Dear reader,
I completely forgot that December 1st marked Bleeding Ink's fourth birthday. This has become the trend - I'm relaxing and going about my own business when suddenly I'm hit with the realization that I completely forgot about my own child's birthday.
Alas and oh well.
Normally I use these anniversaries to go over all of the spam mail that Bleeding Ink has received, but unfortunately this year I don't have any. Well, I did, but the chest in which they were stored got all burnt up, so I do not have access to them any longer.
This will, sadly, make for a quite boring anniversary post. But there must be a post posted, otherwise my brain will refuse to acknowledge the fact that Bleeding Ink is four and will constantly assume it is, in fact, three.
So though there is not much to do in the ways of fun, we will still have the yearly review of year things. Plus, I will detail my hopes and intentions for this new year.
In this post:
Reading
Writing
Bleeding Ink
Post Conclusion
Reading
What I Read
This year I read thirteen traditionally published books. These were...
Elantris
Mistborn Era 1
Mistborn Era 2 (excluding The Lost Metal)
Words of Radiance
Oathbringer
Rhythm of War
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
This year I read seven independently published books. These are...
The Marked by the Dragon series by Richard Fierce
Judgement Call by E.B. Roshan
Lost Girl by R.M. Archer
Beyond the Black Sea: The Mysterious Paracas of Peru by Brien Foerster
I also began reading the following.
Traditional:
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (Which I have now finished)
Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth
Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
Independent:
The Dragon Within by Melody Jackson
Mirage by Miranda Marie
Mammoth by Brian McBride
I actually got very far into each of these, but this wasn't the best year for my reading mood and so sticking with something was difficult, even if I thoroughly enjoyed it (as is the case for all of these books excluding Carve The Mark).
Reading Moving Forward
This category is a mixture of intentions, changing habits, and a very loose year-long TBR.
Reading Intentions:
These may be understood as "goals," but I have not called them that intentionally, for my goals this year aren't exactly goals so much as ideals. Like "hey, that would be quite neat" instead of "I Must Accomplish This Or I Will Die."
Thus, I am calling them my reading intentions.
Intention 1: Read some of my loved ones' favorite books
I have been collecting a list of books that are my friends', family's, and general loved ones' favorites, and now I would like to read them. Not all of them, and no specific amount, just some of them. I'm not pressuring myself or rushing myself in this. Then, for specific loved ones who I imagine would enjoy doing this, I would like to discuss the favorite book in question and post it here.
The main idea behind this intention is that I give readers space to talk about their favorite things with someone who is familiar with it. I think that very many people would like to have a reason to talk about what matters to them, and that when they do they would like to have a person who will not only listen, but engage with them. Ask them questions, prompt them to go on with their rambles, encourage them to share how they connect with the story. Because reading (often) is a very personal thing, and getting to know a reader's favorite book, character, etc., is a whole new way of getting to know them. Basically, I want to enable my friends' love for these books.
Intention 2: Read fifteen books.
I imagine I will read more than fifteen books, as the past two years I read twenty, but I don't want to put needless pressure on myself.
Fifteen seems like a reasonable amount, both for my reading speed and for the other reading intentions that I have.
Intention 3: As ever, read more independent fiction.
This is my on going mission. Indie authors and their works are severely underrated. While yes, there are more well known and well loved indie authors than there has been in the past, there will forever be those authors unknown to us despite their excellent work.
These mythical authors, and books, are hard to come by. Because of that, it is also my intention to get my "Recommend Me an Indie Book" page in circulation. I'm not altogether sure of how I will do that, but I have some ideas brewing.
As for the number of indie books I would like to read, there is no specific amount. I think it would be quite nice to read one indie book a month, but I am not going to pressure myself to do that, especially since I usually have to buy these books in order to read them.
Reading Habits:
This year I've been thinking a bit more about my habits as a reader (by that I mean reading habits as well as habits which readers tend to pick up), and I've found some things that I'd like to change.
Cease Existence On Goodreads.
For quite some time I have been aware of significant issues with Goodreads, and for quite some time I have largely ignored them. But now they are irritating me to the point that I want to cease my activity there altogether.
Goodreads is a delightful platform in theory. It is (again in theory) a good place for readers to interact, to discover new books, keep track of their own books, and to find bookish community.
In execution, it is little more than a strange form of social media in which people complain about how bad said media is, create groups which have nothing to do with reading, and recommend each other books without considering whether or not the individual they are recommending the books to would actually enjoy said books. (Also there seems to be a trend of people using the "updates" feature to talk about Taylor Swift, which I find very odd indeed.)
In addition to that, Goodreads lacks proper etiquette towards both indie and trad authors (Daniel Green has spoken on this matter).
Plus the platform's updates are unnecessary and irritating - much like the political presence that the platform champions about in every newsletter it sends out.
Finally, Goodreads is owned by the Company Which Shall Remain Unnamed which I am no longer supporting (see the third Habit).
And so, I will no longer be making use of Goodreads' services.
Maintain Existence On StoryGraph
With the end of my time on Goodreads comes a more prominent season on StoryGraph. I have been part of the StoryGraph community nearly as long as the Goodreads' one, however I was more prominently established on the latter and so neglected the former.
This was silly of me, given StoryGraph is far more superior in nearly every regard (the community aspect perhaps being the only thing I specifically would like to see better development on).
I have completely updated my StoryGraph account and already ceased to use Goodreads. So far, so good!
(If you would like to be connected on StoryGraph, you can find my page here.)
Cease Nearly All Interaction with the Company Which Shall Remain Unnamed.
As implied in the first Habit, I am presently instigating a nearly complete boycott of said Company due to its poor quality, obnoxious political agenda, mistreatment of authors, mistreatment of its users in general, and its utter lack of honesty in several regards.
I say "nearly" primarily because there are some things which I do still need access to, namely indie authors. I myself refuse to publish through this company and, because of this, my own pursuit of being independently published is temporarily stalled.
However, many indie authors (understandably) have continued to use this service, and the only way to attain some of their books is via the Company.
There are many indie authors who have personal websites where you can buy misprinted, outdated, and/or signed copies of their books. Before purchasing any independent book from the Company, I will investigate to see if I can buy it directly from the author or another retailer.
If I cannot find the book elsewhere, I will buy it from the Company.
Other than that, I will not be funding them in any way unless it is absolutely unavoidable.
Read For Twenty Minutes Before Bed
I imagine just about every reader frequently finds themselves reading to conclude their evening, and so you may be quite unimpressed with this habit. Still, it is important to me.
I want to start using my evening more intentionally via reading for at least twenty minutes before bed, and then actually going to sleep at some decent hour.
When I'm not endangering my sanity by staying up to unreasonable hours, I usually go to bed around 11:00. And so I will now start reading at around 10:40 (being sure to guard this time from those who may intrude on it) and then go to bed right after my reading time has concluded at 11:00.
I first heard of this habit from Merphy Napier, and I find it to be quite brilliant. In addition to helping me close my night in a semi peaceful way, this will also ensure that I have time to read most days regardless of that day's busyness. That will be immensely helpful in making sure I'm actually making progress on my massive TBR.
That last note leads me into the next habit:
Read the Books I Own
I'm very very very very guilty of buying a lot of books and never reading them. In some cases I'm fine with this. For example, if I'm out at a thrift store and I find a nice edition of a reputable book (typically a classic), more often than not I will buy - it knowing that I might not read it - because I recognize its value. I still intend to read it eventually but it is not my top reading priority, given I spontaneously found it in the wild, as it were.
But over all, I buy a lot of books that are just your typical novels that I don't end up reading. Sometimes it's because it was an impulse buy that I likely was never going to read to begin with, but more often than not it's a book I'm genuinely interested in but forget about.
Though this isn't the worst habit one can have, it certainly is a frivolous and selfish habit. I'm not one of those who says that it is wrong to buy a book and not read it because some school somewhere could have had it instead (for the majority of these books aren't going out of print any time soon) or that it is harmful to the environment (trees grow back and paper is recyclable, for one thing) or some such thought.
But I do believe it is excessive and selfish of me to buy so many things for myself that I will not make proper use of.
Thus, it is my intention to read more books than I buy.
The exception to this habit will be where indie books are concerned. They simply will not count in any direction. If I can afford an indie book that I am interested in, I can get it. Because whether or not I read it (though it is highly likely that I will, as I prioritize them and simply don't buy indie books I think I will dislike), I will at least have supported the author by purchasing it.
A Very Loose TBR:
I am sort of a mood reader, and generally a flighty individual, so I do not make a habit of setting specific TBRs. Still, there are certain books that've been sitting around for so long that I'm feeling the weight of not reading them. Others I simply want to read right away for whatever reason. And so here is a very tentative, very loose TBR.
This year, I would like to...
Finish: These are books I started reading before this year. Most of them I began reading in 2022, but Eldest I believe I actually began in 2021.
The Dragon Within by Melody Jackson
Mirage by Miranda Marie
Mammoth by Brian McBride
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
Begin:
These are books I have not begun yet, but would like to begin reading this year. (Owned)
The Peleg Chronicles by Matthew Christian Harding
The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson
The Plastic Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
Beyond a Darkened Shor by Jessica Leake
(Not owned)
The Emily series by L.M. Montgomery
(Not owned, indie)
Strangers and Pilgrims by Kristina Hall
Lydia Green of Mulberry Glen by Millie Florence
Sing to Me of Rain by E.B. Dawson
The Lost Bard of Taliyaven by Helena Å . George
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons
Writing
What I've Written
In 2022 I wrote very little. Well, no, that isn't true. I wrote a fair amount, but it is not the amount that a practicing writer should produce. That's because I'm only a practicing writer in theory.
I wrote a fairly solid amount of word for Roslyn this year. About 9k of these words were greatly enjoyable to produce. The rest required me banging my head into a wall repeatedly to knock loose from the tiny crevices of my brain which they had lodged themselves in.
I wrote a very little for Murder on the Writerly Wreck, and what I did write was neutral.
I began plotting one story which shall remain unnamed for now. It was quite fun to do and I made great progress, but I did eventually hit a wall. I have not spoken to any of my writer friends about this story because I'm worried if I begin to talk about it, I will never finish it (this is not superstition, but rather me being aware of the psychology that my brain employs). To you I will say it is a political fantasy with an underrated - yet abused - trope, and I am very excited about it.
I also wrote a very brief flash fiction about a goblin, which I intend to post when I have edited it.
What I Intend to Write
I don't have any set intentions for writing this year. In theory, I would like to continue working on Roslyn and my political fantasy, but I'm not going to make that an official goal (or even Intention). I'm mostly going to use writing just for fun when I feel like it. I know that this is not the best writing habit to have, but I've been having some issues with writing that have been a bigger burden than they ought to be, and I think that this is better than forcing myself through said issues and ending up depressed about it as I am wont to do. I still take writing seriously and I recognize the importance of discipline, but for this season at least I am going to take it very, very easily.
All that being said, I do intend to write more than I have been. Not full novels, but bits and pieces here and there. Poetry, scenes, brief not-quite-stories, concepts. I'm not planning it out, but I do intend to do this.
Bleeding Ink
Status Report
There isn't a whole lot to report on where this matter is concerned. I was so busy preparing this website off and on that I didn't have much time for posting (and I had wanted to wait to post some of the things I did have time for until I had this new website).
Still, here is what we achieved in the bygone year:
A new website
A new WIP page
Six published posts
My favorite post:
My favorite post this year was "What I Love About Independent Fiction." This is sort of the default, given the other posts were introductions, an announcement, and a wrap up, but regardless I did genuinely like this post. I don't think I articulated all of my thoughts as well as I would have liked, but it was my first Discussion post and it's about a topic that is important to me. Overall, I'm quite pleased with it.
Intentions
I really only have one specific intention for Bleeding Ink this year that would break our usual way of things, and that is to post at least once a month. I know that most of my contemporaries post once a week at the very least, but if you've followed me for virtually any amount of time you very likely know that once a month, consistently, would be a massive improvement for me.
Post Conclusion
Support These People
This is a list of writers, indie authors, and bloggers that I want to highlight this year, in no particular order. These are individuals that I personally follow or support, and so I can vouch that they are all solid individuals whose work is worth looking into.
Archer is an indie author as well as a blogger and freelance editor. She has an emphasis on worldview and worldbuilding in both her story telling and blogging.
From her writing advice and insights on storytelling to her published works (especially Calligraphy Guild), I have found Archer's content to be reliably good.
I can't speak for her work as an editor, as I have never worked with her in that regards. I do know she has worked on books for Nicki Chapelway and Sarah Rodecker, but I haven't read either of their books.
Maple is a lovely blogger and writer whose voice, in both regards, is poetic and thoughtful. Recently she has taken to writing more analytical/discussion pieces on various subjects found in stories, such as allegory and trauma, while continuing to post what may be considered her trademark, poetry.
Maple's is a site that I enjoy being on, regardless of what she has posted. The design, her voice, her humor, and overall style, make it a very comfortable and cozy space to be in.
Melody Jackson is an indie author who has recently come back onto the social scene via her Instagram page. While she does have her own website, this is where she tends to post updates and general dragon, writing, and reading related content.
Anna Elizabeth Pennymaker is an indie author whose work I've more recently come into contact with. I read the first two books in her Shadows Rising back in 2021, I believe, and I quite liked them overall and look forward to her third book.
Libby is a very dear individual who blogs about various things, including writing, reading, Christianity, and life. Regardless of what her subject matter is, she often uncovers the otherwise unseen or unappreciated depth to the subject, though in a sweetly simple way.
Like Maple, Libby has a naturally artistic prose in her writing (an even character, if you understand what I mean by a character having prose) that makes all of her posts an experience.
Mary is a blogger with a humorous and energetic style. From prose, to characters, to magic and worldbuilding, she posts about all things writing.
She has recently gone on a bit of a hiatus and thus she hasn't been posting, but her site is still full of helpful advise and thoughts about writing. And whenever she comes back to the blogging scene, I am sure she will have still more to post. To get you started on her older content, here's some posts that I recommend:
Obligatory Ramble
This post took my much more time to write than it should have, and because of this I completely forgot what I was going to ramble about here. I title it "obligatory ramble" as if I intentionally include a ramble in every anniversary post, which I certainly do not. But for some reason I wanted to include a ramble, so a ramble I shall write.
You ever wonder if tadpoles know what's happening when they start growing legs? Like can you imagine this: You are alive. You don't know what that means yet, but you know that much is true. You're a strange little creature with a single tail that swishes about as you swim. You suppose this is a normal thing, as there are many other things with swishy tails around you and, presumably, you are all the same type of thing (a tadpole, that is). You see other creatures that are not limited to existence inside the water - things that waddle, things that hop, things that sing, things that fly. These things visit the water, splashing and swimming in it, but they do not stay there. Your existence, however, is contained in the water. You come to terms with this fact, and begin life. You eat bugs, you eat algae, you chase your fellow swishy tailed specimens around for fun. And then, one day, you wake up to having LEGS.
You know what legs are - you've seen them on other creature, but never before have you seen something without a leg grow not one, but two. You are not supposed to have legs, you are supposed to have a swishy tail. Well, you still have that, at least.
As you frantically try to figure out what is happening to your peaceful life, what is corrupting it and destroying your apparently blatantly incorrect understanding of reality, you realize that your swishy tailed brethren have also grown legs.
It... it must be normal, then.
You cautiously continue life. You swim, and eventually you experiment with your new legs. They aren't good for very much, though they also haven't hindered your swimming very much.
You adjust, making peace with this horrific development.
And then one day, you wake up to having arms. ARMS. What are you supposed to do with ARMS?? Swishy tailed creatures do NOT need arms!! But look, your brethren - they all have arms as well! What is this?? Are you all nothing but some sick scientist's experiment? Some lunatics attempt at playing God, trying to make you look like- oh. Say. You do kind of look like those hoppy creatures, don't you?
You... you have arms. And legs.
You can leave the water.
Cautiously, you swim to the shore. You put one rubbery little hand onto the mud. You put the next one there as well. You push yourself up with your feet, and as your body leaves the water you feel the weight of the world - literally. The ground seems to pull at you, but you prove too strong for it and take your first step. Then your first hop.
From there, you begin a new life. You go out exploring, you find new water, you find new creatures, new food, even. It takes time but eventually you adjust to the world outside the pond - though you frequently return to your wet home - to the point that when you wake up one day and your swishy tail is gone, you don't panic. After all, this time you'd paid closer attention, this time you'd noticed it getting smaller day by day as you got bigger.
You began to understand that the cost of legs and arms - the cost of freedom - is your swishy tail. You aren't entirely sure it was worth it, but it's alright either way. After all, you can hop now, and you can still swim. And as you get older, you see many more groups of swishy tailed creatures go through exactly what you went through. Legs, then arms, then curiosity for the outside world, then - eventually - their swishy tail leaves.
You give yourself a croaky chuckle one day as you watch another group of swishy tailed creatures - children, you now understand them as being - panic about their new legs. They'll learn, you think with a smile. Before long they will have their arms, and then they'll go outside the pond and truly begin life. Some will learn quicker than others, but they will all eventually understand that their development isn't some freak accident, and it wasn't done by the hand of some mad scientist. No, rather it is the intentional, carefully crafted design of a certain intelligent Creator. Who, you have learned, also deserves the credit for the seeds turning into flowers, the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, and for all the babies turning into grown ups.
Yes, you think. They'll learn.
(This is basically the story of The Little Mermaid.)
(Also I did not edit that ramble so I apologize for any typos.)
There we go, a ramble. It has come to my realization that I was probably meant to ramble about my year. Its ups and downs, my experiences, growth, etc., but I think a ramble about tadpoles was much more interesting, anyways.
Alright well this post is long enough, so I will finish it here. Have a wonderful day, a happy new year, and a mysterious life.
Regards,
