What was your biggest writing accomplishment in 2025?

[Writer61]

Two things:
• establishing a solid way of writing and editing my stories (using a template in Word)
• building a proper overview of the stories in my universe (in PowerPoint) that has helped me prioritise my efforts

Both of these are behind-the-scenes technical changes, but they are positives for me.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Completing the chain story Matchmaking for the Shy with chapter 6, the finale was a big achievement, coming up with a plots and scenes that would both complete the story and be consistent with what went before, in a style that was reasonably consistent with my five fine predecessors.

It's a shame it was in Chain Stories as only about 1500 people have even clicked on it, and it's a rather nice story if I say so myself.

Though the story I'm proudest of is one I've scribbled on and off for years: Last Christmas. It went down well with Christmas contest readers, with a 4.88 at the end of the contest, though since then other viewers have been downvoting it, presumably for being unexpected. Ah well.

I didn't write much in the second half of the year, but I have lots of fragments that may grow sometime...

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

I succeeded in reducing my WIP folder by about 40 stories. Turns out it was quite easy: I just moved all my Writing Exercise snippets into their own subfolder.

More seriously: I have a few.

I'm very proud of the Dark Fairy Tales challenge and how many people took part.
I'm very proud of the City of Scum shared sword & sorcery setting, even though it's lain dormant for a while now.
I'm very proud of Into The Night, which took a lot out of me to write but came out better than I could have hoped.

Just so you know, my entry into The City of Scum is still coming... Working title, "Sex in The City - Here Kitty Kitty". Currently ~8k words. I may be half done...

 

[Lifestyle66]

I wrote a 25k word story on the trials of military service (for both men and women) with:
A Band of Sisters and Brothers
"To we few, we happy few, we Band of Brothers!"

It went over as expected in the Loving Wives category with 3.29/189. But "fuck'em!"

It takes a different mindset to be there, so, if you ever served, you might relate.

 

[metropolinational]

I started writing erotica. Wish I had started 10 years ago. It's been a ton of fun.

 

[Actingup]

In ascending order:
1) pulling off an incest story that felt wholesome and right, and that many readers found genuinely moving
2) (with @PennyThompson) publishing a reconciliation story with discussions of philosophy on Loving Wives and getting massive engagement, a good score and over 200 comments
3) pouring heart and soul into a nerdy story about one of my loves (singing) with lots of autobiographical references and getting a blue W for it.

I’ve found the writing massively rewarding, mind-expanding, and also a great way to build confidence in expressing myself. I’ve have less time for writing this year because I’ve scored my dream job, but I’ll find a way. There will be a semi-permeable membrane between what I write in ‘real life’ and on Lit as well.

 

[SpecterNecter]

What meant most to you?

Did you publish your first story on Lit, or did you place in a comp? Did you earn your very first red H, or did you clock up your fiftieth? Did you get a book commercially published, or did you write something you are particularly proud of, even if it won no other plaudits? Did you write in a new category, or a longer (or shorter) story than you are accustomed to?

Whatever it was, celebrate your personal achievement with your peers. Links are absolutely encouraged. Bragging is allowed.

 

[SpecterNecter]

What meant most to you?

Did you publish your first story on Lit, or did you place in a comp? Did you earn your very first red H, or did you clock up your fiftieth? Did you get a book commercially published, or did you write something you are particularly proud of, even if it won no other plaudits? Did you write in a new category, or a longer (or shorter) story than you are accustomed to?

Whatever it was, celebrate your personal achievement with your peers. Links are absolutely encouraged. Bragging is allowed.

I got 1 email that said 'I absolutely love your story' ...That's why we write...no?

 

[Belegon]

Other examples might include: returning to writing after a break, or continuing to write through illness or IRL shit.

This is where I would have to sit up and wave my hand. I hadn't put anything new out for public consumption in about a dozen years. I had lost most of my motivation to do so. I spent from 2012 to the end of 2023 driving a school bus as a profession and the time demands were completely incompatible with my writing habits. You get paid for six to seven hours a day for driving, but it is broken up into getting the kids to school and getting them home... which means you wake and get out of bed in the four am to four-thirty am area, work from 5 or 5-30 to 9-ish, then are off until 1 pm or so and work another three or four hours. In theory, the 3 plus hours in the middle would be good writing time. But I found that it didn't work that way for me. I soon got into a pattern of taking a short nap in the middle of the day. And the need to get up so early meant I was going to bed much earlier than I had done prior. So my habit of writing in the later night hours was also incompatible.

But my hospitalization in November/December of 2023 was a precursor to a medical inability to do my job. I found myself with a great amount of free time on my hands. This led to re-examining my writing... which led to me taking up an unfinished piece dating back to around 2010. I got inspired and finished the story. Needing ( or at least wanting) a place to get feedback and the satisfaction of having it be read, I posted it here on Lit in January, 2025. The first thing I had posted to Lit since March 2009.

It was also the first piece I had actually finished since 2012, when I finished my first novel, Real Vampires Don't Surf, published by Phaze Books later that same year, 2012. Phaze unfortunately went out of business in 2015, so that novel is currently out of print. I have looked for a new publisher, but had no luck. I'm thinking I may self-pub it through Amazon so I can at least have a possibility of getting some new income from it.

So, Party Favors , published 1/29/2025 was my first addition to Lit in approximately 14 years. I added 5 more completed stories over the course of the year as well as a few poems.

I'm still trying to develop anew the habit of writing every day, with some limited success. I had several weeks throughout the year where I had spurts of productivity. Overall, I am just starting to feel like a writer again.

 

[Djmac1031]

Late to the party as usual, but I could have sworn I replied to this. Anyway...

My biggest accomplishment of 2025 wasnt so my MY accomplishment as it was @ResidentMadame , who released Cozbi: Rise Of The She-Demon , an audio recording of the first chapter in my 2023 story The Seduction Of Darkness.

RM didn't just read the story, she PERFORMED it, bringing my characters to life beyond my wildest expectations. Its not just telling the story, it's audio theater, complete with music and sound effects and two absolutely brilliant voice performances by RM as Cozbi and Benji2049 as the Dark Lord Asmodeus.

My only regret is the low response it got; her hard work deserves more listens. But I cannot thank her enough for giving me the gift of hearing my story and characters come alive.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Late to the party as usual, but I could have sworn I replied to this. Anyway...

My biggest accomplishment of 2025 wasnt so my MY accomplishment as it was @ResidentMadame , who released Cozbi: Rise Of The She-Demon , an audio recording of the first chapter in my 2023 story The Seduction Of Darkness.

RM didn't just read the story, she PERFORMED it, bringing my characters to life beyond my wildest expectations. Its not just telling the story, it's audio theater, complete with music and sound effects and two absolutely brilliant voice performances by RM as Cozbi and Benji2049 as the Dark Lord Asmodeus.

My only regret is the low response it got; her hard work deserves more listens. But I cannot thank her enough for giving me the gift of hearing my story and characters come alive.

She was utterly brilliant - a total star, and now the voice of Cozbi as far as I am concerned

 

[Belegon]

Late to the party as usual, but I could have sworn I replied to this. Anyway...

My biggest accomplishment of 2025 wasnt so my MY accomplishment as it was @ResidentMadame , who released Cozbi: Rise Of The She-Demon , an audio recording of the first chapter in my 2023 story The Seduction Of Darkness.

RM didn't just read the story, she PERFORMED it, bringing my characters to life beyond my wildest expectations. Its not just telling the story, it's audio theater, complete with music and sound effects and two absolutely brilliant voice performances by RM as Cozbi and Benji2049 as the Dark Lord Asmodeus.

My only regret is the low response it got; her hard work deserves more listens. But I cannot thank her enough for giving me the gift of hearing my story and characters come alive.

I've had a couple of things published on Audible after a performer there became sort of a minor fan of the Imp/Belegon collaborations and contracted with us. I can say it was quite enjoyable, but I never found him to be so spot on that he replaced my internal voice for any of the characters.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Opps - wrong thread - I need to go to sleep