A Celebration of 100 Posts!

Hey, you. I have a secret. This post you’re reading right now is special, which makes you special for reading it. Not only is this the last post to my blog for 2020, but it’s also my 100th POST. That’s right! The century mark. The hundo. The ol’ one double zero.

Okay, so a hundred blog posts for a site that’s five-and-a-half years old isn’t exactly newsworthy. That averages out to just over eighteen posts a year or one-and-a-half posts per month. Is that paltry or admirable? It depends on what that achievement is measured against—blogs with near-daily posts (then yes, paltry) or those launched years ago with still only the one inaugural post to their credit (admirable, I’d say.) Of course, the real trick to feeling good about personal achievements is to not compare them against others at all. So, with that in mind, congratulations to myself are in order!

Yay, me! I rock!

In celebration of this achievement, I thought I’d rifle through the archives and dig up ten of my favorite posts for a jaunt down memory lane. I’ve reread each one, and it’s amazing how much my projects, plans, and circumstances have changed over the last five-plus years. If you’re a new(ish) follower who hasn’t had time or inclination to peruse my archives, consider this a primer of the best of D.M. Domosea.

Of Terms and Titles (March 2016): This is a deep-dive into the mechanics and trends of Young Adult book titles. I analyzed the top 600 titles from three years’ worth of books and came up with some interesting observations on what titles reveal about the stories within.

Dear Important Minor POV Character (April 2016): A letter to a favorite minor character in my epic YA fantasy series in which I explain that his point-of-view narrative—though not his role—was being cut. We both handled it like the consummate professionals we are.

A Word on Whores (July 2017): This is an examination of the insidious existence of patriarchal world-building tropes in speculative literature. This post went on to inspire my 2019 Luna Station Quarterly column series, “A World Without Sex.”

Juggling Multiple POV Characters? Do This! (September 2017): In this post, I share my clever trick for ensuring balance and consistency in voice, characterization, and motivation when writing novels with multiple POV characters.

When Cherished Musicals Go Off-Key (August 2018): The more we mature as a society, the more we realize that media we loved in our youth can be quite problematic. Here, I chat about how to identify and compartmentalize the issues of beloved entertainment so that we can perhaps still enjoy it today.

Embrace the Boring (November 2018): A discussion of how someone (okay, me….it’s me) can be accused of being horribly boring, and yet, that external stoic nature often conceals a rich and dynamic inner world that is a perfect environment for storytelling.

When to Walk Away and When to Stay: Writer’s Edition (March 2019): It’s important to recognize when a houseplant just needs a little more TLC and when it’s beyond salvation. Same for a writing project. (Update to that post: while the plant is long gone, the writing project is only in hibernation.)

The Promise of Possibilities (July 2019): In which I muse on the excitement of traveling through train stations and airport terminals (travel….heh…remember those days?) They are the heartbeats of new beginnings, bittersweet endings, and poignant possibilities, which is why writers love to incorporate them into their work.

Fearing the Unopened Email (August 2019): Last summer, I sat on an email that I just knew was a “thanks, but no.” Rejection is the primary occupational hazard of being a writer, but as long as we remember that rejections aren’t career-killers, we can weather those “no’s.”

Escaping Writer’s Tunnel Vision (February 2020): New writers often fall into the trap of believing that their first manuscript is the end-all be-all of their writing careers. In this post, I discuss ways to break free from that mindset and embrace other productive authoring avenues.

If I keep the pace set by my first five-and-a-half years, I should be on track to write a “200^th Post!” article by June 2026. Totally doable, right?

With that, I leave you to ring in the new year in whatever way seems best to you. My sincere hope for all of us is that 2021 brings a healthy, happy, safe and secure adventure ahead.

— D.M. Domosea