This time of year I normally do the ‘Best Nine’ thing on social media, but I was struggling to find 9 good things because 2020 was, well… not great. So instead I’m doing a ‘Best Six’ (in no particular order):
– I was a finalist in the AACTA/Screenworks Regional Landscapes Pitch Competition, with my film The Artisan.
– I released my novel The Sensation (Salvation 2), thanks to Angry Robot Books, which garnered great reviews.
– My state handled the COVID situation very well, which not only meant that we could go to bars, restaurants and cinemas, but that I could hold an in-person book launch.
– I bought a car! Though not exactly brand new it was only 6 months old (my last car was 23 years old!). The best thing about it was that it was largely paid for by (saved) royalties and advances.
– I was commissioned to write a short story for the Short Story Dispenser. Thanks to Writing WA and Short Édition!
– I came third in The Daily Jaws Short Story Competition. Jaws is one of my favourite films, so this was very cool – especially when the judges included the Founder of TDJ, Chief Writer of TDJ, as well as Jeffrey Kramer who played Hendricks in the film!
Aside from the above, some background achievements include:
– I completed a novella trilogy (sci-fi/horror).
– My feature film screenplay, The Artisan, (comedy drama) was optioned by a producer and underwent further development. It was a great learning experience to deal with producer notes. Though, really, it’s not much different from editor notes on novels.
– I finished another feature film screenplay (romantic comedy). I’m keeping the title secret for now.
– I started writing Aurora: Atlas (Aurora 8). It’s coming, folks, I promise!
– I did a couple of editing rounds on the Pandemic novel due out next year (March, 2021).
– And I undertook other various outlining and editing on other works (novels, screenplays and a short story).
It seems like a lot looking back at it, but this year was actually the least amount of writing work I’ve ever done in a year. I feel like I only managed about 6 months of work out of the year thanks to publication delays, grief (my father passed away), and a general dip in my writing self-confidence which affected me this year.
However, I’m hoping to turn things around next year. 2021 is going to be the year I get my groove back!
Wish me luck.
