Time-Traveler Letter from 2015

Greetings, one and all!  I am writing this letter in 2015, and it will be posted on my blog one year later.  Which means that you are likely reading this on May 1st, 2016.  It's great fun to write something that you will read so much later.  I almost feel that you might could hear me, across this great gulf of time, if I yelled really, really loud.

HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!  GREETINGS, O FUTURE ONES!  I CALL TO YOU FROM THE NOT-SO-DISTANT PAST OF 2014!

Enough nonsense, now.  I thought I would start by responding to some of the things in my last letter.

First order of business: inspiring blogs.
     Rachel Heffington and Anne-girl continue to be inspirational to me, and their blogs will always hold a special place in my heart.  However, I have been especially helped recently by goteenwriters.blogspot.com .  K.M.Weiland's blog and http://thepenslayer.blogspot.com/ have also been influential for me this year.  And I am just started to watch http://anneelisabethstengl.blogspot.com/.

Second: current writing projects.
     The Caver's Kiss is currently being edited and is under proof-reading by two wonderful beta-readers.
     Broken Clouds is being written.
     ToP is in the planning stages.
     And all my other ideas are being instructed to wait their turns.  Except for JW, which not listening.  It wants to be written and it wants to be written now.  I should be scolding it, but I'm secretly proud of it for appearing and insisting on its own creation.  It makes my writing time easier.
     Last year, I mentioned Dungeon and Ariana's Island, which are still sitting in draft forms, and BB, which was filed away unfinished.

Third: my biggest writing flaw.
     I am still putting extra effort into not repeating myself.  And I'm trying to find the right balance in action/reaction scenes.  And I'd like to flow a little smoother and to be poetic without raising ridicule.

Fourth: improvement measurement.
     I'm not sure how to put this into words, but my story writing has improved tremendously.  I'm actually finishing things now!!!  That makes me happy.  I don't know that my blogging has improved, but the stories are better.

Fifth: blog stats.
     Pageviews all time history: 6706
     Highest-viewed month to date: April 2014 - 559
     Lowest-viewed month to date: January 2015 - 158 (I'm not counting October 2013, which was 90).
     Number of published posts: 361
     Five most popular posts of all time:
          Short Story: Becoming a Daddy
          Hideous Creature
          Beautiful People: The Cavers Kiss
          Beautiful People: Willie from BB
          Beautiful People: Hilma
     Number of comments: 270
     Number of followers: 13

Sixth: things I'm learning
     I think I'm learning to finish things -- to be more "end goal" oriented.  It's easier for me to see the end from the beginning now, including the middle.  The middle used to completely lose me.  <chuckle>
     I am not as opposed to help.  I used to think that taking advice from anyone made me less original.  And now, I am eager to get feedback and advice from sources I trust.  The best way to learn quickly is to "stand on the shoulders of giants," right?
     I am less emotionally attached to scenes -- meaning I have less fear over throwing something away.  I used to be so terrified that I would "lose" something.  Even a horrible scene...it was so hard to let it go because I WROTE IT.  Now, for every story that I write, I make a special file for deleted scenes.  Then I cut the unnecessary scene, store it in my special file, and move on.  It's made a huge improvement in my writing.

Seventh: goals
     In this coming year, I'd like to finish Broken Clouds first draft.  I'd also like to write a short story for the Rooglewood contest.  And win!  And it would be lovely to get something published.

So there you have it.  My time-traveler letter from 2015.  I hope your year has been wonderful and that the coming one is even better.

Sincerely,
E.L.Brooksmith