Well it’s a few days before the end of 2024 and time for a look back at the highlights of the last year. I’m doing this not necessary to brag, but more to remind myself that I *DID* have a decent year when it comes to my writing life.
Community
Writing can be a very solitary pursuit sometimes, especially when you are plugging away at the keyboard and trying to make the page come alive, but I don’t think I would still be writing if it weren’t for all the people that support me and encourage me to keep going. Of course at the top of that list is my family that give me the space and time to write – but also encourage me in small ways like asking me how its going or let me rant about something that’s bothering me about my process. Then there is my oldest son, who is fond of giving dad the gears about NOT writing which can also be helpful (in small doses).
Then there are the various writing related groups I’m a part of – from the Sudbury Writers’ Guild (, to the Underground Writers, to the CODEX writers forum, to my Aurora Street critique group, to my classmates of Viable Paradise 19. They each bring something different to the table when it comes to fueling my writing life. From the insight, to the experience, to the networking, to the comradery, to the encouragement, to the critiques, and for calling me out when I need it.
And speaking of community I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Can*Con (https://www.can-con.org/) the annual speculative fiction convention (but also the people and the organization) for supporting Canadian fantasy and science fiction writers and stories and for giving people the space and opportunity to celebrate our work and to network.
Which leads me to also thank the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (https://www.csffa.ca/) who support Canadian writers through the annual Aurora Awards as well as by sponsoring grants for developing writers – more on that in a moment. Anyone in Canada can become member of the CSFFA by paying a $10 Annual Membership.
Highlights
- Sudbury Superstack: A Changing Skyline – launched in May of 2024 was published by the Sudbury Writers’ Guild after a year and half of work. I wrote the introduction of the book about my own personal experience with the Superstack. I also had a poem and several photos included in the book. Thanks in part to an Ontario Arts Council grant the contributors to the book were paid for their pieces.
- Super Canucks Anthology – Conceived in 2023, Mat Del Papa and I together with Latitude 46 Publishing put the call out for submission in late January 2024. We received 70+ submissions by the time the call out closed in April 2024. Mat and I spent several weeks reading 200,000 words worth of stories. We spent the rest of the summer narrowing the list down to the final selection which we began editing in November. The launch date of the book is still TBD, but the publisher is tenatively looking at early 2026. The experience has been a rewarding one and has taught me a lot about writing, editing, and publishing as we move through the process.
- CODEX Weekend Warrior – As part of the CODEX writers forum they host an annual writing challenge in Jan/Feb where based on weekly prompts your goal is to write a (semi-coherent) flash fiction piece under 750 words. You submit the entry anonymously and receive anonymous feedback. I have participated for several years now and I find it very rewarding (when I have the energy to participate) to hone my writing skills as well as working to a deadline. Most of the stories I have circulating this year at various markets (no sales yet) are due to Weekend Warrior.
- Submissions, Rejections and Acceptances – As of December 29th I haven’t made any short story sales in 2024, but not from lack of trying. According to my submission tracker I made 21 submissions, had 14 rejections that were what are known as “form” rejections, and 4 “personal” rejections (which are a GOOD thing – it means someone took the time to comment on your story specifically). If you do the math 21 submissions and 18 rejections means I still have the 3 main pieces out on submission. I was mainly circulating 3 new pieces I wrote in 2024 and also submitted two older published pieces to reprint markets. One of the new stories has been submitted a total of 8 times this year with 3 out of the 7 rejections being personal. Another piece has been sent out 7 times and 1 of the 6 rejections was personal. Compared to 2023 where I only had 6 submissions for the entire year I am happy with my progress. I think all 3 will eventually sell – its just a matter of timing and finding the right home for them.
- Professional Development – I had two opportunities for what I consider professional development this year. In addition to volunteering at Can*Con this year, I also put my name forward to serve as a panelist. I sat on the panel about Alternate History in writing and while I have served as a panelist before at other conventions, its been a decade or more since I have done this. It was a rewarding experience and I think it went a long way to helping combat any imposter syndrome I was feeling as I felt fairly knowledgeable and competent talking about the topic. The second opportunity was the CSSFA announced they were extending their fall deadline for applications for Professional Development grants to September 30th. I was going around encouraging others to apply and in the end wrote up my own grant proposal which included engaging a book coach to help me develop my WIP. Well friends – guess what – I was awarded the grant!
Looking Forward
2025 is (hopefully) going to be another year of levelling up for me and moving my writing career forward. I qualify it by saying “hopefully” in parentheses because I know that best laid plans have a way of going off the rails when you least expect it. There are so many things out of our control including health and the state of the world, but I will focus on the things I can control and work towards moving them forward. Call them goals, call them resolutions, call them targets – here a some of the things I am aiming for in 2025.
Weekend Warrior 2025 – Starts January 10th and goes until Feb 14th – 5 weeks of writing and submitting 750-word flash fiction pieces based on a weekly prompt. Last year I only managed to generate 3 pieces from the prompts. This year I would like to generate 5 (although they may not all be submission worthy). Sometimes half the fun of Weekend Warrior is just to stretch and try new things.
Novel work-in-progress – Working with Liisa Kovala – https://www.liisakovalabookcoach.com/ as my book coach to rejuvenate my “dormant” novel length idea. Thanks to the CSSFA grant I mentioned earlier I will be working with Liisa from January through March on whipping my WIP into shape. Its going to take some extraordinary focus in 2025 to juggle this, my desire to work on Weekend Warrior and take care of my day job and family life.
Writers’ Union of Canada – I’ve been looking into becoming a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada (https://www.writersunion.ca/) for a while now. Several friends have recently joined and there are lots of advantages to becoming a member. It was always one of those things I thought were for “other writers” not necessarily me – meaning I didn’t figure I was a “real” writer when it came to stuff like that. Yup there’s that Imposter Syndrome again. One of those writerly friends that recently became a member wrote me a very nice recommendation letter for my (eventual) application – thanks Lisa (the other Lisa with one “i”). So one of my goals for 2025 is to apply. Its based on merit points – so I need to review that to see if I even qualify at this stage. It could be a late 2025 goal if I am still waiting on pre-requisite number of published pieces.
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity – Science Fiction Residency – I also talked myself INTO applying for the Science Fiction workshop/residency being offered for the first time in 2025 at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (https://www.banffcentre.ca/programs/literary-arts/science-fiction-2025). Known for their Literary program, I was excited to learn that Premee Mohamed, Ai Jiang, Amal El-Mohtar will be the writers leading this program aimed at Science Fiction genre. At first I convinced myself this residency was aimed at “other writers” again – not little ol’ me. But a voice inside of me said – okay then if not you – then who do you see as the ideal candidate applying to and getting accepted in this program. And when I started to describe that person in my mind I tended to over shoot it and describe someone so established that they probably wouldn’t NEED it or have a use for it. Then I started to say – why not me. So if things align professionally (in writing) and personally (family and work related) I will apply in the new year well before the April 16th, 2025 deadline. Its a big commitment, but I like to think the money and time is an investment in my writing career.
Submitting Stories – And of course I plan to continue to write and submit short stories in 2025 and with a little bit of luck get published too. No specific goals except to finish and revise stuff and to get it out to markets and keep it circulating. Ideally I’d like to at least double the number of stories I currently have circulating and have a minimum 6 stories out at any given time looking for homes.
Super Canucks – Continue to see this through the publishing journey and get ready to promote the heck out of it as it gets closer to publication. It was a pleasure working with the individual authors and helping make their stories shine for the anthology. I suspect in 2025 Mat and I will be working on editors notes/introductions or some such for inclusion in the anthology depending on what the publisher is looking for from us.
So that’s about it for me in 2024. I am sure I am leaving something out unintentionally and will probably sneak back in later to edit this post.
