it's that time of the year...
looking back on 2022 and the joy of minimalist goals
As always, the end of the year is a time of great stress, both positive (friends! family! socializing!) and negative (existential terror! too much socializing!). One thing I’ve been working on in 2022 is recording achievements instead of bemoaning failures, so here’s a recap of 2022 and what I’m hoping to do in 2023.
part 1: my very minimal 2022 resolutions
At the beginning of 2022, I realized my hardcore goals of previous years (especially writing and reading-related ones) only managed to make me feel crappy about myself.
So I went minimalist with my writing goals:
Write a first draft of something. Anything. It can be shitty. Just do the thing.
Spoiler alert, I still failed most of my lifestyle goals, because I tend to ignore them completely when life gets busy. And writing goals don’t motivate me when I’m not compelled by my story; they just make me feel like a failure.
However, part of the reason I didn’t “cook more instead of ordering Uber Eats” is because I finally found myself compelled by a story— and became consumed by it.
part 2: 2022 has been my best writing year since 2018
From 2019 to late 2021, I was in a major writing slump. I had ideas, I attempted them, I hated them viscerally. I scrapped outlines, abandoned drafts 40k words in, and in 2020 I actually threw out 80k of Blood Red Poppies.
But in late 2021, I had a HOT DAMN!!! moment that fixed what I hated about my previous attempts with Poppies. (There were three attempts over four years.) (I might talk about this more when I get around to writing a craft post on outlining.)
On Feb 2, 2022, I had finished outlining, and started my first draft.
It was a weird, wonderful feeling to finally fall in love with the story I wanted to write since 2018, that had given me so much pain and self doubt I thought I’d never finish another story again.
Almost 5 months later, I finished the first draft, and aside from the joy of feeling like a writer again, it was wonderful to rejoin the writing community and…have people interested in my stories?! (wdym I’m not just screaming into my own void)
I took a month to research, brainstorm, and plot out draft 2, and began working on it in early August; I completed draft 2 in the first days of October, which was shocking to myself.
While waiting for beta feedback, I began plotting my next story, an adult necromancer fantasy. Feeling that rush of having more than one idea I was confident about? Sublime.
Now, as the year draws to a close, I’ve overcome my emotional breakdown over beta feedback, devised a revision plan, and have begun draft 3 of the book I thought I’d never be able to write.
Sometimes I look at other writers, who draft 3 books in a year, and wish I could do more. But, reminding myself of how I began this year—Write a first draft of something. Anything.—I’m immensely proud of myself.
part 3: excellent books and excellent friends
Unfortunately, I find it difficult to read anything for fun while I’m actively writing my own stories, and am constantly playing catch-up with books everyone’s read. So my number of books read and reading list isn’t inspiring.
Still, this year I reread some favorites (The Scorpio Races), finally caught up on others (The Song of Achilles, thank you Madeline Miller for my emotional crisis), discovered my new idol Xiran Jay Zhao (Iron Widow), and went feral over my new obsession, Gideon the Ninth (I read Gideon, Harrow, and Nona within a month, then immediately reread Gideon).
Some of my most precious reads this year, however, were my beta / positivity reads (6 full novels plus 3 ongoing, 2 short stories, and more). The process of critiquing and being critiqued has taught me so much about writing—but one of the best things is how it’s brought to me new and old friends, who have brought me so much joy this year.
Reconnecting with old friends and making new ones (shoutout to my group chats and CP Meet Cute, run by the lovely @julieartz) has been amazing. Thank you all for accompanying me with sprints at odd hours, weathering through twitter drama together, reading my not-so-good early drafts, and helping to pick me up when I’m ready to give up.
part 4: other random tidbits of 2022
I started the year pretty badly, ngl. My cat was diagnosed with testicular cancer…despite having been neutered ages ago (this can happen when some cells are left behind, pretty freaky) and had to get operated on. But he’s doing well now and looks adorable in this picture with his shaved, twiggy-looking legs.
Did some traveling in Taiwan and hugged some capybaras, some of whom were engaging in child-inappropriate activities.
Took this badass picture of myself with the tripod I should’ve bought ages ago, and commenced a low budget Fast & Furious across Taipei by using Find My iPhone to track down my friend’s stolen phone:
part 5: setting goals and dreaming big
The rush of overachieving my writing goals this year was amazing. Highly recommend. So, while I used to push myself to set high goals, I’ve come to realize that doesn’t work.
Here’s how I’m approaching my 2023 goals:
Don’t set goals that aren’t in my control:
Getting agented/published isn’t something in our grasp. When there’s so much subjectivity and luck involved, failing doesn’t reflect the quality of work we do.
Even with goals I can control, I want to be minimalist:
What we can control is bettering our craft. However, instead of pushing to do more!more!more!, for yearly goals I aim for the bare minimum. If I’m passionate about a project, I know I’ll push myself. If I’m not passionate about it, then the bare minimum is enough.
Quantitative goals can be a trap:
Having “numbers” to reach don’t always work for me. For instance, “write 100k words,” “revise to draft four then sub,” and “read 70 books” don’t reflect what I actually want to do. I feel more comfortable with: “write a first draft of a novel,” “get x ready to sub,” “read a more diverse mix of books.”
part 6: moving into 2023
Having reviewed 2022, here are my goals, my dreams, and the things I’m looking forward to in 2023.
My goals:
Writing: I definitely want to put Poppies on submission (bare minimum!), then start working on my next novel, whichever that is.
Reading: I want to read more stories from BIPOC authors of various backgrounds, and more stories featuring disability rep and trans rep.
Work: I have a research article to squeeze out, but that’s IT! Bare minimum, baby.
Hobbies: I want to get back into digital art; I bought that iPad for a reason!
My dreams:
A book deal would be excellent! One that would put me in the dilemma of whether or not to quit my day job would be even better!
There’s a work conference I would like to be accepted for, which would allow me some time off work to visit San Diego late 2023!
Things I’m looking forward to:
I’m planning to touch up my swallow tattoo and get another floral one! Right now I’m hoping to work towards a half sleeve on my left arm. (Complication: one of my parents does not know I have even one tattoo…ha…ha…)
In late February I’ll be taking my first long vacation in 3 years, and going to the US East Coast! Aside from being free from work, I also hope to take a writing hiatus during that time and simply relax.
It’s still pretty scary that 2023 is only a few days away. I have a tendency to always feel like I should’ve done more. I should’ve made 2022 my year. Other people did x and x this year, how come I didn’t? But I’m slowly learning to not compare and to give myself grace, and am hoping my minimalist goals for 2023 will help me do that.