I’ll preface this post by saying upfront that I have no story update for you today. Sorry! The next chapter of TWWBW is started but far from being finished. Before I get into why, I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year! Whether I have a new chapter to post or not, I enjoy updating around New Year’s so I can reflect on the past year and update the date at the bottom of the page to reflect the new year. Cheers to 2024!
2023 was a year of ups and downs for me and most people I know, so I was not sad to say goodbye to it. I certainly hope our Boys have a better year ahead. Nick and AJ in particular have had a rough time of it lately. I was sad to see the statement AJ and Rochelle posted on Instagram today. Although I knew they had been separated for a while, I was pulling for them to reconcile. Rochelle is/was my favorite Backstreet wife, and I wish both her and AJ nothing but the best as they move forward with their lives.
As for Nick, no one represents the emotional rollercoaster the past year has been better than him. Although he had some professional successes with the release of his new music and a solo tour, he’s had a lot to deal with in his personal life, between his ongoing legal issues and the recent losses in his family. I had just finished updating last weekend when I got on Twitter and saw the news of BJ’s death. I’m not sure how much contact Nick and BJ had had in recent years, but my heart still hurts for him and Angel. Their family has been through so much. I just hope things start looking up in the new year.
And, of course, I wish Kevin, Howie, and Brian health and happiness in 2024 and beyond as well!
As for me, 2023 was a successful year in terms of writing. I set a resolution to write every day, and for the first time ever, I actually kept it! Below is a screenshot of my year-long NaNoWriMo goal.
I fell about 15,000 words short of my word count goal, but it was never about hitting a specific number of words. My resolution was to simply to open my story and add something to it each day – even if it was just one word. As you can see from my recent progress updates, some days I don’t write much more than one word. 😬 Usually I have unproductive stretches like this during busy times of year, but I’ve been off work all week, so I really have no excuse except to say I’ve been busy playing The Sims instead of writing. 🤷♀️ I bought a new expansion pack and have been obsessively building for the past few days. Once I finish what I’ve started and get that out of my system, I will get back to my main hobby, which is writing. In the meantime, I’m still keeping my daily writing streak alive and am looking forward to hitting my next milestone later this month, which will be two years!
My resolution for this year is the same as last year: to write every day and continue The World Will Be Waiting. I would love to say “finish,” but that might be too ambitious considering how much story I still have to write. 🙃 I will finish it one day; it just might not be this year.
I want to thank everyone who’s reading. I hope you know how much I appreciate you! Here’s to a happy new year for all of us!