We’ve started the second month of 2025 and it’s time to evaluate.

As 2025 marches on, I’m pausing to take stock of my reading life and writing life. I promised myself I would prioritize my health and my writing in 2025. I’m very pleased to report that focusing on my health is going fairly well. I mean, there are days I don’t move and treat my gut like a garbage disposal, but those days are definitely occurring with less frequency.

Reading Life

Before I get into my writing life, let’s talk about my reading life. I’ve been asked to be a beta reader for two enormously talented friends; what an honor and a privilege. I’m definitely more eager to start those works than I am to continue reading Hunger by Knut Hamsun. It was a mistake picking up this book. I only purchased it because it was mentioned in the novel Writers & Lovers by Lily King, and I LOVED that novel, so I wanted to make it my *entire* personality. I wrote down every title mentioned, so hopefully this one is the only dud. The plot lacks energy, the narrator is annoying, and there is nothing for me to be emotionally invested in. I’ve read most of it, though, so I’ll finish it and move on.

I’m re-reading Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. I recently watched the most current adaptation and was entertained but simultaneously disappointed. It’s a fun, entertaining film, but ultimately, it fails as a faithful adaptation because the setting and the protagonist are severely shortchanged for the sake of chills and thrills.

And there’s nothing quite like old school Stephen King to get me energized about my writing life.

Which, I am sad to say, hasn’t been taking off the way I planned it would in 2025.

Writing Life

There are some things to get excited about. For starters, I entered a writing contest from High Frequency Press. Winners receive $1500, will be published by HFP, and receive 25 copies and publication plus film and television agent referrals. I submitted Lightning Strikes, naturally. Wish me luck!

Something else to get excited about: I’m teaching Creative Writing this upcoming semester, and I am very excited. We’re starting with Georgia Heard’s Heart Mapping. Whether they knowingly follow the dictum or not, I believe all writers end writing what they know. But some of the things we know are bred from trauma and are not necessarily things we want to write about. Heart mapping helps writers come to term with what’s fair game and what’s off limits.

I hope these specific endeavors help ignite my writing life. I haven’t really written in a couple of weeks now. I was reading this Writer’s Digest article, “Creative Curiosity: Reclaiming the Joy of Writing” by Sarah Selecky and possibly identified the cause.

In my intense focus on getting published, I’d stopped listening to what made me curious and alive as a writer — Sarah Selecky

I’ve been hyper-focused on getting my manuscript published and/or finding an agent for my work that I haven’t been doing any work. I’m very optimistic that teaching creative writing again and becoming a beta reader will lead to creative opportunities and to more discussions about writing with writers. I think I also need to get back into Chuck Palahniuk’s Substack.

But most importantly, I need to be writing more — and not just longer pieces, but snippets of ideas that capture my imagination and let me use my writing muscle.

She looks so elegant. How old do you think she is? Gah, that’ll send me spiraling.

The biggest lie I tell myself is that I don’t have any time. I blame my lack of productivity on mental exhaustion from work. This article proves I’m a liar. In “5 Tips on Pursuing Your Writing While Holding Down a 9-to-5 Job,” Caroline Wolff offers practical advice to making time for writing despite being a full-time employee.

Work on your draft every day.
Wolff actually quotes fantasy writer Leigh Bardugo’s personal motto: “begin as you mean to go on.” Wolff explains, “…that means dedicating a small amount of time every day to a goal she’s passionate about pursuing throughout the new year.” Apparently, Bardugo believes just 15 minutes a day is all a writer needs to commit to make writing a habit more than a chore. And 15 minutes is a measurable, attainable goal for someone with a full-time job.
Treat everything as material.
As Nora Ephron said, “everything is copy.” All writing is autobiographical, even if it’s fantastical. Writers what they know because lived experiences become the gold mine for inspiration. I carry a journal with me everywhere and jot down the interesting things that happen to me or that I observe. I’ve done this since middle school and I’ve literally filled dozens of notebooks with material. It might be worth giving these “literary” time capsules a look for some inspiration for my current work in progress, or for some new ideas.
When you can’t find time to write, read.
Stephen King — our favorite Uncle Stevie — famously wrote in On Writing, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” I need to read more.
Create boundaries around your time.
I think every writer, at one point or another, becomes dangerously close to being obsessed with the writing routines of other more successful, more established writers. I know I definitely labored under the delusion that if I did exactly what Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut, Joan Didion, or Ursula K. LeGuin did, I’d unlock my creativity, produce an irresistible manuscript, and be rich and famous.

Obviously, that’s NOT how it works. I need to find my own routine, discover what works, and be resilient.
Make time to rest.
What’s that famous saying? “If you don’t make time to rest, your body will make it for you.” If you’re not well-rested, hydrated, and well-fed, you’re no good to anyone.

I hope this information helps another writer trying to get his/her shit together in 2025. Let’s be there for each other — comment and start a conversation

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