Time travel. It’s better late than never.
In this article, I’d like to take a look back at my 2019 writing year. I hope it doesn’t come off as self-indulgent! I just think reviewing the past makes me excited for the future. Also, we’re already halfway through January, so if I don’t publish this now, I never will.
Anyway, time machine’s here. Hop in!
January
We begin with a blog post: “I Am Your Father: Making Similarities Work in Fiction.” Here I compare Star Wars with Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Both employ the same plot twist, yet the latter never feels like it’s ripping off the former. Check out the post for my thoughts on how it was done—and how other writers might do the same.
Also, January marked the publication of my first guest post of 2019: “3 Signs It’s Time to Stop Editing That Manuscript.” I’m pleased with the way this one turned out, in large part because I experienced so much of what I wrote first-hand. Hope you enjoy reading it. And, if you’re a writer, I hope it helps you.
February
Short month, but a big event happened during it: the publication of an ebook I helped write for ProWritingAid! It’s called How to Go From First Draft to Published Author, and you can download it for free by clicking the link in the title.
You can probably guess what the book’s about, but here’s something you may not know: there’s one part where I made up a musical called “A Sloth is Born.” I know what you’re thinking, and the answer’s yes. I’m already working on the novelization.
March
A quiet month of March. The coolest thing that happened was finally releasing a paperback version of my first novel, Gerald Barkley Rocks. I must say, the feeling of holding one’s own book in one’s hands is electric. And even a big bar across the top reading “NOT FOR RESALE” couldn’t stop the feeling.
April
Fresh off the release of one book, I pranked some folks with the false release of another. See this article for deets: “Announcing Wee Stories: 1,001 One-Word Tales.”
I received some worried messages from friends and family who thought I was serious about microstories. For those who haven’t read it, here’s a snippet:
Consider this [microstory]. I call it Crossing at Dawn. Here it is, in its entirety:
“Turtles.”
It took me six months to write that piece. I tried to imagine what animal would be most likely to cross a road at dawn. A squirrel felt unremarkable, a chicken too cliche. Finally I settled upon the present form. I’m thrilled with the results.
Anyway, I got a good chuckle out of it.
May
Another guest post, this one entitled “How and Why to Treat Your Setting Like a Character.” It was especially gratifying to publish this post on Joanna Penn’s website. She’s the host of The Creative Penn Podcast, a show I find very informative. Thanks for sharing my post, Joanna! And thanks for adding a picture of this dude in there:
I have no idea who he is, but something tells me his name is something like Sir Bertrand Godfrey of the Luscious Hair. Just a guess.
June
No writing news, but that’s because I took a big step forward at my day job. In June, I was hired to work at Special Olympics New York!
You don’t need me to tell you what an outstanding organization Special Olympics is, but I’ll say it anyway. It’s a privilege to work there!
July
I finally caved and started an Instagram account. Here’s my first post:
View this post on Instagram
Currently reading, currently liking. Not as creepy as it sounds. #bookstagram #books #bookshelf
Just wait for next month. That’s when my Insta really took off.
August
By this time I was furiously editing a manuscript (that’s coming soon), so there weren’t many writing updates. Instead I turned to Twitter for my hottest post of the year.
If you like Magic, you might enjoy this article I wrote. If you don’t like Magic, you might still enjoy this buff leopard-man. https://t.co/72oJP080Tu #MTG #EDH #Magic @edhrec pic.twitter.com/dys14lgjmg
— Kyle A. Massa (@mindofkyleam) August 16, 2019
Clearly I was prognosticating the wild success of Cats.
Oh yeah, then I posted this on the Gram:
One of my finest moments of 2019.
September
I released Monsters at Dusk!
Cover designed by Nathan Rumsey
This book means a lot to me, not least of all because the first story is about a cat. But really, please give it a read. There are 10 stories, so odds are you’ll find at least one to like.
October
Fresh off its release, Monsters at Dusk earned a mention in the Times Union Book Blog! Thanks to reviewer Alicia Abdul for the kind words, and thanks to my brother-in-law Dan Fisher for making it possible.
November
Not only did Dan orchestrate last month’s news…he got me my first ever reading and signing! Here’s me at Flights of Fantasy Books & Games…
I think the eight-year-old sneakers + white socks combo was a nice touch. Shoutout to bad fashion choices.
December
Finally, I capped off 2019 by completing my reading goal of 40 books. That’s a career high for me! If you’d like to see my five favorites of the year, check out this post (also from December): “My Favorite Books of 2019.”
Happy 2020!
Looking forward to another great year. Check back for more posts, more books, and—fingers crossed—more goofy social media posts.
Kyle A. Massa is a speculative fiction author living somewhere in upstate New York with his wife and their two cats. He has written two books and numerous short stories, both published and yet-to-be published. He enjoys unusual narrative structures, multiple POVs, and stories about coffee.
