Dec. 31, 2024

The Year in Review

Traci Dowe/Kenworth

Over the years, I’ve come to know and appreciate a lot of you bloggers. I’ve learned things from each of you. As such, I really like what Craig (C.S. Boyack) does on his blog each year and I’ve seen a number of you others who do so each year: that is an accountability, a look back at how you started and how you ended. This is also something I’m learning about in BookCamp.

So, here goes: In January of 2024, I well, actually, Nov. I asked my daughter for a gift: a monthly subscription to Apex Writers along with a bonus bundle that came with it at the time. These were classes by the legendary, Dave Farland, also known as Dave Wolverton of Star Wars and The Runelords fame. I had been reading Dave’s newsletter for about a year and I learned more and more each time.

So, when it came time for September Fawke’s The Triarchy Method class in January, I went out on a limb with my budget and decided to take her class. I received a discount through Apex and Ben Wolverton and I greatly appreciated that. September taught us so, so much. Character arcs, in-depth storytelling, the outlining we needed, oh, probably so much more than I can recall at this moment.

She was a thoughtful and graceful teacher and I enjoyed her class so much that I picked up my barely bones manuscript to begin again. She taught examples from movies and stories to help us see the patterns within. Not that we have to stick to these patterns but she gave us a good foundation to pursue our work.

Apex in itself, has classes three to four times a week where they bring in experts and authors such as Robert L. Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, and so on. Stephanie Meyer was even a student of Dave Farland’s. Unfortunately, Dave passed away last February when I was just starting to fly but his legacy remains forever and so do the many teachers and experts that join us each week.

I was starting to slide off again just before the holidays when I ended up taking an online summit course called The Escape the Plot Forest. This was provided by Daniel David Wallace (who has also been a guest on Apex). This was a week of intense classwork where I only missed two classes due to their time limit (you had twenty-four hours to watch them and I got a late start). Believe me, catching up was hard but oh, so worth it. I have tons of worksheets and references to consider.

Though admittedly, it was a bit tiresome for me at the free category so I will definitely pay next spring for the summit so I can go back anytime I want. That summit led me to a host of teachers and experts that I had a hard time choosing from but I finally on Black Friday narrowed it down to BookCamp (who also worked with my budget, thankfully) and 52ScenesforWriters (who did the same). I don’t start 52 until January so I can’t speak to them but it is geared toward writing a book in a year.

What I love about BookCamp is the teacher, Chad Allen, teaches not only how to write but he also gets you working on platform, email listing, marketing etc. It’s all a map that he has provided us to journey along. I am so thankful to these classes and teachers I’ve experienced this year. I finally put my writing, if not first, in a more important category. I hope you have done the same.

Have a great week, take care, and God bless.

The Seven:

1. Writer Unboxed:  On Writing Like Mary Katherine Gallagher – Writer Unboxed I understand that everything we believe, deny, desire, fear, choose, and do is shaped, in some way, by what took place in the past—yet I’m not a fan of backstory in novels.

Think about it. When we meet someone for the first time “in real life,” we get clues about their history and the events that shaped them from the information we receive right then and there—how the person reacts, moves, speaks. We aren’t handed a long biography. We don’t need it. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

This was underscored for me—just as I was getting this piece ready for posting, in fact—when I went to see an excellent new film called Conclave. Without getting into the intricacies of the plot, I’ll just say that it depicts the psychology and relationships between several Cardinals who aspire to be chosen as the next pope. As the story unfolds, we see their ambition, overt or suppressed, their strengths and weaknesses. What we don’t see, except in one instance, is anything about their past, before the conclave began, and how they came to be the sort of people they are now. Why not? Because the story doesn’t need it.

I see what she means. Usually, something sparks a memory. Unless perhaps the protagonist is remembering a former meeting with the person about to enter the scene, hold backstory for those important and pertinent moments.

• Jane Friedman: My 2024 Year-End Review: Most Notable Publishing Industry Developments | Jane Friedman In my paid newsletter, I regularly report on and analyze what’s happening in the book publishing industry. Here’s a recap of the issues and trends I find most notable and meaningful as we move into 2025.

---

Best news for authors: increasing and profitable partnerships between self-pub authors and traditional publishers

While traditional publishers have always picked up successful self-published work, I can’t recall seeing more examples, on both a large and small scale, in prior years. The strategy and success of Sourcebooks’ Bloom Books imprint, an imprint formed specifically to partner with self-published authors, has spread to other imprints at Sourcebooks. Sourcebooks also established a new imprint, Hear Your Story, built on a self-published series that’s been selling terrifically well. (Read my conversation with the team, including CEO Dominique Raccah, from February 2024.) Sourcebooks’ majority owner is Penguin Random House, the biggest of the Big Five publishers.

I’ve finally made the move to go Indie and now the traditional industry is pursuing Indie authors, lol. For me, it’s all about having decisions when it comes to my stories.

• Roberta Writes: Roberta Writes – Reblog: African elephants: Brains and Memory Thank you so much to Carla from Carla loves to Read for sharing this article about Elephants: Brains and Memory in celebration on Michael and my new children’s book: Sesi Says Goodbye to Granny.

Carla has a wonderful book review site and I have found several fabulous new reads there so I hope you take a look around while you are there.

Oh, that is so sad about Granny leaving the herd. I hope she returns! I did not know elephants had such large brains but with their size, it figures. Side note: I rode an elephant once! It was at a festival that came to my school.

• Annette Rochelle Aben: Angel Messages Dec 29 2024 | Annette Rochelle Aben

Such great advice!

• Fiction Favorites: Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Prompt – My Year | Fiction Favorites The coffee machine has decided to take some time off for the holidays, which finishes my year perfectly. Since AI is new to me, there was no way to negotiate any other outcome. This morning’s coffee is being made in a French Press. We are in the four-minute waiting period, which seems like four hours. Finally, the press is ready. A slow, steady pressure is applied, and the grounds are squeezed to one-quarter their size. The Costa Rican coffee aroma hits the nose, and the first sip brings back the memory of the clock.

The clock is set for December 29, 1924. The location is Hollywood, California, and the time is two hours. A pull of the plunger and we find ourselves at Grumman’s Chinese Theater. We are here in time to see the premiere of the silent movie Peter Pan.

These time travel bits are such fun! But then, John always thinks of neat ideas.

• Chris the Story Reading Ape: Three Ways A Talent or Skill Can Set Your Character Apart From The Rest – by Lucy V. Hay… | Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog

This is a great topic! I never think about jobs but I do skills. Luckily, it all works out but there are instances when I need to change the occupations.

7. The Kill Zone blog: Finishing Strong with Aspects of the Novel | Killzoneblog.com “Everything ends; you just have to figure out a way to push to the finish line.” —Jesse Itzler

* * *

Welcome back, TKZers! Isn’t it wonderful to be back in the Zone after the two-week break?

Now that we’re approaching the finish line for 2024, it’s time to look back at lessons learned in the past year. In addition to the great content posted here, TKZ contributors lent their voices to other platforms. One of those was The Craft of Writing Blog on my website at kaydibianca.com.

There is some great advice here! Check it out.

What I’m reading: Writers of the Future Vol. 40, Stars of Fortune by Nora Roberts, Summer of Fear by Lois Duncan.

What I’m listening to: The Confident Writer podcast. The This is Horror podcast.