Every year, I make a post where I highlight what I believe to be my very best posts from the year. But this year, I’m not sure I had that many truly “good” posts. Yet so many of you continue to visit and support this site. I’m blessed by your continued presence and participation, but I’ve obviously lost my drive and focus, not just here, but in my fiction writing, too. So, with that in mind, I’m going to try to enter 2018 with new drive.
That said, here is the Trout Nation year in review:
January
I re-released Surrender, a book of my heart that I poured massive research into only to see the publisher crash and burn a few short years later.
I ranked every song in Galavant, a stunning work of epic silliness that you should definitely watch if you haven’t already.
Chronic pain patients were thoroughly insulted by Veronica Roth’s Carve The Mark, a New York Times bestseller filled to the brim with racism and ableism.
February
I offered some helpful tips to the jackass journalists gleefully using Fifty Shades Darker as a vehicle for their desire to demean women.
And I offered some helpful terminology to enhance your Mario Karting experience.
Have a writing question? This is when The Big Damn Writer Question Box debuted.
March
People with enough time on their hands to obsess over wanting to break up an actor’s marriage decided I was a terrible person. Captain Kirk was on my side, though.
Say Goodbye To Hollywood, a somewhat-inspired by Fifty Shades Of Grey novel, released.
I hated Beauty And The Beast so much that I loved it.
Abortion was a big theme in March, with my stance on cis male allies and a review of a fantastic HBO documentary posting within days of each other.
April
I got plagiarized. Again. This has got to stop happening. Luckily, you all had my back.
I showed you how to make a waffle, via a weird video.
May
My mental health took a crash.
And I absolutely had it with MAGA and their fake concern for the LGBTQA+ community.
Why even are male writers? And other tips for incorporating bear-death into your writing career.
June
Wonder Woman was, despite popular criticism, really darn queer.
Did you know that panhandlers make more than minimum wage workers do?
July
Twitter continued to protect Nazis.
My daughter’s reaction to Jodie Whittaker’s casting as the Thirteenth Doctor went viral. I even got interviewed about Doctor Who on BBC Radio, so basically that was a dream come true.
My husband had a problem with my proposed career change, and we made another waffle!
August
Neil and Sophie returned in The Sister. Sadly, it didn’t become a legitimate New York Times bestseller like Handbook For Mortals did.
September
We finished our re-watch of Buffy season three and started season four. Which seemed like a perfect time to come clean about some weird shit I keep in my office.
October
I got the opportunity to review Una, one of my favorite films of 2017.
We dove into a parallel rewatch of Angel. I’m pretty sure I messed up the title on that recap.
November
I started an ongoing series about the worst person I’ve ever met.
December
Bronwyn Green Leslie Knope-d the absolute fuck out of Christmas, but even her beautiful gift was nothing compared to the blessed visit from our favorite con artist, Zade Sarem.
So, here we go, into 2018 and a brave new world of however this plays out. Thanks as always for going on this incredibly weird journey with me.
Yay! I made it onto the list! Kinda. (The Twitter-loves-Nazis July post in case anyone’s looking on and wondering. I’m not the Nazi. I’m the one who got banned.)
Here’s to the absolute chucklefuckery 2018 is sure to be.
Jenny, your blog is one of the big joys in my life. Your wit never ceases to amuse. Thanks for the lovely year and here’s hoping for a 2018 that’s fully of merry and joy =D
First of all, your posts are still amazing to read on the regular. You may not feel you did anything exceptional this year, but your posts brought a smile to my face during some pretty unpleasant times, and I know I’m not alone.
Second, I’ve been through years long droughts of drive, motivation, and creative energy. Personally I’ve never understood the advice of just ‘power through it’. That just doesn’t work for me. But I do know that helping other people with their creative projects tends to. If I’m absorbed in helping someone else with their creations it tends to just kick that part of my head in gear in a way that other things just can’t. Everyone is different, so maybe that wouldn’t work for you, but I figure I’d at least pass along the suggestion. I know a few people who get through it by intentionally writing the worst, dumbest thing they can possibly think of. I haven’t tried that myself, but they seem to enjoy it and it sounds like it could be fun!
I like both of those suggestions but since somebody already wrote “Handbook for Mortals” I feel like maybe the second suggestion is now impossible??
But mostly I wanted to second what Mike and Ben01 said, which is that I have greatly enjoyed your blogging inn 2017 and am looking forward to Trout Nation 2018!
If there’s anything we can do to help, just give a yell.
I found your blog this year looking for some entertaining Buffy recaps in a fit of nostalgia and I got hooked. I check back regularly now for the Handbook read throughs, your Worst Person story, and everything else. I haven’t read one of your books yet but poly historical pretty much has my name on it so I can’t wait to start. Happy new year!
Jen,
I know you may not have always felt like it, but your blog, your humor, and your honesty really helped me get through this year.
Thank you.
Let me translate that into English:
I know you may not have always felt like your blog had many good posts, but it, your humor, and your honesty really helped me get through this year.
Thank you.
I get that you don’t feel all that great about any of your posts from this year, but you’ve made multiple posts that *I* thought were so good that I needed to share them with all of my friends. I mean, your response to Lani Sarem ALONE is enough for me. I was mentally fist-pumping all the way through and I’m almost mad that nobody cares about her because I want to spam the whole world with that post.
I obsessively check your blog (as I’m sure your tracker shows) and you have made me laugh and think so much in this year. I’ll even come back and reread your posts just because I love them that much. Your burn of Lani is a golden post that is a shimmering talisman in what was a difficult year for me. So. You go girl!
As someone much wiser than me once said, “Depression lies”. Your writing is better than ever and I have reread The Sister many times, I look forward to The Boyfriend and whatever other books you write in the future 🙂 and <3
I hope next year you find your drive and feel more positive about your achievements. I love your work, both your fiction and your blog. Have a great 2018.
Bless you Jenny, you are a gift.
I got stuck on the second line of this post. Ehm, what? I’ve enjoyed the shit out of your blog this year, like I do every year since I “discovered” this here place. You rock and so does your writing! Have a great 2018 wherein you don’t give a fuck about stupid people who don’t like you, don’t listen to the voice inside your head that says you’re not good enough and allow yourself to bask in the praise of the many, many people who fucking adore you!
There is a whole bunch of us cranky, anxiety-ridden/depressed, feminist, anti-FSOG writers out here who appreciate your voice, Jenny. Your blog has made me a better writer, and a better feminist, FWIW.
I never comment though I read every post and I enjoy them all, as they always offer me a different perspective on things – something I wouldn’t think of or couldn’t verbalize properly. I am very grateful for your work and hope that 2018 will be a great year for you.
I originally came to your blog because of the Buffy recaps and have stayed for everything else, even going back and reading all your previous Jealous Hater recaps because not only are they entertaining, they help me think a lot more about my own writing. Also, as someone with bipolar disorder, I appreciate your openness regarding your own struggles with finding some semblance of mental health and stability. Also, I’m a bisexual woman married to a man, so I can relate there, too. Your blog is one of my most frequently visited sites. Thank you for the work you put into it. Oh, and also because of your blog, I started reading The Boss series.
It’s true, there weren’t so many “good” posts this year. There were hilarious posts, infuriating posts, head-scratching posts, jaw-dropping posts, but not too many that were just “good.”
Thank you for posting what you can, when you can, Jenny. This includes telling us when you can’t so that we know to wait patiently and send good vibes. I’m looking forward to a snarky, sarcastic, honest 2018!
Happy New Year, Jenny!
I look forward to reading more in 2018.
There were a lot of posts that made me laugh, made me think or both. I’m not much of a commenter but I’ve been reading your blog for years and it’s one of the pages I always check because it’s so consistently good. I really appreciate the work that you put in.
Happy new year anyway.