Lessons and Looking Forward

Each year seems to pass more quickly than the last.  When I was a boy, a year was forever.  Summer always seemed so far away.  The idea of ever being 34 was ludicrous.  But now, a year is never long enough.  Summer but a blip that passes before I get the chance to appreciate it.

It feels like only yesterday, I was fretting over FML, wondering if I'd ever get it done properly.  Wondering if I'd ever write anything good again.

And yet, here we are.  FML has a cover, bookmarks, a release date (June 25th!).  Life is moving on.

I learned a lot from 2012.  About myself, about how I write, about what I want from my writing career. I have some thoughts about the state of publishing (especially where it concerns YA), but I'll save those for a different post.

I'm not huge on New Year's resolutions, but I was writing out my own personal goals for 2013, and one thing stood out.  Aside from trying to get back into shape (my current flabby state, I blame solely on Matt and his damnable habit of bringing home such delicious cookies!), I wrote something curious.  I wrote: be a better person.

Truthfully, I'm not sure what that means.  I have some ideas, but I also have a habit of biting off more than I can chew and having to fall on my sword, so I'm not going to make any promises.  But I'd like to be a better human being.  I'd like to stop worrying so much about my career and help other people worry about theirs.  Maybe that means I'll occasionally offer some free query writing critiques or some story advice.  Maybe it means just trying to pay forward all the goodwill others have shown me.  I don't know.  But no matter what form it takes, I'm going to try to be a better person...whatever that means.

One promise I am going to make for 2013 is that from now until release day, Fridays are going to be FML Fridays.  Sometimes that means I'll be sharing what the process of writing FML was like, sometimes it means I'll be sharing stories from my high school days...those terrifying teenage years that still provide me with a deep well of humiliation from which I draw my inspiration.  It might also mean that I'll ask you all to share some of your high school stories as well.

2012 was a decent year.  Not my favorite year, but not a bad year either.

Bring on 2013.  I F'ing love My Life.