Oh, sod it! The bloody thing’s stuck again!
Bonus nerd points if you get that reference (the colour is a clue)
January – February
January was a massive time of transition. My fiancé and I had plans to move in together during the Summer of 2014, with new scenery and opportunities. I began re-writing Resilience and editing Planes Shifter; fixing plot holes as I line edited.
However, through January – March my job role changed, becoming less stable, and he didn’t get onto the next section of his training in the way we’d planned. He also sat exams and I had to continue my old job role while taking on the new one. Suddenly, the nicely fitting plans were unlikely to work out. This put a stress on our relationship while he was working night shifts and I worked day ones. February ended with us taking four days off to play LaserQuest and eat Japanese food beside the Royal Pavilion.
March – April
March brought with it some good news, and some bad news. This mixture held the beginning of job-hunting in earnest. Despite not really wanting to leave my job until August, this was one of the few things within my control.
March was also the month I had yet another major plot realisation with Planes Shifter. Thus began the latest re-write as I tried to balance up “this is all learning” with “lets put this away… preferably in a fire.”
April brought my first job interviews, beginning the tasks of my new job role in full, and a fortnight of mild depression and anxiety due to family illness/hospital stays. However, April was also the month I got into a daily writing habit – 429 words a day.
May – June
May became “sod the wedding planning and job hunts, how will moving in together work?” month. Things weren’t adding up; but we wanted to move in together this year. No buts.
I asked if I could move my work base, and got a “hmmm… maybe” response. Things were tense, and I wasn’t sure when that would change. The theme for May and June was definitely one of ‘waiting’.
July – August
July. Lovely, overheating July. I got written confirmation of moving job base, O.H. and I looked at property, and officially began a joint tenancy. I spent August packing for a September move and celebrating my birthday while saying goodbye to friends. We decided we’d like to get degus in our new place, which then became a battle with our new landlord.
September – October
September – the month of change. I went to FantasyCon in York, moved in with O.H. and began working from the other side of the county. Let’s say it was a learning curve. But at the end of it, we agreed the degus would need to wait until next year just to keep things peaceful, and our work became more of a solid focus. October brought with it anxiety and low-mood, and the beginning of some health issues.
November – December
November was not a good month. December, the light began to shine again, although only from a distance. Sometimes it dipped into darkness again, but sometimes the sun shone. We spent time with family, reconnected with friends and began planning our marriage in greater detail. Then the rains came, and we snuggled under new blankets to await the end of a dying year.
This Year’s TA-DA List – I:
– Celebrated 7 years with O.H, and a year of being engaged.
– Submitted short stories and had one accepted for an Anthology.
– Began a new story: The Felled Gods.
– Attended FantasyCon 2014 in York.
– Completed a full draft from the skeleton of an old story.
– Attended a Summer Solstice festival day.
– Was invited to a private Launch Party at Lady Dinahs Cat Cafe!
– Learned to cook enough meals and eat new foods to manage dinner-time on OHs antisocial shifts.
– Ended the year with 150,000 new words of fiction under my belt.