… Aaaaand That’s a Wrap

by | Dec 28, 2020 | Articles | 0 comments

How many of you will be glad to wrap up 2020? Can we have a show of hands?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Man, oh man, did anyone have a great year? I suppose a few billionaires were sheltered enough from the storm, or profited heavily from the work-at-home trend, that they probably considered 2020 a pretty good year. But even Jeff Bezos must not have been too thrilled by the news that, while he’s stockpiling cash as if in anticipation of Armageddon, his ex-wife is donating to charities like Mother Teresa on steroids. Did he have any idea he was going to look like more of a greedy jerk than ever heading into 2021?

Then, of course, there’s the Narcissist-in-Chief. Not exactly his best year, and I couldn’t be happier about that. What’s that expression? Oh, yes: “Don’t let the door hit you in…” Ah, never mind.

 

My Own 2020 Wrap Up

Looking back on 2020 here on the blog, I can see that much of my original plan got derailed by COVID-19 as well as the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the election. I certainly didn’t expect to write so much about the pandemic, and I probably didn’t need to write that much about politics. But these were top-of-mind so often—and the year itself was traumatic to so many of us around the globe—it now seems almost inevitable.

With that, here are the top posts of the year:

1) The Improtance of Poorfreading

Autocorrect really tried to fix the headline on this one, which was intended to be both comic and inviting. One of my Twitter followers even commented that she automatically corrected the “errors” in her head, and didn’t even realize they were there until she clicked on the article and read them again! Pretty funny.

2) Five Ways to Relax During Quarantine

Well, that sure sounds like a 2020 article, doesn’t it? My effort to help readers and fellow writers alike.

3) Six Twitter Tips for Authors

Sadly, this helpful hints article is emblematic of 2020 as a whole: it’s actually a somewhat revised rerun of an old post. There were more than a few Mondays this year where I had nothing in the tank. And I know that was true for millions of us.

 

Looking to Better Days Ahead

As the Worst Year Ever slowly grinds toward its finale, I know many of us look forward to 2021 as a better year. Of course, it’s an arbitrary figure—we all measure time in our own unique way, and maybe it will be the latter half of 2021 that’s much better—but come on, it can’t be worse than 2020, right?

One of the few good things about 2020 for me was that the lockdown forced me to get motivated on my fifth (!) novel, Hot Scenes. After launching my most successful book to date in 2019, the time-travel novel Whizzers, I knew I needed to make more progress on my next project. I’ve written about it on the blog (here and here), but I anticipate more sneak peeks as we move through the new year.

And since the main character is a Hollywood director, it only seems fitting that I illustrate my next direction with today’s blog picture. It may be time for us to “wrap” 2020, but I’ll be saying “Cut!” more than once as I write more of Hot Scenes in 2021. Here’s hoping we can buy the ticket and take the ride, as they say, when we bid a relieved farewell to the Year of the Plague.

game of thrones

3 Reasons the End of Game of Thrones is an Example of Good Storytelling

Social media is interesting: every time an artist or entertainer creates a new work, it’s going to get mixed reviews. Even in the case of a highly popular TV series like Game of Thrones, the armchair critics come out with their claws sharpened—especially when...
disturbances

New “Writer Problems” Series, Topic #9: Distractions, Disruptions & Disturbances

This week's blog post has three sections: distractions, disruptions and disturbances, as if they were three unique items—which, of course, they can be. There’s a common “writer” meme that reads, “Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the...
twitter

Best Accounts to Follow on Twitter

Recently I wrote a blog post about how many writers struggle to find interesting topics. It occurred to me that, for those of us who are writers and/or entrepreneurs, one good topic for this blog might be Best Accounts to Follow on Twitter. Of course, this is totally...
book launch

Book Launch Time: The Biggest Day In A Writer’s Life

Over the past few weeks, I've been posting ideas with the intention of providing a service to my fellow authors—in particular, those new to the publishing game. Anyone familiar with my work most likely knows about my most recent novel, Whizzers, and for a couple...
proofreading

The Improtance Of Poorfreading

So right up front, I know I'm taking a gamble with today's headline. I only hope most readers of this blog will be able to translate Improtance into Importance, and Poorfreading into Proofreading. Goodness knows Spellcheck tried to change them on me. The reason for...
team

Come Join My Book Launch Team!

A few months ago, I wrote a blog about book launches where I introduced the subtle difference between a launch team and a street team. Simply stated, there’s usually plenty of overlap, but a launch team may include people not part of your street team – vendors, people...
networking

Networking Tips for People Over 60

It’s easy to understand why seniors are reluctant to network – especially when it means meeting strangers who happen to be younger. After all, some seniors may ask themselves how they can benefit from a relationship with a younger person in their field, believing they...
maintenance

Closed For Maintenance: Me

Here comes the upfront apology for blog subscribers: I got nothing this week. It's not that I've got nothing to say. As anyone who knows me is well aware, I never, ever run out of things to say. Even my lovely wife has occasionally let me know, in relatively gentle...
creativity

New “Writer Problems” Series, Topic #5: Creativity vs. Money

One of the most daunting questions amateur writers face is whether they can make money following their most creative pursuits. Are they too non-commercial? Will an agent be interested? Will my work sell at all? The question of Creativity vs. Money isn’t relevant for...

Facebook vs. Twitter

The news that Microsoft will be acquiring LinkedIn just sent shockwaves through the social media world, immediately leading to speculation about Twitter. Is it going to be next? We all assume that Facebook is not for sale, but in our topsy-turvy media world, I suppose...
self-promotion

What’s The Problem With Shameless Self-Promotion?

While I still find it somewhat hard to believe, I've been on Twitter for almost eight years. I know this not only because Twitter shows Joined March 2015 on my profile but also because, even if they eliminate that feature, I use a tracker called Who Unfollowed Me? If...
MLK

MLK Day 2023

Here’s wishing everyone a safe, sane Martin Luther King Jr. Day. For many of us, today is always something of a day of mourning: not only mourning the loss of a great civil rights leader, but also mourning the turn our great nation seemed to take in recent years....

Twitter Tips for Authors in 2023

If you follow my blog, you probably connected with me via Twitter, whether you’re a fellow author or not. In 2020, I wrote a post about Twitter for fellow writers that got a good response. Three years later, the landscape has changed, but some Twitter best practices...
rails

Going Off The Rails (But Not On A Crazy Train)

Last April, I wrote a blog post called Back on Track With a Work-In-Progress. Part of that post was to talk about the difference between a “plotter” and a “pantser” (and to describe myself as a hybrid of the two, a “plantser”). Another, less obvious motive, was to...
French

Those Tricky French Authors and Their Obsessions

Today’s blog post was originally going to be Write Whatever the @#$% You Want, Pt. III. However, after seeing parts I and II lined up, I decided to call an audible and make it something less repetitive. Somehow the SEO gods have gotten into my head. As I’ve mentioned...
scared

Write Whatever the @#$% You Want, Pt. II

In last week’s post, I mentioned a pretty well-known author who has publicly reported his publisher “wouldn’t touch” a new release, in part because a character in his novel referred to herself as “fat.” I heard this story on a podcast, and I remember thinking, “Wait...
censorship

Write Whatever the @#$% You Want

I’ve been stewing on this for a while. It’s been brewing for quite a while. I could probably write a song about it (how about a rap?), but I don’t think I will. This is more of a blog post topic, and it might even deserve a series. And that’s the title and topic of...
gratitude

Should Every Month Be Gratitude Month?

When I was a kid, I loved Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. I read it daily and collected nearly every paperback volume of the cartoon, so I could see what I’d missed since the comic strip’s inception in 1950.  Certain things stuck: quotes like “happiness is a warm puppy”...
robot

More Thoughts On Robot Writers and The Tech Dystopia

A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post here called When Will the Robot Overlords Replace Us? Apparently, I’m fairly obsessed with this stuff, because every time I come here and empty my brain, it seems to come up again. Today is no different. Part of the reason,...