2023 has come to an end, and as always, I wanted to review my year. Let’s dive straight into what goals I met this year, and what I’ve planned for 2024! (Here is the post from a year ago, to refresh your memory!)
This year’s achievements
As far as I can see, I only missed one of my intended targets – reviewing books. It turns out that I am great at reading fast, especially since I put some time into learning the basics of speed reading. However, I am terrible at making reviews! It takes time and effort beyond what I have to allot for that activity. So, I only managed to make a few reports. Here take a look: The Hell I Carry by Lucas Derion and How To Learn Anything by Daisy C. O’Donnell.
Other than that misstep, I managed my goals like a good girl. I posted every week (on Monday instead of Sunday), or at least I posted an article for each week. I also hit both my goals for word count (300K) and the days written (300). Actually, I flew past my word goal and broke 400K in December! That’s double the target I had for the previous year, which is just astonishing.
Another thing I did was to get my dip my toes into the sea of Social Media. I think I succeeded in my aims, having gathered over 3,500 beautiful souls around me on Twitter. If you happen to be one of them, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Let’s make next year just as amazing as this one, if not even more so! I’m counting on you! And to my American readers, my hat tippeth all the way to the ground. You are the biggest group that made the crazy 900% raise in traffic possible!
About the Projects
I have to admit to you, I have made a terrible mistake. Or rather, several.
Firstly, I hyped myself up to write a book, the Narcissus Blood Bank. Don’t get me wrong, I am still writing it. I just underestimated the work it would take, especially since I will have to re-write it. And in the midst of all the setbacks, I got into my usual Borderline slump and stopped writing my own stuff altogether. That is why this year, I put in place plans to mitigate those bad moments.
Other than NBB, I wanted to finish two other scripts. One for a game (EHE), and another story for my three-tiered world (Rialar). It seems that instead of any of the three, I will be publishing something else entirely. A short story that I wrote for a competition, and which didn’t place there. I called it Our Story, and it is something I am very proud to have as my debut. Look forward to reading this short story about my personal fairytale!
Year’s End
As most of the world knows, the end of 2023 has been terrible for the people in the Middle East. Considering I have family there, and the community is close to my heart, it is no wonder that my efforts in writing and otherwise dwindled. And as I write this, it is still not over.
Life, however, must go on. And in my Path, I am certain I can bring more light to the world, wherever it may be. I can only do what only I can do (how’s that for an aphorism!). That’s why I have picked up my Twitter and while I still post about the terror and horror of it all, I will also try to become the beacon of light I’m meant to be. I know that to be my Path, and I know it is the only way I can help this world. By creating amazing things that resonate with it!
Honorable Mentions
It’s not all doom and gloom!
This year has been a year of growth, epiphanies, and all sorts of developments.
My Fiverr Translation career has picked up nicely, I am a level 2 seller and a Seller Plus member. All of you marvelous people relying on my Linguists abilities, I thank you! May your business bloom in the coming year as well.
Another exciting thing I did was to set up Instagram for my Pixel Art. I fell in love with the meticulousness and weirdly logical art form, and intend to keep practicing it. There is just something very soothing in the tapping of pixels, be it one by one, or in clusters. And since I’ve been blessed with some manner of artistic eye… Why not do something with it, right?
And lastly, a huge thing happened here in VanaVerse: We are going to make a game somewhere in the future! I already wrote a devlog, but it turns out I shouldn’t be so hasty. Ideas evolve, thoughts form, and things are learned. When we actually start the project, I will surely write something somewhere about how it goes!
So, what about my aspirations for 2024?
First things first, I will do my best to keep posting weekly. Maybe I will even do some random posts to fill the gaps here and there! And regarding writing, as I mentioned before, I devised a plan to avoid a situation like this year, where over half of my typing is for Translations. I decided to set a goal of 240K words (4-5 respectable length books). But there is a catch – these words must be toward my own writing! I am excited to see how much I manage to write on top of it in Translations. My ‘Days Written’ goal stays at 300 – everyone needs a break every now and again.
When it comes to Social Media, I want to keep growing more. Though having used some hoarding tactics and been punished for it, I aim to be less zealous. Perhaps I can get to the magical 5k line that seems to be some sort of a soft cap. Again, I’m counting on you, my dear readers!
On the same note, I am in the process of reading scores of indie stories. Some of you may recall my promotion on my 33rd birthday. Well, I took notes. There are over 100 books, not to mention all the blogs and other online content! I hope to go through them before 13/07 rolls around, so I can make another list of things to read! Keep an eye out for my Twitter – I tend to post about the things I read there!
Writing goals for 2024
Other than my word goal, I have set some targets to finish stories, and even publish them.
The first of them would be the aforementioned Our Story. This shortie is currently waiting for the beta-reading, and other preparations, to be done. After that, I will announce my debut schedule via Twitter!
Some of the other stories I aim to work on are the three I already mentioned, as well. Rialar, NBB, and EHE. All of them fantastical, dear, and screaming their heads off for me to get on with it! The exciting thing is, that even with those three, I still need to write one more book’s worth of content. Perhaps the Blog will be able to fill the quota, or I will be in serious trouble! (Not really, I have enough ideas to last a lifetime. In my case, it might even be too short of a timeline to write everything out.)
I will also take part in some national competitions, so that should be fun!
Learning and finally, Conclusion
I set myself quite the list of courses and things to study this year. I have a pre-made list of 9 Udemy courses. On top of that, I plan to learn more Hebrew and other things outside of Udemy. Curious about the stuff I’ll be learning? Well, most of it is Game Development, such as Coding, Design, Marketing, and Art. While my husband will be the techie, it’s good for me to know the basics as well.
So, here we are, at the end of this article, and the year 2023. All and all, I am content. I crushed my main goals, and that’s more than I dared to hope. My struggle with health has now moved more to the physical side, thanks to my born philosophy. I suppose I need to learn to stop eating myself to stupor, while I’m at it!
I’d like to thank you all, once more, for this wonderful year. Whether it is someone stopping by to say hello, or my internet friends, you all bring light to my life. I can only hope I bring some of it to your lives as well!
May the coming year be filled with meaning, discoveries, and adventure.
And most of all, may your Path be paved in blessed Golden threads, guiding your steps forward.