Let’s Start Wrapping Up The Year
Have you kept track of everything you have done?
If your answer is no, you are not really going to see how much you have actually done and how to maybe change some of those things that didn’t work.
If your answer is yes, you will be able to see your winnings and probably pat yourself on the back. You deserve at least that much if you have genuinely done everything you could.
In the next lines I am going to display the most relevant activities I’ve done this year, not in an egocentric way, but to help you see what resonates with you, compare your activities with mine and hopefully become inspired by some thoughts. I’m a huge believer in synchronicities and the impact that seasons, worldwide events and even the weather can have on us as writers but, most of all, as human beings.
As well as working on my website, teaching English online, attending my membership sessions with Graham Cochrane, my online groups and courses, or posting free content on my Facebook pages, I’ve tested and experienced a bunch of other activities. Some have been enlightening and eye-opening, others haven’t evolved as I had planned. But from all of them, I have come out clearer, stronger and more determined on what I want my future to look like.
Here you have my 12 months. While you read them I want you to do a similar exercise with your year. At the end of the article, I’ll share with you my blueprint for next year.
January
I uploaded five videos on Youtube, the most viewed of which was “Lista de Libros Góticos para el 2021”. The highlight of the month was a video collaboration with my sister on the TV series: Supernatural. I’m a huge fan and yet I haven’t talked enough about it. Something for my 2022 to-do list.
I wrote an article on my blog about the TV series: Supernatural.
I was invited as a guest speaker to Romancing The Gothic, where I talked about The Gothic and Second Language Acquisition.
I send my first short Gothic story to New Gothic Review.
February
I uploaded six videos on YouTube talking about the Gothic. The highlight of the month was my video collaboration with my sister on the TV series: Supernatural, part two and the start of another section with one of my one-to-one coaching students. That collaboration started with the idea of turning it into an online magazine. But my partner couldn’t dedicate the same amount of time to it as me and I felt I was going to be wasting my time. I had fun with that collaboration and I learnt a lot of things from the area of unexplainable and weird things. We called the section “Uncanny Frontiers” and the first video was dedicated to the concept of the Hum.
I wrote three articles on my blog: one connected to the topic of my second collaboration, one on ghosts and another on language acquisition.
March
I uploaded three videos on YouTube, one was the second part of my collaboration with my student. This time we talked about hooded apparitions.
I wrote two articles on my blog: one connected to the topic of my second collaboration and the other on the skills you can develop through the Gothic.
My short story wasn’t accepted but I had a lovely email back with their thoughts on it and encouraging me to keep looking for a home for my story.
April
I uploaded three videos on YouTube. One was the third part of my collaboration with my student, where we talked about cursed objects. The other two were interviews with three authors, one of whom is also a publisher. The first interview was called “Interview with author Tracey Fahey and the man behind her, J.R.Park”. The second interview was with David Castleton the first writer on Twitter I ever bought a book from.
I had a lot of fun with the interviews this month. It meant a lot of preparation work, but I learnt a lot of things in the process.
I wrote five articles on my blog, two of which were connected to my interviews and the other three on various Gothic aspects.
I was invited as a guest to an online event organised by the Royal Docks History Club, run and presented by Marieta Evans, to talk about ghosts, vampires and folklore together with David Castleton. This was the first time we met face to face online. The YouTube interview came after.
May
I uploaded six videos on YouTube, two were bilingual book reviews, the other bilingual content was on defining the concept of “monster”. The English video was called What is a monster? with not many views, the same as its Spanish counterpart ¿Qué es un monstruo?
I wrote three articles on my blog around the topics of the videos.
June
I uploaded four videos on YouTube on the subject of writing a gothic book and on Critical Thinking. The video with more views was on writing and for the English audience. The video is called “6 Tips to start writing your (Gothic) book”.
I wrote two articles on my blog around the topics of the videos.
This is always a busy month because I’m closing the annual courses and working on the intensive ones that take place during the month of July.
I posted my first article on Medium “I Will Never Learn English-I’m A Stupid Spaniard”.
July
I uploaded two videos on YouTube. One was an author and an illustrator interview called “Interview with Lex H Jones and Liam ‘Pais’ Hill”. The other was my first experiment with a video musical story. The idea with this was to create an intro video for my channel.
I wrote one article on my blog about the interview and one article on Medium called “Fiction: Your Best Ally To Overcome Your Fears”.
I carried out my intensive course called Creation of a Fiction Magazine for teens, in collaboration with writer, researcher and academic Tracy Fahey and writer, editor and film production assistant J.R. Park. This was one of the most amazing experiences of the year so far. The three of us hit it off very well and agreed on working together in the near future. We started designing some future courses for novel writers. This is still in development.
August
I uploaded two videos on YouTube about the reasons why the Gothic should be taught in schools.The most viewed of which was the Spanish version “4 razones por las que el gótico see debería enseñar en las escuelas”.
I wrote one article on my blog on developing your Critical Thinking through the Gothic and the same article on Medium, plus another one on the Gothic as a Mode.
I was approached by another writer Noah Watry to start a book collaboration.
September
I uploaded two videos on YouTube. One was an interview with horror researcher Tucge Kutlu with 97 views so far, which made me think I should be doing more of this type of content. I also created ten live videos via Facebook that I later posted on my YouTube channel. The series called Defining the Gothic in Modern Times was meant to give my audience the chance to talk to me live and for me to find out what people liked the most to create courses based on their needs. I didn’t get what I needed from that experience, but I fed YouTube with content and I managed to build a blueprint for my Gothic courses.
I decided it was time I published at least one article a week on Medium and so I did. These are the articles:
The Company of Words by J.R. Park-Review
Your Childhood Fears Will Shape Your Gothic Self
The Sublime Mountain Of Montserrat
From The Blurry Idea To The Beautiful Reality
October
I uploaded five videos on YouTube, the Spanish version of the English mini-series. I didn’t get what I needed from the Spanish audience. I also uploaded a short bilingual video. I started my last collaboration with a real medium and tested the video-podcast format with a mini-series called ¿Quién eres tu?
I published four articles on Medium and I made my first cent. I was over the moon. If I could make one cent I could make two, and replicate. This is the $0.01 article:
Define Who You Are, Embrace Your True Self And Start Helping Others
I was interviewed again by Marieta Evans to be part of the Royal Docks History Club Halloween special. With some connection difficulties because of my poor old computer, I talked about ghosts together with the two other guests.
November
I uploaded four videos on YouTube with my medium collaborator. These got momentum and very good feedback, but my medium decided she didn’t want the same as me from the project. At the end of the month, I uploaded my last video wrapping up the series. I learnt a couple of very valuable lessons from that experience.
I became a member of Kristina God’s Bootcamp.
I published four articles on Medium and I felt overwhelmed, but I started making more cents. My most rewarded article was called You Are Gothic But You Don’t Know It.
I was a speaker in the “X Congreso sobre Arte, Literature y Cultura Alternativa” at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid where I talked about “The evolution of the ghost as a social figure from medieval times until the present day”. Although I had to pay to be a speaker at this event (Spain is different), I got some exposure in my own country and got my foot in a different space.
At the end of the month, I was approached via LinkedIn by a Film/TV/Literary Acquisitions & Creative Development Strategist to be part of a project I can’t talk about yet. We’re on talking terms at the moment.
Great month of November, also the month I turned 47. A lot of things started fitting into place.
December
I uploaded four videos on YouTube, a bilingual one closing the year, one where I am reading another writer’s story and another with all the stories from a Christmas ghost story reading group. This experience has helped me move on amazingly in my own head. I believe in myself as a fiction writer, I believe in myself as the Gothic writer I want to become.
I’ve published eight articles on Medium. My most liked one is still “You Are Gothic But You Don’t Know It”.
So far I have gained 534 followers, 2 email subscribers, and earned in total $5.77. I know, not a lot, but in June, when I started, these figures looked impossible.
People who have truly made my month here on Medium:
Kristina God because she always mentions me when she has a chance. For tons of content and value check her article:
Luciano Kovacevic who has written a lovely article about his three favourite writers on Medium. Check him out and follow him. He’s very much a “what you see is what you get person”, a trait not very common and that I love. His writing is witty, humorous and straight to the point. Check the article that has brought tears to my eyes:
There are many other interesting writers I’ve met this month that have made my Gothic journey worthwhile while too. This is the case of Caitlin McColl and Melissa Coffey, who weave those dark stories my mind loves being most of the time. They inspire me and I inspire them, great tandem. But I will talk about them in another post altogether.
Learnings that you can apply for 2022 too-Blueprint
- Try things for a few months. If you don’t see some kind of movement or you struggle producing them, learn from your experience and ditch the rest.
- Listen to your audience. Don’t worry about the ones who are not on the same page as you because you will neglect the people you really want to be with.
- Create spreadsheets to track your progression. Some things are neither that good nor that bad as you initially thought.
- Smack your Imposter Syndrome in the face with activities that you really enjoy, forget about the money for a moment and enjoy the experience. Money will start coming to you when you are truly you.
I also thank all Bootcamper friends for pulling each other all the way:
Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Charles Waters, Michael Nagy, Sally Prag, Nancy Blackman, Trisha Dunbar (She/Her).
And thank you Robert Ralph for your work both here and on Facebook and for always publishing my articles as soon as they arrive to you.
To all the new followers, thank you for contributing in one way or another this year. If I haven’t mentioned you, don’t worry, I have plans for you during next year. You only have to stay tuned, keep writing and keep interacting with others.
Happy New Year!
Where to find me on Medium
I am currently writing for The Short Form, New Writers Welcome, The Orange Journal, I have been accepted to be a guest writer for Caitlin McColl in her publication Inkslinger Magazine and intend to apply for Scrittura to post my Fiction.
Final Thoughts
Still don’t know where to start with the Gothic? Why don’t you watch my free introduction below and find out how it can help you find your own Gothic identity?
Support the gang: use my referral link to become a Medium member so other great writers and I can keep producing enlightening and transformational content for you to grow and keep learning.
I am a “Confidence Builder through the Gothic Mode”. I write and talk about the Gothic all the time to help you create identity awareness. If you want to go deep into your Gothic self, visit me at Alice in Gothic Land, watch my videos on my YouTube channel and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. You can also book your First Free Assessment Call with me and I will help you figure out your very own Gothic journey.
