Do I get a Cheat Year?
Yes, I'm aware I'm a month late this year, but better late than never, right? n.n'
Some people may know this, but the actual important date for me that marks the start of the year is January 6th. Yes, the precise date has gotten some bad rep over the years due to certain events, but hey it was an important milestone for me long before those even happened: It is the date I decided to complete and post my first story online here on DeviantArt.
This year, that makes 14 years to the date, or since the date considering that's already in the past as well. While my activity in this site has reduced drastically since then, it was my introduction to the intersection between online spaces and the creative community.
It's been a long way since then: I made quite a few friends, a few friendly rivals that pushed me to hone my craft and flex the creative muscles I didn't even know I had and in general helped a young nerdy kid to build some confidence to try other creative endeavors (Music, Digital Color, Graphic Design, 3D Modeling, even attempted to draw at some point). The results have always been questionable at best, but that never stopped any of the many artists I still look up to.
It's never easy, and half the time the results are not what you wanted, but that's part of the fun. So, I encourage anyone with a creative idea reading this to try it out, you never know how far you'll go.
Usually, I'd make a list comparing every year's latest story and seeing the yearly progress. But truth be told, 2023 was a busy year for me: I finally moved out on my own, completely. While I did move out to a new city on 2021, I was living with my brother. Getting my own place was a big adjustment that, while didn't keep me constantly busy, still came with its own set of challenges. As a result, I did almost no writing at all, so I honestly have nothing to show.
As such, I am not considering the entirety of last year as part of my writing experience, I only still have 13 years worth of experience! (Which is still a considerable amount and you'd expect I'd be able to do a decent novel at this point, but I haven't =P).
TL;DR: As far as my writing is concerned last year didn't count! :D
And Another Year Starts
OK, I've come to accept I'm no longer very active here, but at the very least this yearly Journal entry is very important to me no matter how busy I get.
And the reason January 6th is important to me has come to mean more and more over the course of 13 years: Today marks the anniversary of the day that I first posted my first story online. Things change a lot in that time frame, but one thing that I can say for certain is that it changed my life to where I am today, and opened up to the creative works of so many people.
To think how far I've come from a nerdy kid that just wanted to write some niche Pokemon fanfiction to... A nerdy man that wants to write even more niche "Property-Inspired Fantasy Prose" (AKA: Fanfiction but fancier undertone), but now slightly more adjusted to interacting with other creative minds. I met some of my art idols, made friends, made enemies, made rivals (Friendly ones, the good kind), somehow made a few fans, and have been implicitly encouraged to see how far my almost non-existent artistic skills can go.
In the end, while I started with writing, my capabilities broadened over time. And so I encourage to anyone who's reading this, who has ever wanted to do any creative work, to give it a try. You never know how far you'll go unless you start.
But enough rambling, let's see how far I have come:
2010: The Worst-Best Day (First submission).
2011: RD 'A New Age' Pt 26 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2012: Reveal (Submitted exactly on that Journal's date).
2013: New Life - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2014:The Right Touch - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2015: Thin Ice - Pt 1 (Submitted on that Journal's date).
2016: Intruders - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2017: Unintended Inspiration (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2018: Memento (Submitted on that Journal's date)
2019: Home at Last - Part 1 (Submitted on that Journal's date)
2020: Home at Last - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2021: Home at Last - Part 3 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2022: Home at Last - Part 4 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2023: Home at Last - Part 5 (Most recent submission)
Results: First year there is a very noticeable improvement. The second year is slightly better. Then by the fourth year I seem to have reached peak writing skill, any improvements after that is tone, format, theming and flow, which are very vague terms and thus the progress isn't linear anymore, making it hard to measure. The end result, however, is that writing coherently isn't as much of a constant struggle to put ideas into words as it once was. I am, however, limited by the ideas I get.
Goals: Branch out on themes, maybe try your hand at a Mystery genre story.
Which unlike previous years sounds ambitious considering I'm not really that active here and I post once a year, but my situation has changed over the past year.
While 2022 seemed to be a struggle for a lot of people, and it was a bit bizarre at times for me (At some point I was working at a bakery?), things are starting to look up and calm down. I finally have an Engineering job again, and I'm finally moving to my own place.
That said, I am not rushing the writing on me, over the past year my creative itch has been satisfied by something else: Blender and 3D stuff are a match made in heaven for me since they require of 80% technical knowledge and only 20% artistic skill. Before I knew it I was taking commissions, and suddenly that was all that I was doing on my spare time.
While it's interesting and fun, the call of Creative Writing always pull me back despite having considered dropping it entirely at several points (I just need to get better at responding to the call). And now I finally have the time for it again.
On a final note, Happy Epiphany (AKA: "Dia De Reyes")! For those wondering it's basically "Mini-Christmas for Latin-american countries (and Spain)," a Judeo-Christian celebration around the biblical event of the coming of the Wise Men from Orient offering gifts to the Messiah, recognizing him as a true king sent by divine manifest.
It's celebrated by a gathering of friends and family to eat a large traditional cake ("Rosca de Reyes") made for the Holiday. I am, however, celebrating it this year by not doing that and instead driving over to visit family and friends (And to that one friend's Epic New Year's Party which made me actually care for the Holiday but now gets rescheduled every year for some reason XD). Cheers!
Give it to one More Year
Oh wow, I'm so good at tradition that even without intending to I kept "Once-per-year" journal 
(This needs to stop >.>).
For the people who are still reading this (When they could be doing something so much better with their time but I still appreciate), while New Year's day has never really mattered that much to me (Except for being the excuse for a friend of mine to throw a really cool once-a-year party), January 6 has come to become a really important date every year.
While not the day I began to write, it marks the day I posted my first story here on DeviantArt. And boy, have things gone to unexpected places ever since. While it wouldn't seem like a big deal to write Pokemon Fanfiction, it also gave a really nerdy and shy boy a reason to interact with creative people online. I've met some of my "Idols", made friends, friendly rivals, met a few trolls, and bit by bit been pushed to try out things that I wouldn't have tried otherwise and helped me become slightly-less-worse at pursuing my creative endeavors.
Also, one doesn't spend 12 years online without seeing some young talent sprout and then grow exponentially. Looking back it's kinda crazy some people began as small artists just messing around over here. And so, if anyone reading this is has ever considered putting words on a page or doing any creative work, even if just for fun, I say: Go for it. It's not always smooth sailing (In fact, half the time it isn't and you don't even know what you're doing @.@) but you never know where that may lead and how far you may go.
But enough rambling, let's see a comparison for how far I've come:
2010: The Worst-Best Day (First submission).
2011: RD 'A New Age' Pt 26 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2012: Reveal (Submitted exactly on that Journal's date).
2013: New Life - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2014:The Right Touch - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2015: Thin Ice - Pt 1 (Submitted on that Journal's date).
2016: Intruders - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2017: Unintended Inspiration (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2018: Memento (Submitted on that Journal's date)
2019: Home at Last - Part 1 (Submitted on that Journal's date)
2020: Home at Last - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2021: Home at Last - Part 3 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2022: Home at Last - Part 4 (Most recent submission)
(Oh boy, that list is getting way too long to read in a single sitting 
).
Results: The improvement on the writing itself is definitely noticeable over the first year. The second year is slightly better. Then the level itself kinda plateaus by around the fourth year. Some progress happens but it's not as linear since then, mostly becomes a matter of self-control to not use the whole thesaurus when trying to narrate something for the sake of paragraph flow (Yes, I see you 2013 Axel, cool story but your prose isn't impressing anyone ¬.¬). One thing that's for sure: Writing something coherent in just a few sittings has stopped being a struggle now, unlike it was on the first years (Seriously, this year's chapter I did in approximately 3 sittings when I realized the deadline was coming XD)
Goals: This year I'll try to post more than one short chapter of a story.
Doesn't sound like that much of a big goal compared to previous years, but so much has happened since my last Journal entry, 2021 was a very unusual year, my situations is so much different:
I moved out of my parent's to a different country (I'm in the US now), found a place, found a new job, learned a few new domestic and time-management skills, learned Blender and made some 3D VRChat avatars, got a few commissions for that stuff, met some of the locals, got my University degree in the mail, did more job searching, and just like that the year had gone by.
It's an odd adjustment since while it may sound bad it often didn't feel like it. Then again, it's not like I didn't have spare time, it's just that other things came to mind to enjoy it other than writing (I may have gotten caught in the loop of learning 3D stuff, that was definitely a time sink XD).
Things are looking up though, and I'm learning to handle myself a bit better. Let's see if this is the year I actually start being a bit more active here again.
On a final note, Happy Epiphany (AKA: "Dia De Reyes")! For those wondering it's basically "Mini-Christmas for Latin-american countries (and Spain)," a Judeo-Christian celebration around the biblical event of the coming of the Wise Men from Orient offering gifts to the Messiah, recognizing him as a true king sent by divine manifest.
It's celebrated by a gathering of friends and family to eat a large traditional cake ("Rosca de Reyes") made for the Holiday. Aaaand I just realized this is the first year I'm not in Mexico at this date so I don't get to go to a party after writing this.
Dang it, I wanted my Rosca! 
Another Year has Gone By
Here's to the traditional one and only yearly Journal update here with a promise to update more often (That I never get to fulfill for one reason or another)! :D
For those who know me (Who I question their sanity why yet appreciate very greatly, keep it up guys =P) while I have learned to like New Year's Day it doesn't really seems that important to me (Other than being the excuse for some very awesome New Year's parties that this one friend throws every year :D). January 6th, on the other hand? That is a very important date and the real start of the year for me.
That is because it marks the anniversary of the first time I submitted a story here on DeviantArt. Granted, I only do fanfiction but that doesn't mean fanworks aren't any good, and that has always been clear since a young Axel got "curious about what the Pokemaniacs were up to nowadays" and was met with very intimidatingly good fanart and fanfiction good enough to make me curious and eventually interested and inspired in writing some myself.
Things have gone a long way ever since. Writing has given me a reason to explore my creativity and even to go and reach out to some incredible artists (Who happened to be incredible people too), make some very close friends, some friendly rivals, some actual trolls, and even eventually do what I never expected: To be reached by young artists who claim to have found inspiration in my stuff, and then over time see their potential blow up way beyond what I would consider my level. That last one is the most inspiring thing possible.
As such, if by some completely unexpected reason you happen to be someone who has considered putting words on a page (Or follow any other creative skill that I fail completely at- I mean, skill that I haven't developed yet =P), my advice is the following: Answer the call, do it. It's not always easy, but you'll never know how far it may take you.
And just to prove a point about improvement, here's a yearly comparison of what I've done:
2010: The Worst-Best Day (First submission).
2011: RD 'A New Age' Pt 26 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2012: Reveal (Submitted exactly on that Journal's date).
2013: New Life - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2014:The Right Touch - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2015: Thin Ice - Pt 1 (Submitted on that Journal's date).
2016: Intruders - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2017: Unintended Inspiration (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2018: Memento (Submitted on that Journal's date)
2019: Home at Last - Part 1 (Submitted on that Journal's date)
2020: Home at Last - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2021: Home at Last - Part 3 (Most recent submission)
(This list has reached the point that is so long that I don't expect ANYONE to actually check all of those out and see the difference between each year XD).
Results: I wouldn't say "Cringe" but huge improvement over the first year on the writing itself, then the changes honestly become much less noticeable. At some points there even appears to be a regression, but I myself wouldn't consider it as such and instead as variation in style and tone to fit the themes being handled (Sometimes with better nuance than other times). While on the first years it looks like a constant struggle to explain in words what is being trying to say, over time it has become less of a struggle to narrate the actual events and instead has become a struggle to find the correct pace and tone to the subject matter, not so much the words themselves. That doesn't mean I wouldn't benefit from a more extensive vocabulary, as a writer that never hurts.
Goals: As strange as it may sound, the goal this year isn't going to be "Dedicate more time to writing" and instead "Take writing slightly less seriously."
Allow me to explain.
As most of you know, 2020 was... Not the best year for everyone. But focusing on the positives, lots of us had much more spare time than usual. This would usually mean more time to focus on following creative endeavors.
Not on my case.
Instead, my time was spent feeling guilty over not feeling like writing, which lead to the never-ending cycle of procrastination, putting more weight on the guilt and less time into writing.
At least until I saw an artist friend I play online with in a similar situation get out of her rut by... Doing some crude light-hearted doodles for some friends just for fun. Turns out she was taking it too seriously and forgotten that these creative hobbies are that, hobbies, fun stuff.
Not everyone doing creative works as a career can afford to do so, but for hobbyists it's not such a serious ordeal.
By remembering that I had an easier time finding the mood to write. I plan on keeping that in mind this year: "It's not that big of a deal."
On a final note, Happy Epiphany (AKA: "Dia De Reyes")! For those wondering it's basically "Mini-Christmas for Latin-american countries (and Spain)," a Judeo-Christian celebration around the biblical event of the coming of the Wise Men from Orient offering gifts to the Messiah, recognizing him as a true king sent by divine manifest.
It's celebrated by a gathering of friends and family to eat a large traditional cake made for the Holiday, which is half-dessert and half raffle since there are tiny baby Jesus figurines hidden in some slices (Yes, we were doing the "Free hidden surprise gift in every box" concept before it was cool).
Here's to an OK 2021 =P.
There Have Gone 10 Years
). HOWEVER, January 6th is the most important first date on my calendar.
), sooner or later I always come back to the page, full of ideas and stories that I want and need to share.2011: RD 'A New Age' Pt 26 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2012: Reveal (Submitted exactly on that Journal's date).
2013: New Life - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2014:The Right Touch - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal).
2015: Thin Ice - Pt 1 (Submitted on that Journal's date).
2016: Intruders - Part 2 (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2017: Unintended Inspiration (Submission mentioned in that year's Journal)
2018: Memento (Submitted on that Journal's date)
..