My 2019 Writing Year

by John Adams

2019 was an exciting writing year for me, and I have much for which I’m grateful.

I had 15 stories accepted for publication:

• “Pronounced” and “What That’s Not” were published by 101words.org in October.
• “The Well-trained Thing in Constance’s Dress” was published by Siren’s Call in October.
• “Impostor Syndrome” and “Hard Five” were published by The Drabble in November.
• “Snow Friend of Mine” was published by (and received Honorable Mention from) Weird Christmas.
• “Gestation in Recess” was published (and shortlisted) by Furious Fiction.
• “Mother’s Warning” was selected for publication by Dream of Shadows (coming May 2020).
• “Butter-drenched Fingers, Clasped Tightly in Prayer” was selected for publication by Paper Butterfly Flash Fiction (coming November 2020).
• “Something Innocent and Benign” was selected for publication by The Weird and Whatnot (coming 2020).
• One more story was selected for publication in 2020, but I can’t announce it quite yet!
• Four ten-word stories were published by Dime Show Review and Potato Soup Journal.

I also had a variety of contest placements, honorable mentions, and shortlistings, including Honorable Mention in The Molotov Cocktail’s Flash Monster Contest and four first-place finishes in NYC Midnight contests.

I focused less on playwrighting in 2019, and though I don’t have a lot of finished products to show as a result, I’m very happy that two plays were selected by great organizations:

• Through the Darkest of Stars was selected for a staged reading by The Midwest Dramatists Center (September 2019).
• The Dark, Damp Room Just Off the Parlor was selected for a full production by Whim Productions (coming April 2020).

It’s not all rosy, of course. I’m very happy with my success record, but I also received (if I’m doing the math correctly) 120 rejections and still have 68 submissions out there in the wild waiting for responses. Wish me luck! 😊

My biggest writing regret for 2019 was my shameful neglect of my work-in-progress novel. I’m not a big New Years Resolution person, but I hope to get back to that in 2020. Time will tell.

Thanks for reading!