At the beginning of the year I decided to go deep into a commitment I’ve made (to myself) over the past few years to my writing. It was my version of self-care in the midst of all this madness: instead of constantly engaging in the insanity, I would show up for me, take classes, seek out feedback, and write as much as possible. And, mostly, I’ve done it (what can I say, I’m very goal-motivated). I love getting to a point where you can look back and see how far you’ve come and how much more growth there is to come. In that spirit, I thought I would share some big learning moments from this writing journey this year.

It's all about stakes. I’ve known this for a while, but it was just recently that I truly understood it, when agent Jeanne De Vita (@jeannebookgenie) posted on threads that writers need to include the stakes of one’s novel in the query. “What is the consequence your character is desperate to avoid or achieve? Why does this story matter to the characters right NOW?” I don’t know what it was about that note, but I realized that while there are stakes for my WIP, I needed to amp up the stakes for my main character, which led to me reconstructing some plot points, which has made the WIP so much stronger.

It's all about conflict. Again, this isn’t new news to me. But another thing I’ve realized recently is how conflict-adverse I am in my writing. If you’ve ever taken Strengths Finder, my number one strength is harmony. I used to think this was nice (who doesn’t like some harmony?), but then I understood it just means I avoid conflict. And that’s not a great quality in life, and certainly not in writing. Nice characters who do nice things (in fiction) are simply boring. People need a reason to root for your characters. But a story without conflict is not a story.

I’m a plotter! This actually has been a revelation to me. I’ve always said that plotting took away from the “magic” of writing for me. This year, I challenged myself to take on a project through plotting. Not only did it work, it made my writing stronger, it made me write faster, and, fun fact, it took none of the magic away. This should not have surprised me. I’m a plotter in literally every other aspect of my life, why not here, too?

Learning is an ongoing process. Not long ago I took a free class with agent CeCe Lyra (@cece_lyra_agent), Putting the Hook in Your Book. I’ve always struggled with understanding this concept, and how you share a hook in a query letter that differs from the description of the book (the pitch) that follows. This was, in fact, the second time I’ve taken this class. And the first time I understood the concept. Which was a great reminder that the learning process is iterative and ongoing.

Feedback is a good thing. Even when it’s not. Early in the year I hired a freelance editor to get some feedback. And that feedback was… brutal. After a couple of weeks of licking my wounds, and thinking about how I might rewrite that project, I instead took the advice and applied it to the project I’m working on now. And it’s 1000% better than the previous one. As I tell people in my work life, there’s always a kernel of truth in any piece of feedback, no matter how poorly delivered (and this wasn’t poorly delivered). I need to take a bit of my own medicine.

Lastly, and back to the top of this piece, creativity can be a wonderful outlet and balm in difficult times, especially when so much feels out of your control. No, I’m not saying you should just ignore what’s happening. But when you create things, it is an act of resistance. It’s a refusal to let the world become totally dark and without joy. It’s a way of reminding yourself that you matter and are worthy of growth and investment. Let’s do more of that in 2026.