The Year Ahead: What I Hope to Learn About Writing in 2016

by Naomi L. | January 6, 2016 | Blog, Creative Writing | 2 comments

Happy New Year! Welcome to my first creative writing post of 2016! After reviewing the accomplishment (or lack thereof) of my resolutions from last year, it’s time to ponder what I hope to achieve in writing in the new year. So to start off a new year of creativity, here’s what I hope to learn about writing in 2016. Enjoy!

How to complete a Master’s thesis on time

The fact that this is Priority One for me right now probably goes without saying. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in two years of a Master’s program, it’s that you shouldn’t count your chickens before they hatch. Almost every time I get a decent amount of writing done on a particular part of my thesis, a change in my project renders that writing practically void. It’s almost as if Murphy’s Law makes reef fish DNA deliberately refuse to be properly amplified and sequenced…

This final stretch of my program is going to prove extremely challenging, but with any luck, I’ll have my phylogenetic results within the next couple of months and be able to complete my thesis in time to defend it next semester. Hope it all works out! For science!

How to expand my blogging network

This one may be a bit easier to figure out. I’ve already gotten better at connecting with writers through WordPress, and my social media presence is steadily growing. I plan to eventually expand my network with guest post exchanges and author interviews, which will hopefully increase my traffic. Updates will appear on my blog as these new features become available, so be sure to check back if you’re interested! Here’s hoping I can gain a stronger footing in the blogosphere in 2016!

How to start monetizing my writing

I know this is a pretty ambitious goal, especially considering how little I still know about blogging seriously. I probably won’t even be able to start focusing on this task until the middle of the year, but I would like to be able to earn some sort of income from my writing, and the sooner I start trying, the better. I don’t want to flood my blog with ads, of course, so I suppose the most obvious way to go is to publish and sell my work. I have been looking into freelance writing, and after years of publishing short stories and poetry, it’s about time I actually write a book! Wish me luck!

What about you? What do you hope to achieve in writing in 2016?

The Year in Review: What I’ve Learned About Writing in 2015

by Naomi L. | December 30, 2015 | Blog, Creative Writing | 2 comments

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!

The Year Ahead: What I Hope to Learn About Writing in 2015

by Naomi L. | January 7, 2015 | Blog, Creative Writing | 0 comments

Happy New Year! It’s the beginning of 2015, and that means it’s time to think about our plans for the year ahead. After reviewing what I’ve learned about writing in 2014, here’s what I still hope to learn in 2015. Enjoy!

How to keep balancing grad school and my blog

Like I mentioned last week, managing grad school and a creative writing blog at the same time is hard work, and it’ll definitely be even more difficult now that I’m going into the second year of my Master’s program. It’s going to take a lot of organizational skill, something I seriously lack, so I expect to face plenty of challenges when it comes to writing in 2015, both scientifically and artistically. Still, I’m confident I’ll be able to manage it somehow; if I’ve made it this far without failing, I’m sure I can last another year!

How to better network with other writers and readers

Networking is something I’m still trying to figure out. Though I have done my research on social media and actively maintain my profiles as best I can, I still feel like a newbie when it comes to actually connecting with other writers and readers. Maybe it’s my lack of real-life social skills showing in my online persona, but I just can’t seem to develop the proper habits to build a solid and extensive network with fellow artists and a potential audience. Hopefully that’ll change in 2015; I’d like to connect with as many writers and readers as I can!

How to find the time to actually write those novels

I’ll probably be too busy to finish writing a book this year, but I’d still like to figure out how or even if I can manage to find the time to work on those novels I’ve been planning to write. Planning is important, and I’ve gotten plenty of that done already, but it means nothing if I never get those ideas written out, right? If all goes well, I hope I can get a decent amount of novel writing done in 2015!

What about you? What are your plans for 2015?