As the end of the year approaches, I’m looking back briefly on my writing life over the last twelve months. Here are few items of note.
New Manuscript
This year, I wrote the first draft of the middle book of my genre-bending young adult adventure series that takes place in an alternate earth timeline with dragons. Writing the middle part of a trilogy is super tricky because it is basically ALL MIDDLE, and the middle of a book is hard to right in the first place. I spent January through July writing the draft, and I’m happy with how the overall story is progressing, especially the relationships between the characters and the expansion of the world. Also, writing the second book helped me understand a few things about the first book that weren’t working.
Newsletter
In August, I committed to writing this newsletter twice a month in order to build and engage a readership. This author website is my second, and much less popular website, with my sermon website reliably getting over 100 hits a day. Perhaps one day, this site will match or exceed my sermon site, but until then, I’ll keep talking about writing here.
Writing Retreat
In October, I went on the “Journey to Jupiter” writing retreat with other members of my writing group. You can read about it here. Spending three days with other writers was a balm for my soul. Isn’t it amazing when you find out, again and again, that you’re not alone?
Writing Group
Speaking of not alone, the #5amWritersGroup meets everyday on Discord and every three weeks on Zoom. We have a blast supporting one another and sharing in each other’s successes and challenges. I would not be as dedicated a writer as I am without them.
Critique Partnering
Brenan and I have been critique partners for well over a year now, but this fall, I added Paul as a second partner. He and I read each other’s books, and it was such a blessing to meet with him periodically to talk about our manuscripts. There’s a fruitful symbiotic relationship that forms between critique partners, and I have come to rely on both of mine in both writing and life.
Querying
Twice this year, I sent out rounds of queries for the first book of the trilogy I mentioned above. The first time in the winter, the book was still not ready for querying (and that was round 3!). The second time in October and early November, the book was ready. Still no bites, but there are plenty more agent arrows in the quiver for the next round next winter/spring. As I talked about here, the query is in a good place, and I spent over a week culling down the list of agents on QueryTracker to about 120 names to send to. I’ve sent the query to less than a quarter of the list so far.
That’s my year in review. Thank you for coming on this journey with me. I invite you to check out the fantasy novels on this website over Christmas. Start with The Storm Curtain. I’ll be back for one more post at the very end of the year to talk about a few of the books I read this year. In the meantime, have a blessed holiday season.
Adam Thomas, Author 