It’s been a great year here at Write Out Loud. I am working diligently to build my own writing business, have discovered some wonderful new writing blogs, and have been sharing much of what I’m learning with you here.

Since 2009 is quickly coming to a close, I thought I’d take some time to pull together a Year in Review of sorts. If you’re new around here, consider this an introduction to Write Out Loud. If you’re a regular reader, I hope you don’t mind this indulgence. You may want to take some time to check out posts that passed under your radar or re-read a few of your favorites.

For Inspiration

• 7 Places to Find New Story Ideas and 7 More Places to Find New Story Ideas – Here are 14 suggestions for places that will inspire more stories than you’ll know what to do with.
• {Creativity Corner} – A series of weekly writing prompts that I recently started, you can use {Creativity Corner} prompts to develop stories you’re already working, flesh out characters, start something new or prime the pump for a day of writing. You can also share the results by leaving an excerpt or link in the comments for each post.

On Technique

• 10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Clicking Publish – Make sure your work is top-notch before you send it out into the world.
• 4 Reasons to Read Your Work Out Loud – If you don’t regularly read your work (in private or in public) here are some reasons why you should start.
• What the Agents Had to Say – One of my Writing Conference follow-up posts, this one includes a round-up of what writers wanted to know and how agents responded.
• 3 Tips from the Pros for Reconstructing Scenes – In this Writing Conference follow-up, I share some strategies for developing scenes in non-fiction writing, particularly when you weren’t at the scene of the crime, so to speak.

On the Writing Life

• Making the Most Out of a Writing Conference – Use these strategies to make sure you get your money’s worth when you attend writing events.
• On Writer’s Block, Distractions and Motivation – I shared my personal strategies for dealing with typical challenges of the writing life. If you have your own strategies, feel free to add them in the comments.
• Are Your Writing Goals SMART? Part 1 and Part 2 – Make sure your writing goals aren’t the same year after year and you’re actually achieving the ones you set by developing SMART goals for 2010.
• Using Deadlines to Your Advantage – Read about some strategies I employ to make sure the work gets done.
• Lessons from the Networking Trenches – I’ve discovered that networking isn’t just about me and my own success and I share some strategies for networking the right way.
• Approaching Other Writers – Another Writing Conference follow-up, this post discusses easy and effective ways you can reach out to fellow writers at conferences or other writing events.

Miscellaneous

• Guest Posts – Harmful or Helpful? – This post might be particularly interesting to the bloggers out there who offer or solicit guest posts for your blogs.
• The Value of the Little Guy – Jennifer Mattern’s guest post where she discusses why you shouldn’t underestimate the value of smaller bloggers.
• VIP Interviews – I love learning about other writers and their processes. That’s why I stared this series and, since then, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know some amazing writers and share their writing lives with you at the same time.

I’d like to believe that I’ve grown as a writer, blogger and all-around person in the last 12 months and I hope you’ve grown along with me. Here’s to a successful, writing-filled 2010!