Whether we’re ready or not, 2022 is here.
But let’s be real: most of us were ready to leave 2021 behind. Even though in some ways, 2022 doesn’t seem all that different (at least not yet).
But in different, more personal ways, 2022 is already a near-total shift from the previous year. My day job is in the midst of a transition phase—which, I assure you all, is a good thing. But it’s still a transition and it’s still an adjustment.
More than anything, though, I’m looking for 2022 to be the year I finally get back in my creative groove. I want to put the struggles of the past couple years (at the very least) behind me and get back to actually starting, progressing, and finishing my projects. Because I have quite a few projects, and I’m convinced a large part of my troubles as an author stem from the relative lack of content over the past few years.
Between June 2015 (when Bounty came out) and October 2017 (when I hit Publish on Notna), I published five novels and a novella. Since Notna? One novel and one non-fiction book.
The well, as they say, done gone dry.
It’s certainly not for a lack of ideas. There are plenty of those. Just…for a variety of reasons, the words have been hard to come by in recent years, and everything has sort of snowballed because of that. But 2022 is the year that changes.
I can’t promise I’ll actually publish anything in 2022 (because setting such dates so far in advance doesn’t work for me, and it’s time I stop doing things that don’t work). But 2022 will be the year I finish what I start, I push through what’s already in-progress, and work on being a more active, more supportive member of the writing community.
That means more reading and more writing.
That means practicing what I preached in The Art of Reading.
That means finishing Edge of the Breach by Halo Scot and Vicious by V.E. Schwab and then tackling the other books I’m (allegedly) in the middle of reading.
That means not just supporting the indie authors I already support, but finding new indie authors to get behind.
That means supporting other indie creators, be they painters or comic artists or musicians.
That means wrapping up Bitter End (Jill Andersen #6).
That means launching the Hellion series.
That means finishing the Summertime, Assassins, and Other Skullduggeries trilogy…duology…book thingy. You know, however many books it takes to tell what’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to telling a true love story.
That means committing more to short stories, both for anthology consideration and simply to continue flexing my creative muscles.
That means investing in my talent (and understanding that not all investments are monetary).
That means cutting back on the distractions.
That means sitting my pasty ass down in front of my laptop and making my fingers dance over the keys.
That means committing to consistently giving this page and Medium the kind of content my followers want – not just creative stuff, but general musings. I want you all to get to know me for all of me, not just the writer monkey who pecks at the keyboard.
That means all the coffee and all the hot tea and all the…chicken wings?
Yeah, all the chicken wings. Expanding waistline be damned.
Consider this your official invitation, dear reader, to join me on the creative journey that will be 2022. Though I’m still very much a hermit, I find this journey is more fun when there are people to bring along the way. There is a time and a place for taking the walk yourself, but ultimately, the support and the cheerleading of others truly makes this all worthwhile.
Currently, my sales chart tells me I’m alone in this. I’d like to think that’s not the case.
This is not a plea to buy my entire catalog in one go (though I’m certainly not gonna argue if you decide to do just that). It’s more a concerted effort on my part to stop closing myself off from everything and everyone. I’m not promising to be a social butterfly (I very much am not and never have been one of those), but the hermit life hasn’t been nearly as fulfilling.
As an author or overall.
So let 2022 be the year J.D. Got His (Writing) Groove Back (yeah, I reached a bit for that reference). No grand pronouncements, no promises I probably can’t keep. Just a commitment to churn out words to the best of my ability and fully immerse myself in the beauty that is human creativity – because it’s truly the one thing that sets us apart in this messed-up world.
I’m a writer. I’m a creator. And dammit, it’s time I started acting like it again.
Wanna join me?
About J.D. Cunegan
J.D. Cunegan is known for his unique writing style, a mixture of murder mystery and superhero epic that introduces the reader to his comic book-inspired storytelling and fast-paced prose. A 2006 graduate of Old Dominion University, Cunegan has an extensive background in journalism, a lengthy career in media relations, and a lifelong love for writing. Cunegan lives in Hampton, Virginia, and next to books and art, his big passion in life in auto racing. When not hunched in front of a keyboard or with his nose stuck in a book, Cunegan can probably be found at a race track or watching a race on TV.
J.D. Cunegan 