Though in some ways it’s become little more than a social media habit at this point, I think good habits which have some value become rituals, and I like rituals very much.

So despite the fact of it all being something of a knee-jerk thing that “everybody’s doing”, I’d like to do my own take on some of the most significant things that happened to me and around me in 2017.

Got married

This may be the logical “big one”, if only because others may expect you to elevate it into a ‘Life Event’, perhaps one of the very few Ultimate Life Events that you get to savour and be honoured by.

Needless to say — for the sake of those who know us quite well, at least — neither V. nor I hold all that much earnest faith in the Institution of marriage per se, and would, to mention just one example, count our respective writing-based milestones (novel in my case, PhD in hers) as being the more important moments worth truly celebrating.

Nonetheless, it does feel great to be “tied” to someone like V., whose values and way of life not only match but also enrich my own with each passing day. Plus, both of our wedding parties — the official ceremony held at a distinctly unofficial venue, and the more full-blown party at the idyllic family vineyard in Monterotondo — made for truly memorable funtimes for all involved, so that has to be worth something, surely.

Got to WorldCon

The gods of both speculative fiction and state financing smiled upon me this year too, and my new wife and I jetted off to Helsinki soon after that latter celebration in Monterotondo to experience both the city itself and WorldCon 75.

I got there in large part thanks to a grant from Arts Council Malta which aims to help out local “creative practitioners” to travel to relevant places to attend relevant events that could, ostensibly, help them sharpen the tools of their trade and/or aid them in their careers.

While the organisers were also kind enough to put me on a couple of panels, the real upshot of all this was being able to meet some people I truly admire face-to-face. Talking shop is one thing though, and that’s all good stuff, but the best thing about it all was to discover just how generous and pleasant to be around they all were.

Then there was Helsinki itself. It’s the furthest north I’ve ever been, and the perfect August weather, coupled with the more socio-aesthetic balm of the city’s clever architecture, wide open spaces and efficient transport system felt like a break in more ways than one.

Got to deal with disappointment 

Having aspirations of pursuing a creative writing career also means fielding disappointment and dealing with rejection on a regular basis.

This year has also been something of a whammy in this regard; as a short film we hoped to get made didn’t get through to the desired funding stream, an enthusiastic-at-first literary agent didn’t bite once they processed a full manuscript, and the comic book series I’m currently working on with a pair of kick-ass visual artists — MIBDUL — didn’t make it to our desired deadline (for very legitimate reasons, I hasten to add).

Pictured: Kick-ass collaborators

While I won’t deny that some of this has hit hard initially, with mild aftershocks coming back to haunt me every now and then, I’ve also accepted that this is par for the course for the path that I’ve chosen.

And in addition to all of that, it must also be said that each rejection came with its own caveats. We are re-applying for that short film because it’s a project we truly believe in. The literary agent’s rejection letter was actually a beautiful — even poetic — personalised missive that extolled the intrinsic value of the work, and I’m far from discouraged in continuing to pursue not only other agents, but the project in question (expanding an earlier work into something larger). And MIBDUL remains on track, with the added edge that it’s do or die at this point. And we have absolutely every intention to “do”.

Got to freelance for another year 

We’re constantly being bombarded with the notion that ours is a time of endemic instability and chaos; so much so that choosing a freelance lifestyle may seem counter-intuitive, if not outright self-destructive.

But another way to look at it would be to celebrate the fact that, despite everything, one can survive without being tied of a larger organisation for an inordinate amount of time, and that you can in fact face the turbulent economic waters armed with just your skills and come out of it all, if not all-out-triumphant, at least only mildly scraped.

Pictured: The real freelance perks

Over the past year — my first official one as a freelancer — I’ve learned to calibrate both my rates and my time, learning from my mistakes and hoping not to get burned again, as has tended to happen. All of this while acknowledging that the opportunities given to me during this period would not have been possible had I not “apprenticed” myself in a more stable working environment for long years beforehand.

And perhaps the two biggest freelance coups of the past year were taking on the role of editor for Encore Magazine, as well as being given the privilege to teach a bit of Creative Writing at my alma mater. These feel like ‘vertical’ achievements (as opposed to the more ‘horizontal’ accumulation of same-ish jobs that one sometimes has to take on) and I hope they lead to good stuff in the future.

Got to ditch nihilism

Because devaluing the best things in life is stupid

A sort of pre-resolution resolution, this one. Owing to a number of things, 2017 could also be marked as the year during which I’ve entirely separated myself from anything remotely to do with the fetishisation of nihlism. This counts double for the New Atheists and all that they “inspired”.

While it’s unlikely that I’ll ever fall in line with any established world religion (monotheism feels entirely separate from the way I view things, for one thing), I value my wellbeing too much to submit entirely to total existential relativism.

Some kind of internal coherence is important — to remind yourself of what you need at a deeper level, to remind yourself of your ‘values’ and to build up necessary defences against the very same chaotic world that appears to be pushing you to believe in nothing but your basest needs.

Featured image by Paolo Scippo

Have an excellent new year, all.