Not sure what this is? Learn more here!

What’s an unexpected success that came your way this year? Let’s take a moment to celebrate!

I actually had a fair bit of unexpected success in 2017. I had all but given up writing short fiction until I spoke with Dylan Davis as part of episode three of the writescast, in which we discussed flash fiction and strategies for reaching publication.

After posting that episode, I thought I’d give flash fiction a try, and let the muse take me where it may where a couple of short stories were concerned.

Well, only a handful of months later, I found myself earning my first credit: one of my flash fiction pieces was getting published!

That piece was “Wool,” which is available online through Five:2:One Magazine as part of their #thesideshow series. I was elated, of course, to be able to share that story with the world via that platform, so I kept pushing myself—writing more flash pieces and other short works of fiction.

Then, a couple of months after “Wool” was published, “What It Is To Smell Of Man” found a home with Erotic Review (NSFW, 18+). I still think it may be the best thing I’ve written to date, but given its subject matter, my concern was that I’d never find it a home. Naturally, I was thrilled when the folks at Erotic Review reached out with an interest in publishing it after I’d submitted it to them.

Unlikely as it felt at the time, more unexpected success was still on the way where publication was concerned. My article “40,000 to Flesh: How I Journaled My Way to Character” was published with National Journal Writing Month. In it, I describe my character creation process for Accounting for it All, one my current novel-length projects.

So… yeah. 2017 was quite the year where publication was concerned. And, with any luck (and, you know, a great deal of determination) these won’t be the last pieces to see the light of day. I’m really looking forward to what 2018 has in store.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us about an unexpected success you experienced in 2017. What was it, and how did it affect your writing going forward?

Then, on Friday of this week, tune in for a new writescast episode all about setting goals and maximizing our takeaways from our success (and failures, too!).