Another year has come and gone by on a whim, and here I am once more, looking back on the past eleven months of writing on this blog, on other spaces of the Internet, and beyond. Although this will be a reflection on the year, I sense a weight to it that hasn’t been there the previous times I’ve done one of these, likely because this is the last retrospect for the decade.
In 2019, a lot of the struggles I’ve dealt with the year before as a writer have continued on. It’s been three years since I last released a novel and the future of when exactly the next one will come out still remains uncertain. Nevertheless, I still remain writing that very novel I started a year ago, and along the way, I’ve also done other creative writing that – for the time being – still remains underwraps to the public. However, if my post from two weeks ago is any indicator, I have more up my sleeves for the coming year.
That doesn’t mean that none of my writing has been visible from the public. Apart from everything I post on here, I’ve also been having a trip of multiple interviews with several creatives who are succeeding in their respective fields. In addition, after dealing with the shutdown of YOMYOMF at the end of last year, I was able to continue a lot of the writing I had done for that platform when I joined The Nerds of Color this year. I’ve also been making my work on YOMYOMF available once more through the second website I began four months ago, Drifting Back Around.
I’ve continued to grow as a content creator, and while I plan to continue that in the coming year, I really do want to get more of my creative writing out there.
In the midst of revising and submitting my screenplay around, I’ve also started incorporating my thoughts about the entertainment industry at large. From my self awareness of attempting to break into a role that’s mainly consisted of white men, to my thoughts about Adele Lim removing herself from writing the screenplays for the “Crazy Rich Asians” sequels, there have been many sober reminders where despite the change that’s occurring at a slower pace than need be, it makes me more determined than ever to break in and succeed.
In looking back on this year, I’ve become more aware of how much I’ve changed over the past several years of blogging. This has been explored from how the meaning of a story can change for you over time and experience and revisiting topics I explored in my first year of blogging that I have altered opinions about. I’ve changed, and that is only natural as time comes and goes and as I get older.
I’ve also continued putting out content for Recommended Analyzing and Thoughts About. Along the way, I changed up the way in how frequently I post by not pushing myself not to post every Saturday if I don’t want to. I don’t want to find myself burnt out to the point of needing to take two months off like I did last year, and in doing so, this has helped me with coming up with stronger ideas for topics to write about.
It’s been a busy year. Hell, it’s been a busy decade! The 2010’s was my first full decade as an adult, and looking back on it as a whole, I’m proud of how I took the plunge and dove right into it. I’ve experienced a lot of good, a lot of bad, and everything in between, and it makes me more determined to take on the coming decade in a similar fashion, particularly as a writer. I feel that the 2020’s will really be the decade where I need to make or break it as a writer, so I need to give it everything I’ve got. I hope you’ll continue sticking around for the ride.
If you are able to, I hope you can go support me in all that I do by leaving a tip over on Ko-fi. I do a lot of writing that I get paid very little for or not at all, and so this is a way of showing your support other than just reading my content. Donations of varying quantities and frequencies are greatly appreciated.
Lola By The Bay 