2018 in Review

2018 is pretty much over. Like, how did that happen?!

Basically, January-August lasted 12 months, September and October were only a few weeks each, November didn't exist, and December was a blur of red and green. So... it was pretty much a typical year.

But all in all, 2018 was a year. Not exactly a great year, but not a bad year either. Just a year with both good and bad mixed together. A blessed year, I guess you could call it.

So I thought I'd do a quick recap of things that happened, starting with my writing.

~Goals for 2018~

1. Complete draft six of The Dawn of a Hero. I don't know whether to call this complete or not. I did get to draft five, but draft four took longer than I expected and I wasn't able to finish six. Seeing as the whole point of this goal was to continue hard work on this story, I consider it complete. 

2. Rewrite The Fall of Chemmit. I wrote about 16k of this, which is further than I got the last time I attempted a rewrite, but in August, I decided I wasn't going to worry about finishing the rewrite this year. I felt like I got a solid start on it, but I was burnt out from July's Camp and I needed to focus on Simon Says for the rest of the year. Instead, I put it on tap for 2019's goals. 

3. Finish my 2017 NaNo novel. Woo!! I finished this during the April Camp NaNo. I'm very excited about it. 

4. Work on Ships, Secrets, and Survivors. We're at about 25k on this story, most of which was written this year, so that's pretty awesome!!  

5. Write at least 50k of Simon Says. Such an awesome experience. I loved every minute of it! I'm so looking forward to cleaning it up in the future.

Other noteworthy writing happenings in 2018 include:

1. Submitting a short story for Spring Song Press's Iron and Oath anthology. While it wasn't selected, it was such a great experience. I'm considering submitting stories for their other anthologies in the future if it works out in my schedule.

2. Participating in Go Teen Writer's 100-4-100. I didn't complete it because of my grandma's passing, but it did help Jules and I get some progress on SSaS that we wouldn't have otherwise had.

3. Getting to alpha read Jules's book. That was so much fun (though probably less so for her).

~Reading~

My goal was to read 21 books this year and somehow I managed to reach it!!

The Westminster Shorter Catechism: For Study Classes by G.I. Williamson. A book we used during family worship. Basically a rant-fest. Not really worth the time. 

DragonSpell, DragonQuest, DragonKnight, DragonFire, and DragonLight by Donita. K. Paul. A delightful reread. Really loved getting back into the lives of Kale and Co. 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A school read. Thought-provoking, but probably wouldn't recommend it because of frequent use of the Lord's Name in vain. 

Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter by Marissa Meyer. I really enjoyed this series, especially Cinder. She basically made the series work for me. Her and Kai, basically. 

Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney. Unlike G.I. Williamson's book, this one is totally worth your time reading it. If you are questioning your salvation because you don't feel like you "look/act/feel right for a 'Christian'" you need to read this book. You'll weep tears of joy. I did and I don't cry while reading most things. 

A Time to Die by Nadine Brandes. Basically, I need to read the rest of the books in this series. The end. 

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Yet another delightful reread. I actually almost read this twice. I started it again in September in an effort to read it in a day, but I only got about half-way through. So does that count as two books?

Kingdom's Dawn by Chuck Black. A reread from my younger years. I didn't enjoy it as much as I did back when I was a kid. The writing style is a bit choppy for me, but I do enjoy the allegory. 

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I didn't like this book and I really questioned all of the positive reviews on GR. Like, people actually liked this book? I would understand it if it was well written, but just contained elements that I didn't approve of, but it wasn't well written. It just didn't make any sense to me. *shakes head* I'll never understand. However, the cover is to die for, so I keep it just for eye candy.  

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes. An awesome read. I just loved Thomas's journey a lot. And Emma was just great. I loved how beautifully Nadine dealt with both racism and feminism without compromising her faith. Like, that's how we do it, ladies and gentlemen. We don't shy away from it. We stand up. 

Shower Thoughts by Gray Marie Cox. Are you interested in reading a story that takes only a few minutes of your time, but will leave you crying? Then you should totally read this. 

Enna Burning and River Secrets by Shannon Hale. I've said it before, but I will say it again, I adore Isi and Geric's relationship SO MUCH!!!!!!! 

The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill. Loved this book. Didn't have any doubts that I would. I mean, it is a Stephanie Morrill book after all.

~Life~

There were many ups and downs this year. I'll list a few highlights that I particularly loved.

1. The trips. While I didn't do as much continental travel this year as I usually do, I did go out of the country twice- once to Belize and once on a cruise- which doubles the amount of times I've left the country in my life. 

My view from the cruise dining room

2. The love displayed. There were so many times when the beautiful people in my life stepped up and stepped in to show us how much they love us. From Jules and Evangeline suggesting that we go to Biltmore to the mother and daughter from my church driving four hours to grieve with my family at my grandma's funeral, I was constantly blown away by how much I am loved. Praise the Lord that life is not meant to be lived alone. 

3. The hikes!!! I hiked several times this year, which was so much fun!! 

Joe and I getting our "Mountain Yogi" on

A group hike with a few girls from my church, Joe, and I
We had a nicer group shot, but I want to respect their privacy and won't share it here

And another group hike with Jules, Evangeline, and their families

All in all, I'm glad I lived through 2018. After the two most difficult years in my life, it was such a blessing to have a year filled with positive moments. 

I hope y'all had a beautiful year filled with hope and blessings, small or big, and that 2019 will prove to be just as amazing. 

Remember, look for hope in the darkest of places and hold onto it.

How was your 2018? What was your favorite memory? Your least favorite? What blessed moment will you hold onto?