Sunday, January 01, 2017

Happy New Year!

Here are some of the nice things I've heard about y'all recently:

(1) Your Reiders have taught me so much, and they are a reminder every day that I'm not the only crazy person sitting in front of a computer stringing words together to create meaning. I am so grateful for all of you.
(2) love your blog and the kind people who post there
(3) Thank you so much for letting me use your blog to find beta readers. I now have three lined up to read (and have my first swap in my inbox to read in return).

I know people say it all the time, but I do hope you understand what the community you've built means to those of us in it. Not only do we have your expertise gnashing at our inner woodland creature, but the community as a whole is generous with their support. Thank you.


Happy New Year!

47 comments:

Kate Larkindale said...

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2017 is kind, generous and respectful to you all.

Noel (tell me now) said...

Best wishes for 2017!

Carolynnwith2Ns said...

Happy New Year.
Like John said, "Lets hope it's a good one without any fear."

Amy Johnson said...

Yippee--thought I'd have to wait until 7:00 for today's post. I look forward to the daily nuggets of wisdom here. Happy New Year to all.

Sam Hawke said...

Happy new year all! May 2017 give you all the opportunities you hope for (and maybe some you haven't even thought of yet). Write hard, read well, and be happy. xox

Lisa Bodenheim said...

Happy New Year everyone! Be strong of heart and bold in love. And polish that writerly light of yours! We wanna Reid.

E.M. Goldsmith said...

Happy New Year! Only hours into 2017 and I am already in front of computer spinning on a brand new rodent wheel and stringing words together. Love you guys. Hope it's a wildly successful and creative year for all swimming about the Reef.

french sojourn said...


Happy New Years to you all.

I was just sitting down to take a day off to write, and researching a few historic topics. I though I would drop by and wish you all the best. Cheers Hank.

QOTKU; Thanks for this "clean, well lighted place". I hope this is your best year yet.

Stacy said...

Happy New Year, all!

CynthiaMc said...

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Thank you,Janet, as always.

May the new year bring you all good things.

Unknown said...

Happy New Year everyone! Looking forward to being with you in 2017! Thank you for all of your wisdom.

And Janet, a special wish for a wonderful year. Thank you for all you do for us!

Theresa said...

Happy New Year to Janet and all the Reiders!

Susan said...

Happy New Year, everyone! May the next year be gentle and kind and nurturing to your creative dreams.

RosannaM said...

Happy New Year everyone!

Janet, thank you for this comfy-chair coffee shop place you have set up where writers can congregate and share. Much better than a cold water walk-up.

Sherry Howard said...

Happy 2017! You've sponsored a literary playground, and we love you for it! And to all my fellow Reiders, I wish you many writing successes this year!

Lennon Faris said...

Happy New Year, Reef :)

Cecilia Ortiz Luna said...

Happy New Year!

nightsmusic said...

Happy New Year to all of the Reiders and to you, Janet! *she says as she rises from the week long flu...*

CynthiaMc said...

NaNoWriMo didn't fall at a good time for me last year. Yesterday I was re-reading No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty and thought "Why don't you do a JanoWriMo instead?" The very next paragraph I read said "Start at the beginning of the month, preferably with a holiday in it." That plus an encouraging tweet from Chris Baty sealed the deal.

Watched the Twilight Zone marathon last night - talk about great storytelling!

Happy writing, everyone!

S.P. Bowers said...

Happy new year!

DLM said...

Happy new year to all, and to all a good year!

I am so grateful not only for our esteemed host herself, but for all the community here. Best place on Teh Intarwebs to read the comments, and about the only place I do.

May 2017 be kind to all...

Barbara Etlin said...

Going to see Rogue One this afternoon. First I'll have a second cup of coffee and an hour of writing!

Happy New Year to Janet and the Reiders!

BJ Muntain said...

I posted this yesterday, but it was rather late, so I'll repost it here:



Here's a New Year's Wish for everyone:

May the New Year bring each of us, all of us, success and joy in our writing careers.

And may the Shark herself always be the Queen of Benevolence and Writer Torture.

Thanks everyone, and have a great year!

Claire Bobrow said...

Happy New Year, Everyone! May your 2017 be filled with boundless curiosity, abundant creativity, and copious amounts of caffeine.
Your generosity of spirit already floweth over. May it long continue!

Author, she does as she pleases said...

Happy New Year!

I wish everyone good story ideas and abundant word count for 2017.

Julie Weathers said...

Happy New Year to all, including Miss Janet.

I'm debating on going out for black eyed peas. I don't care for the taste of them, but it is a New Year's tradition and I could use some luck.

I've always heard you should bring in the New Year doing what you want to do the rest of the year. That would be writing. Fortunately and unfortunately, I was babysitting and my son put on 13 Hours for me to watch. I was so wrapped up in the movie I forgot to stop it to bring in the new year writing.

I hope all of you achieve your writing dreams this year. I wish you good health and fortune as well as an abundance of happiness.

I think Janet for the community she has fostered here and I thank all of you for the friendship.

Joseph S. said...

2017 - The Year of the Query.

May 2017 be a productive one
May it be a healthy one
May it be a happy one

Colin Smith said...

Happy 2017, everyone! I'll gladly echo y'all's thanks to Janet (I've been in the South for nearly 25 years--I'm allowed to say "y'all's") for running this blog, replete with great advice and toe-up-the-backside exhortation, and for running the contests. And thanks to my fellow commenters and soldiers in the writing and query trenches for all the laughs and tears shared. I wish each one of us a great 2017, with many victories (and contracts signed) to celebrate together.

As is my tradition, I'll be starting Stephen King's ON WRITING today. For the past five years (this year will be year six) it's been my first read of the year, both to encourage me, and to reinforce all those things about writing I need to remember but often forget.

Janice Grinyer said...

Thank you JR for you too. You are willing to share your knowledge and insightful experience on a world we cannot see for ourselves when we are mired deep into words. It's that small light we see on the mountain, and wonder what that's all about, that keeps us going. Thank you for providing a resting area for all.

Today we are putting on our snowshoes to open the gates in the hayfields to willingly let the wild ones in from the USFS. There is lots of snow, which is excellent for our drought, but it is time to provide refuge for those who need it in the upcoming winter months :).



Happy New 2017 to everyone!

Kate Higgins said...

I hope you all have a Content New Year ('content' as in peace with what is not 'content' as in text and words contained). I think about what Neil Gaiman said about New Years in 2012 (I think):

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

Marie McKay said...

Happy New Year, everyone. And thanks, Janet, for a brilliant blog.

Donnaeve said...

Happy Brand Spanking New Year y'all!!! May you drink copious amounts of champagne while celebrating your successes all throughout this year!

I'm only a little late - right?

I've been a busy bee this morning! Got a crock pot full of Hoppin John, been working on the outline, and reading a manuscript. Hubby is due any minute from his fishing trip.

Matter of fact, there he is right now - with Harvee. (our RV - catchy eh?)

John Davis Frain said...

Merry New Year to the neighborhood. Love this place. Thanks to our sharkly landlord for presiding over this motley crew.

And thank you Kate Higgins for the Neil Gaiman repost. With all respect to the Chinese zodiac, let this be the Year of the Mistake. I'm gonna trip my way through chapter 40 of my mistake-riddled WIP right now.

Tippin' over the hourglass...

Unknown said...

I couldn't agree more. Happy New Year, everyone!

lamandarin said...

Thank you all so much! Everyone on this blog and Janet to you most all. I have learned so much and couldn't be happier this forum exists.

Scott G said...

Happy New Year everyone! Can't thank you all enough for your time and expertise. Janet, well . . . just . . . thank you.

Brigid said...

Very grateful for you all.

Lilac Shoshani said...

Janet, you have a very special place in my daily gratitude list.

Thanks to you, I have friendships that mean the world to me; I can turn to wonderful writers and get their advice when I get stuck; I receive pertinent information every day that helps me to grow as a writer; and I have a sense of belonging to something greater: a community of like-minded people.

I don't feel alone and overwhelmed as I had felt before I had the guts to show up here (and spread my typos everywhere…but that's the chaser from last night that's talking through me ;-)).

Thanks to you, I feel blessed!

One of the greatest lessons I have learned from you is that you can't know what you need (or don't need) until you let it go -- referring to redundant sentences and not to boyfriends (I hope...).

Happy New Year to you and to your lovely community! May all your sweet dreams come true! I think I know what they are! ;-) <3

Angelica R. Jackson said...

Happy new year from not-so-sunny-today California! In fact, we may even get snow in Sacramento. I've taken my dogs out for a run so they won't be so stir crazy if we're housebound for a few days. Well, they ran off-leash while I strolled--and I occasionally hollered things like "No, not the mud!" "If you roll in that poop, you're riding home on the roof rack!" But they behaved and we were all happy to make it back to the warm house.

Just missed my goal of finishing a manuscript draft by the end of 2016, so I'm more determined to press on with it now. I have three books that will find a home one way or another this year, whether with the small press I've started for my artwork or with another publisher will remain to be seen. But starting 2017 in a hopeful mood!

And this will be my first full year as Illustrator Coordinator for my local SCBWI region, and I'm finding it so stimulating to encourage others in their art. Here's to much creativity for us all this year!

Beth Carpenter said...

To fresh starts.

Julie, I'm with you on the black-eyed peas, even though my husband claims my mother makes the best in the world. Nevertheless, I'm planning on swallowing some today for luck.

In fact, I'm wishing for luck and health and happy writing for everyone in this community. Your advice and encouragement make this virtual corner of the world a special place. Thanks, Janet and everyone here.

Happy New Year!

Craig F said...

A merry happy to you all.

May you read deeply, write on the edge and query for the win. May we all win this year ( I still have hope)

Time to start cooking down those fresh blackeyed peas and collards. I admit that I cheated on the ham hocks this year.

Anonymous said...

I expressed my New Year wishes on the last post. But I'll add to that with another wish. May all of us who express or appreciate kindness and support in this forum find a way to do the same outside of it. Community doesn't exist in some magical vacuum, it's created and nurtured. We all need more of that.

Raising a glass -- well, it's a mug of tea -- to better days ahead.

Kregger said...

Happy New Year to all Reiders.

I closed out last year by eating kale for the first time in my life.

And I think I liked it?

This bodes well for 2017!

Próspero año nuevo!

Kathryn said...

Happy new year everyone! I'm excited to have recently found this blog and it's lovely community. May 2017 be filled with growth in all the best ways.

Timothy Lowe said...

Happy New Year all. I have a good feeling already about 2017. May we all publish long and prosper...

Unknown said...

Happy 2017. May your word counts be many, your page requests fruitful, your publications bountiful, and your blessings exponential.

Lucy Crowe said...

Happy New Year, everyone!Here's to a beautiful year!