What a nice year!
I finished the rough draft of my Big Project (gothic fantasy) and got a lovely developmental edit on it. I’m even closing out the year with a *gorgeous* painting for its cover. Basically everything is in place for this book to be complete (once I finish editing it) and I’ve never given myself the opportunity to finish a book with so much loving dedication and time committed.
The appendix I made as a supplementary to this book is over 150 formatted pages and really awesome to behold.
I learned how to crochet in August and spent the last few months crocheting my little fingers off. I made an entire collection of bags that I’ve been trying to figure out how to install in my hallway (like an art installation) to best experience them, without just leaving them on a table somewhere. I did talk myself into rehoming three (3) of the bags so it’s a smaller collection now, less than a dozen. I’ve made a couple sweaters, tons of plant holders, cat toys, random swatches, and a doll. I’ve also gotten back into hand-sewing connected to this hobby, and started leatherworking.
It feels like my illustration skills really took off. I still have a lot of room for improvement, but I’ve been practicing across different media, and it’s made a big difference. I’m really absurdly proud of the illustrations I have in my personal collection now.
Although I eased off my plant hobby and stopped acquiring new pieces, also thinning out ones I didn’t love, I have managed to keep a rather large collection (still a hundred specimens, about) alive and gotten a deeper relationship with some of them, which is rad.
I started publishing Fated for Firelizards, a completely free interactive novel on the web that is about a woman and the dragon she frongs. I’m probably halfway through it? but over halfway on effort invested because I had to learn to work with Twine and beef up on CSS & Javascript (the latter of which is especially not my strong suit). I’ve learned a lot about video game writing and I hope I can finish it early 2024 to do another game thing, in another style. (Interactive romance isekai?)
My most personal accomplishment is that I spent the least amount of time hiding behind locked doors, away from my family. I have always used isolation as my only coping mechanism for sensory overwhelm. I’ve found new ways to handle things. I have gotten to spend more happy, healthful, relaxed time at home with my family than ever.
I wrote a ton of movie reviews and watched a ton of new movies!
I also got my asthma and my eating disorder under control (finally!!!). I really didn’t think I’d ever be able to say the latter with any degree of honesty, ever.
I’ve been sober from alcohol completely for two years, and the same for nicotine. TWO YEARS sober from the worst substances I ever let myself fall in love with! I think THAT’S especially an accomplishment to love!
So yeah! It’s been a really good year. Everyone who says your thirties are better than your twenties because you’re not as much of a fool running into walls facefirst is totally right. I feel really grateful I’ve had all this time to work on myself and my interests. 2023 was a good one. Let’s go 2024!
