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matt_doyleIn 2024 I read 238 books (including novellas and 6-issue or more volumes of comics) out of a goal of 365.
Out of an initial goal of 75k words but hoping for 120k, I wrote 79,389 words, of which 36,883 were RPG sourcebook intended for publication, and 42,506 were prose fiction.
I didn't used to count fanfic as prose written, but I do now, because who am I, a cop? I still don't count my session prep notes, even though of course they "count" in some ways, but
a) it would be a much bigger logistical pain in the ass than it would be a balm to my ego, &
b) the process is so fundamentally different than writing prose that it would be very little help as any sort of sensible quantitative metric. I've had notes for a three hour session be as short as two words for mood & vibes & the names of three monsters, & I have had sessions with 8000 words of logistics & flow charts, but since they aren't made to be read by others, it just doesn't make sense to consider them as I do prose.
Maybe this means I need a metric like "hours spent butt in chair producing creative work?"
Anyway. This was a great year. I was at 120k/year for two years before my anxiety attacks started in 2013, & I was back at this point by 2019, before the pandemic once again screwed my wordcount, and then switching to professional dungeonmastering in 2021-onward took so much of my creative energy that my prose wordcount cratered again.
It's not the number of words itself that matters to me this much anymore as it is the fact that I know, if something throws me creatively, I can rebuild my capacity, and each time the rebuilding process is faster & smoother.
Also, 2024 is the only year I've ever had even one month of 30k+ words, and I had two - January and the mid-November to mid-December holiday crawl. That's not sustainable for me right now (and it feels silly that 70+% of my wordcount comes from under 20% of my year) - but it's a thing I didn't know I could do, and I did it! Yay me.
That said, in 2025 I'd like to write 60k words prose fiction & 60k words role-playing book(I have a hard time quantifying this as fiction or nonfiction, as a mix of prose and technical writing).
I'd also still like to try to read 365 books a year. This may be a little pie in the sky (though I have done it repeatedly in the past, usually I did so in years where I spent a lot of time alone or on public transit), but since I am mostly past beating myself up when I fail to reach these goals, I'd like to aim high! Why not?
This year, as all previous years for more than a decade, I renew my Resolution to admit out loud in the presence of another human being when I realize I am factually wrong. This one thing has made my ego healthier, fought insecurity & defensiveness, & just generally kept me from becoming an obnoxious know-it-all invested in Always Being Right as my identity.
I have been that guy, & I'd rather avoid being him again (I am still an obnoxious know-it-all. I'm just an obnoxious know-it-all who mostly no longer feels threatened when someone shows me I am wrong. I love that for me. I never want to be closed off to learning, and I never want to be a dick to people who are kind enough to correct my errors).
(Nota Bene: I am not required to admit I was wrong to the person I was wrong at, nor in the immediate moment I discover my wrongness. This kindness to myself is the only reason I have a near-spotless record at actually keeping this resolution. Sometimes it is intolerable to let an asshole know they were technically correct, and sometimes my soul needs to hide in shame when I uncover my errors. I let it, although obviously, it's preferable to be prompt & fix the error at the source.
Also, when you call people up late in the evening to apologize for having accidentally conflated a Court Baron & a Court Leet while drinking, they both do not understand why you are doing so, feel a trifle intruded upon, & think you are weird.
I don't mind them knowing I am weird, but I prefer to let them know it genteelly and with less baggage. My resolution is for my health, not theirs.)
I'd also like to blog a little more this year. We shall see how that goes.
Out of an initial goal of 75k words but hoping for 120k, I wrote 79,389 words, of which 36,883 were RPG sourcebook intended for publication, and 42,506 were prose fiction.
I didn't used to count fanfic as prose written, but I do now, because who am I, a cop? I still don't count my session prep notes, even though of course they "count" in some ways, but
a) it would be a much bigger logistical pain in the ass than it would be a balm to my ego, &
b) the process is so fundamentally different than writing prose that it would be very little help as any sort of sensible quantitative metric. I've had notes for a three hour session be as short as two words for mood & vibes & the names of three monsters, & I have had sessions with 8000 words of logistics & flow charts, but since they aren't made to be read by others, it just doesn't make sense to consider them as I do prose.
Maybe this means I need a metric like "hours spent butt in chair producing creative work?"
Anyway. This was a great year. I was at 120k/year for two years before my anxiety attacks started in 2013, & I was back at this point by 2019, before the pandemic once again screwed my wordcount, and then switching to professional dungeonmastering in 2021-onward took so much of my creative energy that my prose wordcount cratered again.
It's not the number of words itself that matters to me this much anymore as it is the fact that I know, if something throws me creatively, I can rebuild my capacity, and each time the rebuilding process is faster & smoother.
Also, 2024 is the only year I've ever had even one month of 30k+ words, and I had two - January and the mid-November to mid-December holiday crawl. That's not sustainable for me right now (and it feels silly that 70+% of my wordcount comes from under 20% of my year) - but it's a thing I didn't know I could do, and I did it! Yay me.
That said, in 2025 I'd like to write 60k words prose fiction & 60k words role-playing book(I have a hard time quantifying this as fiction or nonfiction, as a mix of prose and technical writing).
I'd also still like to try to read 365 books a year. This may be a little pie in the sky (though I have done it repeatedly in the past, usually I did so in years where I spent a lot of time alone or on public transit), but since I am mostly past beating myself up when I fail to reach these goals, I'd like to aim high! Why not?
This year, as all previous years for more than a decade, I renew my Resolution to admit out loud in the presence of another human being when I realize I am factually wrong. This one thing has made my ego healthier, fought insecurity & defensiveness, & just generally kept me from becoming an obnoxious know-it-all invested in Always Being Right as my identity.
I have been that guy, & I'd rather avoid being him again (I am still an obnoxious know-it-all. I'm just an obnoxious know-it-all who mostly no longer feels threatened when someone shows me I am wrong. I love that for me. I never want to be closed off to learning, and I never want to be a dick to people who are kind enough to correct my errors).
(Nota Bene: I am not required to admit I was wrong to the person I was wrong at, nor in the immediate moment I discover my wrongness. This kindness to myself is the only reason I have a near-spotless record at actually keeping this resolution. Sometimes it is intolerable to let an asshole know they were technically correct, and sometimes my soul needs to hide in shame when I uncover my errors. I let it, although obviously, it's preferable to be prompt & fix the error at the source.
Also, when you call people up late in the evening to apologize for having accidentally conflated a Court Baron & a Court Leet while drinking, they both do not understand why you are doing so, feel a trifle intruded upon, & think you are weird.
I don't mind them knowing I am weird, but I prefer to let them know it genteelly and with less baggage. My resolution is for my health, not theirs.)
I'd also like to blog a little more this year. We shall see how that goes.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 07:38 am (UTC)I would also like to blog more, and I'm going to start ... in a moment.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 07:41 am (UTC)I also started a very large number of books that I eventually found so terrible I had to put them down. Most within the first few pages, but I got about halfway through ACOTAR before deciding it could not possibly redeem itself in the second half.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 08:33 am (UTC)*see latest entry
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 09:07 pm (UTC)