2024 in Review
A look back on a year of writing.
Merry Christmas, and happy almost New Year, mi gente!
I’ve seen a few folks post their review of their year on Substack, so I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my year on The Casual Writer. After all, I don’t think I’ve written this much since grad school, so it’ll be fun to look back and see where my writing has taken me.
Literally, I need to look back. While I have a few highlights in my head, after looking over my archive there’s a lot more I’ve written and posted here!
I guess I’ll start with the first thing that popped up in my mind:
I wrote a series!
Specifically, I published Uprooted - A fiction series involving a mysterious family tree disrupting a blossoming romance between descendants of past lovers.
I was going to write a “behind the scenes” post detailing the inspiration behind the story, along with sharing little details and characters that didn’t make it to Substack. But it felt like I was just dumping ideas on a page, so I’ll share some thoughts here.
At the core, Uprooted was my attempt on writing magical realism. What I appreciate about this genre of fiction is that the supernatural/magical elements are pretty much a given. No one really questions how it works, and the magical elements either uncover a deeper conflict, or help to move the plot.
I really enjoyed the engagement with Uprooted, both on- and offline. My coworker got suuuuuper invested when things got twisty:
Apparently, I was so successful with the big reveal that “The Revelation” was one of the nominated series that week for Top in Fiction!
I’m very pleased with how Uprooted came out, and I have plenty of more ideas to expand the story if I wanted to. But for now, I’m satisfied with the outcome!
Microfiction & Writing Prompts
Lemme tell you,
and were keeping my creative juices flowing with their prompts and challenges. There are peak busy seasons at work, and microfiction, in particular, helped keep my creative juices flowing.Looking back at what I’ve posted, here are my top 3:
The Sky Alive - I got to build on the Skyrates world, specifically on stardust as a form of technology. You also get to see a young Mikhail bond with Iosef, his father figure.
Heartbreak (50mg) - Jake Taylor experiences his first heartbreak. As it turns out, his pain resonated with people!
Eyes (90mg) - Mikhail and Carmen meet for the first time, and I decided to write it from both of their perspectives (90 words each). Some people really liked Mikhail’s POV, which is funny considering that I was not planning to include him in the prompt.
Honorable Mention: Eat the Puck
This short story was inspired by my goddaughter’s recent obsession with hockey and hockey romances. Keep in mind that she is a Florida native and currently attends a Florida university. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel…nostalgic?
When I was in college, a good friend of mine introduced me to hockey (he is a Blackhawks fan, if that matters to anyone), and some of my fond memories of undergrad include rooting for his intramural floor hockey team. While I’m not a fan like my goddaughter, I could understand why she got invested in the sport.
When we got into hockey romances, she pointed out that most - if not all - of the lead women in these stories are blonde hair blue eyed women, and how she wanted to see a Hispanic lead in these stories. So, Eat the Puck was created!
I don’t plan to expand on this story, mainly because romance as a genre is not my forte. Plus I’d have to deep dive into the sport of hockey, and tbh ain’t nobody got time for that. But I had a good ol’ time writing out Ceci and Joel’s back and forth!
Left on Draft
Of course, I have some unfinished projects on Substack that I’m planning to continue in the new year.
I started The Penny Bullet in November with the first installment, The Bird Cage. I do have the next part in my Google Drive, but I’ve already hit a road block with this story. I might shelve it until next October, since it involves werewolves and it seems fitting to post the story during spooky season.
I started my story involving
’s The Blackwater Files back in December of 2023, and my last installment, The Surge, was posted in April. I’ve also hit a road block here, but I think that’s partly due to me starting the Uprooted series. While it looks like everyone else has finished their stories, I’m determined to resolve mine - at least to rescue poor Aurora from the undertow!There’s plenty more Skyrates in my Google Drive. Hopefully, some of that will make it on here either by way of writing prompts or some other way. The story itself is so big that it’s hard for me to envision it as a series, but I’m open to follow wherever inspiration strikes.
Cheers to You
Thank you very much for your likes, comments, views, and shares throughout the year. While The Casual Writer is ultimately a virtual writing journal, I am grateful for all of you who read, like, and comment. Whether you’re lurking, following, or you are subscribed to my Substack, I appreciate you being here!
May 2025 meet you with blessings!
With love,
The Casual Writer
Wow, it sounds like you had a busy year of writing. Wishing you a wonderful 2025 full of writing as well!