It’s the last Wednesday of 2015, and you know what that means: time for another “Year in Review”! This one’s been a particularly hectic year for me, what with my Master’s project taking up so much of my time and energy (and a little of my sanity), but thankfully I’ve still been able to keep up with my creative writing. I guess that’s only to be expected; after all, the writer in me never quits!

For this review of the past year, I’m revisiting my resolutions from my first creative writing post of 2015. Have I been able to keep them? Let’s see!

Can I still balance grad school and a blog?

Incredibly, yes! Between working long hours in the lab and putting together a decent Master’s thesis, I’ve somehow managed to squeeze in enough time to blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It hasn’t been easy, and I’ve come dangerously close to falling behind on my blogging more than once, but as long as I manage to keep at least three weeks’ worth of posts scheduled in advance, I’m able to stick to my blogging schedule. I’ve made it this far, so I’m confident I can keep it up until I finally get my Master’s degree!

Have I been networking with other writers and readers?

Though I do feel I still have a lot to learn, I’ve gotten much better at networking this year. I’m following more blogs and connecting with more writers, and I’m making an effort to be more active about liking and commenting on posts. My progress is still a bit slow, but I plan to gain momentum in my networking once my thesis is done. I look forward to discovering even more new blogs and writers in the coming year!

Did I find the time to write those novels?

Sadly, not nearly as much as I would have liked. As it turns out, blogging consistently while attending grad school leaves very little time in between to work on anything else. Writing breaks in the lab have mainly been reserved for schoolwork and my thesis, while most of my blog posts are written during weekends. With my Master’s program drawing to a close soon, perhaps I’ll have better luck finding time for my novels in 2016!

I’d say 2015 has been a good year for my creative writing, even if it was slightly slowed by my grad school work. I hope it’s been a good year for you too! Here’s hoping 2016 will be even better! Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!