too: 500 Ways To Write Harder, and 30 Days In The Word Mines. Thanks to all those who came along and checked those out.
Plus, I sold a lot of books this year, too — many of which will come out in 2015.
Which leads me to…
The Books of 2015
What’s coming up?
Well, that’s a darn good question, isn’t it?
January, 2015: Atlanta Burns. My YA crime noir story — Veronica Mars on Adderall, Nancy Drew with a shotgun, Winter’s Bone set in Pennsyltucky. (For those asking, this is indeed a re-edit of Shotgun Gravy and Bait Dog — it takes the two of them and turns them into one more cohesive story.)
First-quarter 2015: the re-release of the first three Miriam Black books come out with Saga, the new SFF imprint under Simon & Schuster. New covers, new polish (meaning, proper copy-edits and formatting). Blackbirds, Mockingbird, The Cormorant both come out in digital first, soon followed by print (I believe trade paperback).
July, 2015: The Harvest, the third and final Heartland novel. After the Saranyu disaster and the rise of the Empyrean Initiative, how will the Heartland recover? Is Cael alive? Will the people of the corn fight back and rise up against the Empyrean?
August, 2015: Zer0es, a hackers-versus-an-NSA-artificial-intelligence thriller. Given a lot of the hacker news that’s going on, I’m pretty excited to have this one come out. Hardcover.
Fall, 2015: Thunderbird, the fourth Miriam Black novel. Hardcover, I’m told!
Fall, 2015: [REDACTED] — nope, can’t talk about this one, yet.
Plus, I’ve got scads and buckets and buttloads of writing to do this year — stuff I’m super-excited to write and finish. I get to tackle new Miriam Black, new Atlanta Burns, a SF-thriller I’ve been geeked to write for years but never had the chance, and that little [REDACTED] thing up there I mentioned, too. Plus I might end up releasing my short story collection (Crass Menagerie) and a story-focused writing book I’ve been working on, The Penmonkey’s Guide To Giving Good Story. And I’m sure some other tricks and treats will trickle in along the way.
The Travel of 2015
Gonna be all over the map in 2015, so, let’s get to it:
4/30: Paradise Lost writing workshop in San AntionioTX.
6/27: Seton Hill University to give a talk
7/15: Camp NECon, Portsmouth, RI: writer guest of honor!
7/23: Midwest Writer’s Workshop (Muncie, IN) as faculty
7/30: GenCon, Indianapolis, IN (Writer’s Symposium; tentative)
9/12: Bethlehem, PA RWA Keynote
9/25: Context 28, Columbus, OH: writer guest of honor
[edit: Context is done, apparently — they had issues with a sexual harassment case that wisely caused the board to dissolve and a new one to form, except now the new one is being blocked and the convention is game over, goodbye, according to Steven Saus]
Probably some other stuff I’m missing there, too, and surely more will pop up.
Most Popular Posts of 2014
The blog hits were up again this year, from around 3.5 million to 4 million — which is, y’know, pretty darn happymaking for me. I’m glad as hell you people have been fooled again and again into thinking I’m saying anything at all of value, and further, it’s nice to see people coming by here and creating a kind of slapdash, impromptu writers-and-other-miscreants-style community.
I published 361 (!) posts.
Top 10 posts of those published in 2014:
1. 25 Things You Should Know About Toddlers
3. Not All Men, But Still Too Many Men
4. On The Subject Of Cultivating Empathy
5. Art Held Hostage: Why Sony Not Releasing “The Interview” Is Scary
6. The Cankerous Slime-Slick Shame Pit That Is GamerGate
7. Ten Things I’d Like To Say To Young Writers
8. Ten Things To Never Say To A Writer
9. In Which Amazon Calls You To Defend The Realm
10. Boy Toys, Girl Toys And Other Cuckoopants Gender Assumptions
What’s interesting is that only two of the posts above are writing-related, and only one is publishing-related. Many are all social issuey stuff. Optimistically, maybe people actually give a shit about my opinions or, at the least, believe I’m not a total boner when it comes to talking about larger issues. More pessimistically, some have suggested 2014 was the year of outrage, and maybe blogging about hotter-button issues just gets clicks. (I occasionally get emails from people who suggest I write those posts because they get me advertising clicks. Apparently they don’t realize I don’t have advertising on the site, so the clicks are in no way monetized.)
That being said, some of the actual top ten posts weren’t from 2014 — a post from 2011, 25 Ways To Plot, Plan & Prep Your Story saw a huge resurgence in views this year (~61,000!?) out of nowhere. Other big bumps to posts about aspiring writers, writing horror, writing YA fiction, and on writing your first chapter.
And That’s That — How About You?
Thanks for coming by here and reading the blog and (hopefully) scouting my books, too. Writers aren’t jack shit without their readers, and, in fact, writers aren’t jack shit without other writers, either. So: I am made better by all of you. Except you, over there, in the corner. You’re bringing us all down. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. *gives you the side-eye*
Ahem. So!
How’d 2014 go for you?
What’s coming up for 2015?
Jinxie G says:
I want a writing shed, damn it. *stomps foot and glares at tiny apartment*
December 28, 2014 — 9:06 PM
D C Grant - Writer says:
That’s not a writing shed, it’s a home for Hobbits! And I want one too!!
December 28, 2014 — 9:13 PM
Dianna Gunn says:
If I were to build a shed, next year it would be more apt to call it my “Editing Shed”. I seem to have written a lot of drafts that I need to turn into books.
Still jealous of the shed though.
December 28, 2014 — 9:19 PM
Colee (@CallMeColee) says:
2014 was the year of drafting. Now those drafts need to turn into typed drafts to turn into submitted short stories/novellas. 2015 will be the year of editing and submitting!
December 28, 2014 — 9:40 PM
Tammy says:
You didn’t mention The Hellsblood Bride! Please tell me it just slipped your mind…
December 28, 2014 — 9:47 PM
Peter Sturdee says:
Oy! I can’ts get me enough Mookie Pearl!
December 29, 2014 — 12:06 AM
terribleminds says:
That one is tbd, I’m afraid. Can’t say more right now.
December 29, 2014 — 8:47 AM
infinitefreetime says:
STOP MAKING ME CRY, CHUCK.
December 29, 2014 — 9:24 AM
turkeynox says:
Oh no! An Amazon email just showed up saying The Hellsblood Bride has been cancelled by the publisher. Is the reason a secret? You do have a lot on your plate, I don’t blame you even if it’s your fault. 🙂 However, it would be awesome to revisit the world of Mookie Pearl.
That being said, I’m insanely happy to see Thunderbird is scheduled to come out later this year (can I dream of a screenplay happening wherein Miriam Black is played by Helena Bonham Carter?).
Thank you *so much* for creating your works. Some random event led me to one of your irreverent blog posts about toddlers and I’ve been addicted since; first, I watched Pandemic, then I read all of your fiction available via Amazon, and am now working through your non-fiction. I have to say that at first I didn’t expect you to be good at all of these, but you’re fucking awesome. Keep kicking ass, Chuck!!
January 6, 2015 — 9:40 PM
decayingorbits says:
Congrats for a great 2014 Chuck! Much luck and success to you in 2015.
That said, might I offer some advice — if you are going to add to your YA compendium, you might rethink your website — it is definitely NOT YA, and as you know, most 12-13 year-olds are most certainly interweb-savvy.
It was one of those weird uncle-nephew discussions when I said “Here, please read “Blightborn”.. but you may not avail yourself of Mr. Wendig’s web-presence”, LOL. Of course, I got “the look”.
And the shed is très agréable!
December 28, 2014 — 9:49 PM
Kai says:
This year? Two miscarriages taking our total to 11, shingles in my face, lost a job, gained a job, write a lot, helped lots of people. Next year will be better because this year blew. But I think that it’s bad for a reason, and I will make better (sensible) choices at least for the little of it I can control. It wasn’t all bad – we went to North Wales and I got to see the sea for HOURS daily and played in the sea, and in the beach. Given we don’t know what’s causing my liver and kidneys to hurt and there were serious referrals in place to oncology (which has now been released – am sick, but not that sort of sick), it was a good thing…I loved seeing Conwy and Cricketth and Port Merion and Caernarvon. My family is Scottish and Welsh mixed ;). It was also good for our relationship, so I can highly recommend it!
And I need to hit go on my dammed books.
I keep chickening out – it’s too scary and I’ve had my fill of stress and pain and criticism this year. Normally, thick skin all the way, but it’s been a year of being threatened because I moderate groups and at some point….
I want to do a PHD in forensic linguistics so I can write about THAT but no such luck so far…..
Jealous of that shed of yours – hope to see you in the UK (there’s a massive writer’s literary festival literally in my front step in Cheltenham. We even have a spare room for crash space 😉
December 28, 2014 — 10:15 PM
kaiberie says:
Also, LOL, one of my zombie books waiting for me to hit go is called [Redacted] !!
December 29, 2014 — 2:24 PM
hamnerd says:
Oh my goodness Chuck, your ‘hood is gorgeous. I wished I lived out in the countryside like that.
Sorry to hear about your beloved dog’s passing, however.
I’m glad to hear about the your successful endeavors for 2014 and it looks as if 2015 will be even better.
I’m about ready to piss on 2014, myself. I write in a tiny little studio apartment in the city. I like to pretend i’m Joe Gillis (a female version) from the film “Sunset Boulevard”, writing in the Alto Nido apartments. (mine looks very similar to that.)
December 28, 2014 — 10:45 PM
Widdershins says:
YESSSSSS to pissing on 2014! … 2015 here we come. 🙂
December 28, 2014 — 11:08 PM
Christopher says:
Please tell me your [REDACTED] is actually the Blue Blazes Sequel!
December 29, 2014 — 12:32 AM
~ Sadie ~ says:
Love the writing shed!!! Definitely hoping for a better 2015 — 2014 kinda blew! You are inspiring me, Mr. Wendig 🙂
December 29, 2014 — 12:44 AM
susan1859 says:
Uh, one question- do you ever sleep? Wow!
December 29, 2014 — 1:03 AM
percykerry923 says:
Wow! Your 2014 was both work-filled and successful! That’s something most of us can’t achieve, not because we’re not talented, but because we’re not trying hard enough, and believing in ourselves. All the best for your next year, and may you and Brand Wendig gain double the success of 2014!
As for myself…I am just drinking coffee and moving on to the next day 😀
Wish you a very happy 2015!
December 29, 2014 — 1:37 AM
boydstun215 says:
Very excited about Thunderbird and Atlanta Burns.
Isn’t The Hellsblood Bride being released sometime early this year? (fingers crossed)
I started six writing projects this year and have yet to finish one, so I have officially deemed 2015 the year of “finish my shit.”
And just so you know, I’m jealous about the writing shack.
December 29, 2014 — 3:04 AM
Mark says:
Enviously happy for you. How the hell d’you manage to write 750k words?
That’s more than 50k words per month.
Which is more than 1667 words per day.
Which is damn hard when you got a family, a blog and a beard to tend.
What’s the secret?
December 29, 2014 — 3:32 AM
Mikey Campling says:
2014 is the year I officially discovered Chuck Wendig. Until that time, he existed only as the merest hint of a rumour. Old men gathered in dark corners and muttered tales of The Bearded One. Vexed mothers threatened their recalcitrant children that Old Man Wendig would get them if they didn’t finish their novels. But on my solo mission to read the entire Internet, dressed only in a sealskin bathrobe, I found Chuck Wendig encased in a block of solidified coffee beans. Once I’d chipped away the empty bean husks, I realised that he had absorbed their contents through his skin. He was clearly a magnificent beast, and so I caged him, thinking to show him as an exhibit. But he was beyond man’s control, and he escaped. Now he roams the planet, and he has gathered an army to his side. A crack squad of ink slingers, known as the Literati, have sworn to place him on the Throne of Penn Munki for all time. There is nothing we can do to stop them. We can only join them. And so as 2014 draws to a close, I place my fingers on my sacred keyboard, and solemnly swear, that in the name of Chuck, I WILL Finish My Shit, And so we enter the era of the Great Rewrite, where there is but one rule: Thou Shalt Edit. May our self-belief carry us all through to the Promised Writing Shed. Brothers and sisters, go forth and write. *Stares* *Shuffles away into the shadows*
December 29, 2014 — 4:26 AM
turkeynox says:
Best comment ever, Mikey.
*goes to Finish Shit*
January 6, 2015 — 9:45 PM
Angela Kee says:
2014 was a rough year. We lost a beloved evil cat. I spent a month in the hospital and didn’t come home unscathed. I had to abandon a writing project for the first time. But it wasn’t all bad. I finished my first novel, and I’m looking forward to 2015. Jade will be available on January 6! After three non-fiction books under a different name, this is my first foray into fiction writing since college, but I’m loving every minute of it. I just hope my readers will too.
December 29, 2014 — 5:17 AM
gardenfreshtomatoes says:
Wait, what?! You’ll be HERE (Portsmouth, RI) in July? I spend 20 years in this town, quit writing entirely, start up again, plan to move back to Texas, and 6 MONTHS AFTER I LEAVE, something AWESOME is going to happen?
That’s me, in a nutshell….
Oh, well. At least the new house has a Writing Shed….
Thanks for the verbal kick-in-the-ass your posts have provided, Boss Monkey. I’ve got three new short stories down, and I’m hip-deep in a fourth. 2014 (The Latter Half) was the year I stopped telling those fictional folks in my brain to “Go back to sleep, I don’t have time for you….” 2015 will be Finish My Shit year.
No, really.
Don’t laugh.
Bring on the New Year!
December 29, 2014 — 6:15 AM
Dale Eldon says:
I always enjoy your posts, Chuck! I am very jealous of your writing shed! ;^) Very cool, man!
December 29, 2014 — 6:16 AM
Fi Phillips says:
Wow, what a year you’ve had. Have really enjoyed dropping in on your blog.
2014 for me was gruelling but satisfying. Almost at the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel (will get there for definite in 2015) but still got a hell of a lot done this year, writing and life wise.
Finished the final draft of my novel, sent it off for a professional assessment, then used NaNoWriMo to get halfway through the first draft of my second novel. Lots of other writerly things and lost more weight too. Daughter started at high school. Son entered last year at primary school. Lost my godmother which has spurred me on to start on a book of memories of all my old birds.
2014 has been inspiring, if not kind. Looking forward to the new year. Have a good one yourself.
December 29, 2014 — 6:58 AM
Jemima Pett says:
Wow! You’ve been busy. I’ve been busy, but not so productive. Must work on that.
Thanks for posting the stuff you post, and for writing the things you right, and inspiring the things you inspire – who knew that when I started writing your flash fiction prompts I’d end up with a whole new series?!
And thanks mostly for reminding me to just be the best me that I can be on the web, instead of trying to be some author or other…
Happy 2015 🙂
December 29, 2014 — 7:20 AM
Ashlynn says:
Congrats on all the coolish stuff going on with you! And your writing shed rocks…just sayin’.
I have a lot going on in 2015 as well. I’m figuring out this self-publishing thing…I think. Finally able to write again, sans health issues, and my second book is coming out in Jan and third in May. A short anthology sometime this summer and if all holds together, I’ll have 4th coming out sometime in the fall.
But we shall see! I’m looking forward to 2015. See what it brings. New goals. New friends.
And I get to read your blog. 🙂
December 29, 2014 — 9:25 AM
allreb says:
In 2014, I started querying my novel, signed with my agent, and sold my novel. That all fitting into the space of a year — seven months, actually — is, I gather, moving at roughly the speed of light for publishing, so I’ve got no complaints on that front. On the personal side, it was a year of getting my brain back in order and clawing my way out of the grief-hole I was in after my mother died in late 2013. I am ending the year in a much better place than I began it. Bring it on, 2015.
December 29, 2014 — 9:36 AM
MakeLifeMemorable says:
You are such an inspiration as always! What an amazing year you’ve had and many more to come. though I’m mad at you Chuck. I went to spend this months Audible token on the cormorant and it wasn’t there. I had to buy MA’s Blind Assassain instead.
Anyway 2014: 5 novel length stories done, a mountain of rejections, a bigger pile of requests compared to 2013, and im heading into 2015 with a very exciting R&R, which may or may not lead anywhere. Either way I’ll be checking in here every day and writing my socks off 🙂 happy new year chuck!
December 29, 2014 — 9:50 AM
Melanie Marttila says:
About the nail clicks of phantom pup: we had Zoe, mixed breed, looked like a coyote. Due to the aforementioned nail clicks, we nicknamed her clack-toes. We also had two cats at the time and they were, you guessed it, clack-toes intolerant! Zoe died young of cancer and it took us two years to consider a new pup, during which time, the Phantom nail click sounded often.
December 29, 2014 — 9:54 AM
joebrewing says:
I started typing something for this, and then I was pulled into a meeting. When I came back my screen had refreshed and I lost everything I’d typed. That’s pretty par for the course on how my year has been. It’s been a roller coaster ride, but more down hill slopes than up. I struggled with getting my city to allow me to open a brewery, struggled with contractors in getting things ready for the brewery, reveled in realizing a long held dream of mine when I finally opened the brewery, and felt a part of myself die when I had to close the brewery due to sales not being what I thought they would, and not having enough funds to continue operations. I had the opportunity to see quite a few people while they genuinely enjoyed my beers, and that’s something I’ll always hold with me.
My wife and I welcomed our son Joseph Thomas Donahue IV into the world. He’s a great little kid and I love him more than words on a blog reply can express. I managed to do some writing near the last quarter of the year. I’m a little over 11k into my next novel. I rediscovered my love for reading, and I have you to thank for that. I found you through Sarah Chorn, and I’m glad I did. I enjoy everything you write, and you definitely seem like the kind of person that I could see myself hanging out and having a few drinks with. That probably sounded creepy. I guess you just seem like my kind of people, a kindred spirit maybe.
The year has ended in intense, unending pain. I got a sinus infection about a month ago, and had some pain in my legs. I didn’t think much about it at the time, because ever since I had the flu two years ago, I always ache when I get sick. Well, the sinus infection went away, but the leg pain did not. It still hasn’t gone away. I’ve gone to the ER. I’ve had an appointment with my General Practitioner. I have a meeting with a Neurologist on the 13th. I just hope I find something soon that will get rid of this pain, because it’s constant and it’s nearly unbearable.
I plan on changing things for 2015. I want to read more. I want to spend more time with my family. I’m going to finish my novel and revise it until it’s ready to pitch to an agent. I also plan on writing a screenplay version of the novel and starting another novel that I’ve been taking notes on. Last, but definitely not least, I want to move. I’ve lived in Alabama nearly my entire life and I think I’m ready to broaden my horizons. It probably won’t happen in 2015, but I want to make some large strides towards knowing where I want to move, and coming up with a road map to make it happen.
Thanks for becoming my new favorite author and reinvigorating my love for reading.
December 29, 2014 — 10:05 AM
melorajohnson says:
Awesome – can’t wait to pick up the Miriam Black Series for my husband for his birthday.
I’ve been tucking the writing here and there so this past year I’ve finished drafting a sci-fi thriller on GMOs and written 85% of something I can’t quite classify yet that I’m looking forward to finishing. Submitted a short sci-fi story to Glimmer Train and have a list to submit to if they reject it.
This next year my goals are as follows – 1. Finish the current work in progress. 2. Take part in the 9th Annual Short Story Challenge from NYC Midnight. 3. Edit and start submitting Biomalware. 4. Edit and start submitting current work in progress. 5. Finally finish writing Devolution. 6. Revisit the juvi mystery I wrote long ago. Oh, and I’m also working on pairing my poetry and original art work for hanging in a local art gallery. Looks to be a very full year.
Good luck everyone!
December 29, 2014 — 10:13 AM
Paul Baxter says:
Even if 2014 was not beautiful, it WAS useful. Without 2014, 2013 would have slammed directly into 2015 like two boxcars in a rail yard, and who knows what toxic cargo would have spilled in the collision?
And I got a lot of stories written in 2014. Not a Wendig-load of stories, but a lot in comparison to the past.
Happy 2015, everyone! Let’s all meet up here a year from now with fond memories of what a glorious year we made it.
December 29, 2014 — 10:43 AM
Terri says:
Chuck, I will say that it has been an honor to hang out around here and watch your career take off. Congrats on the re-(and I assume wider)-release of the Miriam series, although the entire might of S&S will not have one thing on the original covers. And a writing shed. You have a writing shed.
As for me, I finished and self-pubbed my first novel Devil’s Deal, which is plodding along, providing groceries. It got good requests, but I couldn’t quite close the deal, so I took it into my own hands. Book 2, Ride the Lightning, will follow this spring. I also have a YA about what happens when doomsday prepping goes wrong and the outline of a legal thriller with touches of Santeria magical realism on the drawing board. I closed down the little newspaper I had inherited and will be finishing the serial novel I’d been publishing one chapter per month. A little historical romance set against the backdrop of Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence Kansas.
I’m also closing out some other parts of my life. A building of mine that was nearly destroyed in an epic hail storm will finally be foreclosed by the county for back taxes and I won’t cringe every time it rains (nothing like getting phone calls from the city that plaster is falling off your storefront.)
Still digesting a death by suicide in my family 3 months ago. He’d been disabled in an accident 5 years earlier and was in a slow terminal state, but the void is still gutting. I was finally able to write about it on my blog and am chewing it bit by bit, both personally and legally. It will take a while to emerge from the stasis.
It’s been a year of being able to withdraw from the practice of law and make a living with words and the small collectibles business I’ve continued after his accident and death. Still on track to be a full-time pen-monkey within 2 years.
Like-minded folks gather here on social issues because it is a robust watering-hole where divergent opinions are welcomed and you moderate just enough to keep it from getting harassing. Some very smart and cool folks hang out here and I know there will always be lively conversation on social issues. Even when I don’t agree with The Beard ( I know, it surprises me as well,) I know the discussion will be worth following. As to the haters, fuck ’em.
Here’s to 2015 *watches 2014 stop to poop on the carpet as it slinks out*
December 29, 2014 — 11:03 AM
terribleminds says:
‘watches 2014 stop to poop on the carpet as it slinks out’
Okay, that made me literally LOL.
I am very sorry to hear about the rest of it, and hope everyone is well after all that’s happening. Keep on keepin’ on, Terri.
— c.
December 29, 2014 — 3:55 PM
bagu (@bagu) says:
Those 61000 hits on 25 Ways To Plot, Plan & Prep Your Story might have been me. SORRY!
December 29, 2014 — 12:43 PM
Erin says:
Could you possibly edit your “Books of 2015” section to add when the first issue of The Shield is coming out?
December 29, 2014 — 12:48 PM
Melissa Clare says:
2014 was so bad I’m going to pretend it never happened. Stoked on your success, though – big year (Atwood and Gaiman? WTF?). I’d be jealous, if I was like that. 🙂
December 29, 2014 — 1:47 PM
bathoryssecret says:
Is it just me, or does the shed feel terribly susceptible to zombie attacks and chainsaw wielders?
Oh and best of luck for 2015 Chuck!
December 29, 2014 — 1:51 PM
lovablewriter says:
2014 was full of lots of bad choices for me. But I wouldn’t have done anything differently. I can honestly say that this year shaped me as a person in the best way. So, cheers to another challenging year ahead. Thanks for regularly updating your blog, Chuck. You always make me laugh!
December 29, 2014 — 2:52 PM
Wendy Christopher says:
Holy moley, Chuck – aside from your awesome writing shed, is that mahoosive swathe of space it’s sitting in your actual GARDEN?
You’ve certainly been busy this year, and it looks like you’re going to be even busier next year. 2014 for me was… well, ‘meh’ probably sums it up best. Draft Two of my w-i-p took up the entirety of it and STILL isn’t finished. When it comes to writing, it seems that Trying To Make It Not Shit takes me at least twice as long as Just Getting It Down. And then when my old ‘puter finally bit the dust forEVAH in November, resulting in another, albeit short, temporary hiatus until I managed to get a new one…
These are of course totally first world problems, and I know I have no right to complain because there are tons of people out there who’ve had things way worse than me – but I will finish 2014 being miserably cross with myself for sucking so much. I will get my head out of my ass and try harder for 2015. If anyone feels a need to cyber-slap me upside my head please go ahead because god knows I deserve it. Just make sure the queue is orderly, please. 😉
December 29, 2014 — 3:26 PM
terribleminds says:
Oh, haha, not in the garden, but in our woods, yeah.
December 29, 2014 — 4:23 PM
Stephanie Scott says:
Glad to see the Miriam Black books are being reprinted! I ordered through my indie and they said the current publisher no longer had the first book. The hubz doesn’t do ebooks (yet) so I’ll pick up the print next year! Applause to all your accomplishments, including the writing hut. Nice.
December 29, 2014 — 4:33 PM
Gareth Skarka says:
If I’m looking on the positive side, 2014 was the year I didn’t die. Came close, though. Lost the first half of the year to a massive infection that damn near signed me out, but I came through it. Of course, that meant that the second half of the year was spent on starting the long, slow crawl out of the wreckage left by the first half.
So yeah, I’m much more hopeful for 2015.
December 29, 2014 — 4:51 PM
Mary Ann Peden-Coviello says:
I wanted 2014 to rock. It rolled right over me. I sold my first story for actual cash money. And then everything went to rack and ruin. My writing continues, but there’s been way more money in my editing business. I long for a writing shed. We have plenty of room for one, but not so much the $$ to build it.
We lost our 17-year-old cat this year. But then, he was given a prognosis of 3 months to live over 2 years ago, so he beat those odds. I don’t hear clack-toes, but I hear phantom purring in the night. I’m persuaded he’s still here, watching over me.
I’ve done lots of reading this year, including all 3 of the available Miriam Black books — and I won (I NEVER win!) autographed copies of them in a Twitter contest.
2015 might be better. I’m about to publish a book of short stories, though I don’t expect to earn a heap of green from it. My little editing business continues to grow, sometimes faster than I can deal with, to be honest.
December 29, 2014 — 5:11 PM
totiltwithwindmills says:
2014 wasn’t the greatest year for me, but 2015 has potential to start out better. There were upsides to this year like my improvement during this year’s NaNoWriMo. I wrote much more than I did in any previous year — even during camps — which is a big deal to me. After awhile I even managed to find my flow with the story. This year I’ve also managed to release some poems that I’m really proud that people enjoy and have been working on many more writing pieces. While the year has been lousy in a large portion of personal ways it has been wonderful as far as writing. I’m hoping that aspect continues into 2015 even as the personal elements improve.
December 29, 2014 — 5:55 PM
Emmie Mears says:
2014 hacked open my ribcage with a machete and scraped out my insides.
Between family stuff that is made of every parent and human’s worst nightmares, a massive [redacted redacted redacted goddamn it]…career… upset, divorce, finances going to hell, health problems, and entire DSWs of shoes dropping left and right, well.
Fuck this year. I wish I were being melodramatic.
But I really want to take a bunch of napalm on it, light a blow torch, shoot it full of holes, then launch it out of a grizzly bear’s ass over a cliff into a volcano.
That reaction might be a little melodramatic, but the impetus for it is not.
December 29, 2014 — 8:44 PM
kamackinnon says:
I sold my first story this year, so that was a landmark for me. It came out in October and I got a cheque and everything. I completed three others, and two of those are circulating and racking up rejections. And I’m about 500 words from completing the first draft of a fourth. 2014 was the year for working on that whole ‘finish your shit’ thing.
That’s what I want to remember from 2014.
December 29, 2014 — 9:33 PM
anastasiaaoo says:
I screwed up big time in 2014, so my 2015 resolution is to not screw up. But even I can’t do that, so maybe just to not screw up a little bit.
On serious note, I want to submit short stories to magazines. Gain some writing credentials while we’re young.
January 3, 2015 — 11:16 PM
Kristy says:
The use of the word “redacted” has me nervous and excited. I feel all tingly, Chuck, and the suspense is killing me. Much like the refund of my pre-order of The Hellsblood Bride.
Please tell me (or rather, since you probably can’t, please know that I’m hoping) that these things are related–and that Mookie’s still coming back, just in an unexpected way.
January 6, 2015 — 7:53 PM