Making It The Best Writing Year Ever

Before looking ahead to my hopes for 2020 when it comes to my writing, I want to share a couple of highlights from last year.

While  I can't say that 2019 was a great writing year, there have been a couple of notable highlights. First was the publication of the fictionalized version of my mother's life, Evelyn Evolving: A Story of Real Life, which was published in May by Next Chapter Publishing. When the book was first released, it was a number one bestseller at Amazon in several categories, including women's biography and young adult biography. Since then, it has flirted with a number one spot off and on, and has often been in the top ten. Seeing that little tan best-seller tag on the book's Amazon page always made me smile.

We dream often of having a best-selling book. And while this wasn't as prestigious as having a New York Times best-selling book, it certainly did this writer's heart good. Not just from a professional standpoint, but also knowing that many people were getting to meet my mother and discover what a strong woman she was, facing down the many challenges in her life.

Another highlight of 2019 was when I received notification that my humorous memoir A Dead Tomato Plant And a Paycheck was a finalist in a contest sponsored by Top Shelf Magazine. The message came late in December with a note that the book came very close to taking the top spot in the nonfiction humor category.

These types of recognition that our books receive are always a boost to our creativity, as well as an affirmation that, "Yes maybe what we are doing is good after all." We writers struggle so much with insecurities, at least I know I do, and I cherish these types of affirmations, or a very nice review, or a letter from a reader saying how much they liked my book. They carry me forward to another day, another week, another year of writing, which brings me to 2020.

I don't know if it will be the best writing year ever. Unfortunately, the trigeminal neuralgia that I have as a result of a battle with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, has more control over that than I do. The pain in my head and right eye limits the time I can be on the computer. But I do have plans and goals. One of which is to finish the third book in the Seasons Mystery Series. That's been a goal for a few years, but this is the year it is going to happen. I only have two or three chapters to go.

Then I'm going to write my story, which will finish my mother's story and answer the question some readers have asked, "What happens next?"

To accomplish those goals, I'm going to take advantage of every pain-tolerable moment and write. I'm going to use dictation on my phone so I can look away from the computer screen, which is actually how I did the first part of this blog post. I'm going to spend less time on social media to save precious computer time for writing.

There are ways. I am woman. I am strong. I will write.

Posted by Maryann Miller  You can find out more about Maryann, her books, and her editing services on her Website and her Amazon Author Page, read her Blog, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter. Her online workshop on self-editing, part of a series of online writing workshops from Short And Helpful, can be found HERE