For the last few years I’ve made a habit of writing a New Year’s “Year in Review” post—a way to remind myself that even when the milestones aren’t the ones I once imagined, the work still matters, the trajectory still curves upward, and the person doing the writing continues to evolve. 2025 was the year that principle felt especially true. This was a year of middle grounds, of in-between places… but also a year with some of my biggest leaps forward.

And if you don’t already do this kind of reflection yourself, I highly recommend it. The act of gathering the year’s scattered threads and weaving them into a narrative is grounding. Clarifying. Sometimes surprising. Always worthwhile.

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Novels

This was the year I came home to novels again.

After several years deep in the world of short fiction—joyfully, productively, obsessively—I finally returned to that original dream: long-form storytelling. I drafted a new novel, experimenting for the first time with dictation as a major part of my process. The jury (a jury of one: me) is still out on how effective it was, and I suspect I’ll only know when I wade into revisions. But I’m glad I tried it. I assumed my brain wouldn’t adapt, but it turns out you can teach an old novelist new tricks.

I won’t say too much publicly about the world or the project yet—it still feels a little fragile, a little private—but I can say that getting a full draft down felt like reclaiming a core part of my identity. I had detoured joyfully into short fiction, but novels are why I started writing in the first place, and there was something deeply right about returning to them this year.

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Short Stories

Short fiction, however, did not take a back seat. Far from it.

In 2025 I set two ambitious goals:
1) reach 100 rejections, and
2) write at least one new story each month.

I smashed them.

This year I sent 173 submissions, received 120 form rejections, 24 personal rejections, and racked up nine acceptances, including several professional-rate publications. Some pieces went to bigger or more competitive markets than ever before. I also wrote across an unusually wide emotional and thematic range—though identity wove itself through many stories, in all its shifting, complicated, personal forms. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me.

And then came the moment that defined my year:
I won the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award.
The carved glass trophy sits on my desk, catching the light, reminding me that sometimes the universe hands you something astonishing and says, “Yes. Keep going.”

It was more than a win. It nudged me to talk openly about my writing with people who’d never fully known how important it was to me. It reconnected me with my sister, who also writes. It made me feel—truly feel—like a writer in a way that no number of submissions ever had.

I also participated in Codex, did Weekend Warrior, entered the Apex monthly flash competition, and wrote both flash and longer works at a pace I’ve never managed before. It was a good year for stories.

Even if Beneath Ceaseless Skies continues to reject me with the consistency of a Swiss clock.

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Community, Cons, and Critique

This was a year of showing up.

I attended DragonCon, and for an introvert, networking in that kind of environment takes both courage and psychic energy—but it was worth it. Meeting editors, authors, and online friends in person was deeply rewarding.

I also made it back to Boskone, though moving away from Boston meant I sadly missed Readercon this year… especially painful since I had been accepted to participate on programming. Life timing has a sense of humor.

On the bright side, I’ve signed up for panels at MarsCon in Virginia Beach in January 2026, so I’m still pushing myself to be visible and engaged in the community.

Critique-wise, Knight Club remained an anchor for me. Some writing spaces faded for me this year, which is natural and healthy—our goals evolve, and we outgrow certain structures even before we reach the milestones they once represented. But Knight Club stayed strong, and the smaller, more personal environment has been exactly what I’ve needed.

I was also, for the first time, matched with a mentor through SFWA, which felt like a milestone of its own. Sometimes validation comes not through a publication, but through a conversation.

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Slush Reading, Craft, and Growth

I continued slush-reading for Diabolical Plots and spent part of the year also reading for Flash Fiction Online. Seeing how different magazines evaluate stories—what they prioritize, what they reject instantly, what surprises them—has been invaluable.

I explored poetry this year (two poems, and no, poetry is not my new career), but mostly as a way to sharpen the precision of my prose. Most of the craft books I read in 2025 had the same goal: better words, better sentences, better emotional resonance.

And somewhere along the way, I realized I’m no longer a complete beginner—most definitely not an expert, certainly, but in that awkward, promising middle. The place where growth is noticeable, if sometimes uncomfortable. The place where the career you’re building starts to feel real.

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Looking Forward to 2026

Next year, my goals are simple and ambitious at once:

– Revise and polish the new novel, and send it out into the world
– Draft a second novel, in an entirely different world
– Continue submitting short fiction
– Appear at MarsCon and hopefully return to Readercon
– Keep learning, keep improving, keep experimenting
– Stay open to whatever strange, delightful opportunities writing brings my way

And the dream goals?
A publishing contract.
A breakthrough in a few more pro-rate markets.
A sense that the path I’m walking is widening beneath my feet.

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Closing Thoughts

2025 was a year of in-betweens—middle grounds, next steps, quiet evolutions—but also of bright, unforgettable moments. It reminded me that writing isn’t a straight path. It’s a series of small choices, consistent effort, unexpected setbacks, and occasional seismic wins. It’s community, courage, connection. It’s the slow building of a self.

And if this year proved anything, it’s that I’m still very much on the journey—and still excited to see where it leads.

If you’re reading this and walking your own creative path: here’s to both the middlegrounds and the milestones. May we meet both with open hands.

How was your year? Your wins your lows? As always, I welcome feedback or other forms of sharing in the comments below!