Happy New Year, everybody. I’m writing this two weeks into 2025 after taking some time off for the holidays, spending four days in Connecticut presenting at the in-person university residency where I teach online, and in general, getting oriented to being back at my desk.
It’s been a while since I updated this blog—that’s party by choice (I want to be spending my time on other things), partly by necessity (I’ve been too damned busy), and partly because I’m in transition (working on an updated version of my author page that should be up in a few months).
But I still want to keep people updated, let them know what’s going on, and assure all of you that I’m still moving toward my goals. If I’m being honest with myself, though, I haven’t been moving toward them as fast or as smoothly as I’d like, and I’ve been working on some serious course correction to get myself back on track.
In this post, I want to start by summarizing what I did in 2024 (a continuation of a separate year-end series I used to do), then move on to 2025, what the future holds, and how I want to get there. Enjoy!
2024 Was a Rough Year, But Not As Rough as 2023
One of my last blog posts was about a family emergency that happened in Fall 2023, when my grandfather was diagnosed with dementia and lost his place to live (though not in that order). Things are thankfully MUCH better now, but this was extremely rough on my family, and on me. It affected both my emotional state, and how much work I was able to get done during that time (which wasn’t much). Combine that with some local town troubles, an unbalanced workload with my editing work, and my move to a new living situation that was badly in need of cleanup and repair, and it created a recipe for disaster.
All of these troubles meant that I started 2024 off on a rough note and wasn’t quite able to get back on track until (if I’m being honest) late summer or fall. I also ran into more troubles with some town government volunteer work that I do (which I may or may not talk about later) that sent me through a pretty bad emotional tailspin.
Simply put, for most of 2024, things were capital-N Not Good. I did, however, accomplish some key victories, which I’ll touch on here:
I Finished Carcrash Parker and the Haven of Larpers for Publication in 2025
So technically I finished the draft earlier this week when I made some final tweaks, but the vast majority of the line-level editing and polishing happened throughout 2024, so it’s fair to call this a win for last year. For those not in the know, Carcrash Parker and the Haven of Larpers is my second novel coming out this July, and making the book the absolute best it can be has been a huge priority of mine—and one I’m incredibly proud of.
I Got My Editing Work on Track and Continue to Get New Clients
2024 was my second full year of navigating the seas of self-employment where I fully supported myself without a Day Job. It also brought an influx of business that I didn’t always handle well. A big part of this was my tendency to overpromise—especially with larger projects, but also with smaller ones, and this left me scrambling for deadlines throughout the first half of the year. Figuring out a better system to manage these deadlines and convey the right expectations to clients was really important, and brought more balance and structure to my weekly routine.
I Finished Some Major Home Repairs and Organized My Shit
This post’s cover photo shows the bookshelves I built last summer so I could fully organize my book collection, which is also helping me organize my office. The bookshelves were a big project that pushed my amateur woodworking skills to new levels, and while I’m quite proud of them, they also represent a big step in stabilizing the repairs and organizational work I wanted to do to make my living space more, well, livable. In 2024, this included plugging roof leaks, fixing a broken attic door, cleaning out part of the basement, clearing out an overgrown forest path, getting rid of major scrap metal, unpacking boxes, and fixing up some old furniture.
Finishing all of these projects has made me feel more stable and comfortable in my space, which has done a lot for my overall well-being and eliminated key micro-distractions.
I Contributed to My Community Through Town Government Volunteer Work
A big project I helped spearhead through late 2023 and 2024 involved housing at the local level to improve my area’s unhealthy housing situation by updating my town’s Master Plan. Again, I won’t go too far into my town government work here, and while I believe it’s tremendously important and I was happy to contribute to my community, it was a far, far bigger and more difficult project than I anticipated, and one that, in many ways, took time away from more important goals.
What’s Next for 2025?
But all that’s in the past. A lot of 2024, I’ve realized, was about setting myself up for success in 2025, especially in terms of organizing my time, energy, and physical space. I started the year off by writing down my 2025 goals, and I’m happy to share them here:
Goal #1: Finish a Draft and Major Edits on Novel #3
I’ve had a new project in the brainstorming stage for a LONG time—since early 2023, in fact, which is too long to be letting a new creative idea sit. My main 2025 goal is to put pen to paper on this novel and finish out major edits, enough that I’ll feel comfortable sending it out for publication in 2026.
Goal #2: Launch the Carcrash Parker Novel Through a New Author Springboard
Releasing a novel is a big deal, and I got a lot of practice with MFA Thesis Novel. For Carcrash Parker and the Haven of Larpers, though, I want to build on what I learned with my first launch, do a larger preorder, and ultimately reach a bigger audience. (A big part of this will be reorganizing my author platform a bit, so watch for more updates in the next few months!)
Goal #3: Make Steady Progress on My To-Do Backlog and Organizational Projects
My third goal is a continuation of the progress I made on miscellaneous projects in 2024—the things that don’t need to be done right away, but that do need to get done eventually, and that I end up setting aside for months or years. Getting these projects done and off my plate not only feels really good, but helps me function in a more organized way, which yields more benefits down the road.
Goal #4: Expand My Editing Reach Through Advertising and New Clients
Right now, my editing work has been steady, and it definitely keeps the bills paid, which is a major achievement for a freelancer. In considering my potential, though, I see myself getting better gigs, more of the editing work I’d like to be doing, and more financial rewards. This goal is already on its way to being met because of some networking I did at the university residency, but I’d still like to see how far I can take it.
Goal #5: Maintain My Emotional Balance Through Reflection, Journaling, and Sound Life Habits
In some ways, this is my vaguest goal, but it’s also the most important, because it’ll put me in a better headspace to achieve my other four goals. I’ve improved my life habits greatly over the past six months, but want to make sure that I not only keep up with these changes, but make new ones as needed so I can keep my emotional status in check.
Final Thoughts: Keep Moving Forward
In many ways, 2024 was a far less successful year than I would have liked, but it was still a successful year in the sense that I made progress toward where I wanted to go and set myself up for a more successful 2025. Keeping this in perspective these first two weeks of the year has helped me through at least one difficult time already, as well as made my interactions with both people and my work more positive as I work toward my goals.
If you haven’t already written out your own goals for 2025, it’s not too late—whether you have one goal, five goals, or ten goals (though ten might be a bit much…), I recommend this exercise as a way of setting yourself on a solid foundation, not only for 2025, but for future years to come.