As noted on December 24, Christmas Eve really is the beginning of the end of the old year in NZ—but December 31 is really *it*, the last day of the year.

As also noted on December 24, what an extraordinary and demanding year 2020 has been. Unquestionably, it’s been the year of Covid-19 everywhere in the world—but in finding out my top ten posts for the year it became clear that in coming here you were looking for something other than Covid.

Something I learned from the Christchurch earthquakes a decade ago is that it’s actually really important to keep going with your life and work, as best you can, despite extraordinary events and times. So I’m glad if my wee blog has been part of the antidote to some of the life events that have been weighing on us all.

Although I also get that it’s most likely readers were looking out for that signal that WALL#4 may be close to being done! 😉

At any rate, it is New Year’s Eve and so the best possible time to focus in on the ten posts that really grabbed your attention during the course of the year. You’ll note the posts are ordered chronologically (rather than in an exact ranking of “views”) from the year’s beginning to its end.

Enjoy! And Happy New Year for tomorrow — may it “exceed expectations” on 2020!

And Here They Are…

January 6 — Starting As We Mean To Go On

So much of what I said in this post, when reflecting on the times we’d come out of in 2019 and on what was already happening in 2020 with the Australian bushfires et al, as well as our responses to such challenges, could really serve as a summation for the whole of this year. So I’m glad so many of you found something worthwhile in the read.

January 13 — A Few Thoughts On “Word Of Mouth”

This post was kind of about books and getting the good word out to readers — but it was also about wine. But then, wine and literature do have a long history of keeping each other company. 🙂

February 17 — A Little Alchemy

This was the first in the sequence of posts that seemed to really interest you all, which — funnily enough 😉 — is about the actual process of writing The Wall Of Night #4 and the ins-and-outs, challenges and gnarly moments thereof (in both senses of ‘gnarly.’)

April 22 — Reflections On Writing The Long Form—And WALL #4 Progress

This was both a reasonably indepth look at the writing process around WALL #4 and an update on where the w.i.p. was actually at. It also heralded the “Inside the Writing Life” post series, since I was starting to grok that such posts do interest you…

May 01 — Inside The Writing Life: A Little About the Writing Itself

Inspired by a few insightful reader comments, I discussed a little of what I try to achieve when writing, especially when developing characters and wrangling plots.

May 11 — An Interview With AJ Fitzwater, Author Of “The Voyages Of Cinrak the Dapper”

AJ is a fellow Christchurch author and friend-in-writing, and I found CINRAK delightful, so was pleased to support the book release by interviewing AJ.

May 28 — Inside The Writing Life: Naturally Self-Isolating

This post in the “Inside” series focused on what it means “to write alone” and something of “the loneliness of the long distance writer.” (Although not, I hope, in a tone of self pity!)

July 23 — Inside The Writing Life: Another Milestone Ticked Off

Yes, that was another WALL #4 milestone! And yes, you were keenly interested!

August 27 — Inside The Writing Life: ‘A Game Of Two Halves’

Following on from the July 23 post, I returned to the writing life to specifically discuss transitions between sections of the book in progress. And again, you showed great interest.

September 14 — Having Fun With Epic Fantasy #13: We All Love To Love — The Lovable Rogue

This year, I also returned to the Having Fun With Epic Fantasy post series and this instalment on “The Lovable Rogue” garnered particular interest. So did the follow up post on A Quintessential Female Lovable Rogue, although it didn’t quite make it into the top ten, which is why I’ve given it a related “honourable mention.” 🙂

Wrappin’ Up

So there it is—the Ten Most-Read Posts for 2020. I’m glad you enjoyed them, and appreciate your dropping by to read and leave the occasional comment. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, I hope you may have a very happy new year.