December is traditionally a hard month for me, especially right around the holidays. This one was pretty great … right up until Christmas. I got sick on the 23rd and ended up delaying my trip home for Christmas by a day. Then, at my parents’ house, I had an allergic reaction to their sweet puppy and woke up on Christmas Day with my right eye comically swollen. I spent Christmas in bed.

But let’s talk about the other parts of December!

I met up with some amazing fellow writers to discuss our novels, which was so fun and encouraging. We laughed a lot, and everyone left eager to write!

Speaking of, I wrote a LOT. I try to write 1000+ words a day, with the exception of Mondays. I feel creative and limber and excited and terrified– though sometimes the terror abates and I just get to revel in the art of creation. Mmm.

Hunger Mountain posted an Prizewinner Issue of their literary magazine online. You can read my story “Covered Up Our Names” on their site. It’s about teenagers living and dying in hospice care, and I’m really proud of how it turned out. It was one of those stories that I sat down to write and just … wrote it. It was nearly all there in the first draft, which almost never happens for me.

I’m going to teach a class on the art of querying at the Loft’s Children’s and Young Adult Writing Conference this upcoming spring! I’m so excited and I’ll be sure to share more information when the event details go online.

How was your December? What are you looking forward to in January? Do you create new years resolutions, and if so, care to share?