New Year Newsletter: 2024 Recap and 2025 Plans
A recap of graphic novel updates, life news, and plans for my Substack in 2025.
2024 Roundup and 2025 Plans
From completing my graphic novel manuscript to launching my first AAA video game, this has been one of the busiest and most fulfilling years of my life. It sparked many ideas for Substack, which I’m excited to share throughout 2025! For now, here’s a few highlights from 2024 that inspired some of the future posts.
Stay tuned until the end for 2025 goodies!
Highlights from the Highlights (Retreat)
When the Highlights Foundation announced they’d be doing a graphic novel retreat, my fellow author-illustrator friend, Jessica Ricole, and I pounced to secure our spot. Filled with a fantastic comic activity, bookish card games, inspiring creators, and stuffed bellies, I left Highlights with one of the highlights of my year.
Plot Boards…gone digital?
You heard that right! I made a digital plot board which you can get now for free on Miro. Plot boards are a great way of planning out the key scenes of your story from start to finish with sticky notes. Can’t wait to share more about how to use it and other templates/tools I created in the coming months!
Feature in Ubisoft Article
I had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed by Ubisoft about my experience working on XDefiant, a cross-platform multiplayer video game that launched in May 2024 that amassed over 10 million players. The article includes ways I was able to make the game more accessible and translation-friendly.
“Oh, deer!”: Art Retreat in Japan
Do not be fooled by the deer in Nara, Japan. They may look cute and unassuming, but will bite your most treasured belongings (including your butt). Butt bites aside, Michelle Lam’s “Art Career Journey” retreat was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. I was surrounded by beautiful sites, delicious food, and creative friends (both old and new). Can’t wait to share a future post about this must-do experience!
“Can you sign my arm?”
I did my first school visit last year at Mountain View Elementary school where I talked about making graphic novels and video games. To my surprise, my mom and her fiancé drove up to watch me speak which meant a lot! No pressure, right? Thankfully, the kids were super engaged and swarmed me with requests to autograph their arms after. Even more exciting was a feature in my local newspaper, which would’ve made younger me proud.
Event Meetups: From Screen to IRL (In Real Life)
This year was jam-packed with comic meetups, conventions, and writing conferences. Although attending the events was fun, hanging out with friends in-person that I’ve known for years online for the first time (and local friends I always love hanging out with) was by far my highlight. There’s too many wonderful people to put here, but stay tuned for a collage below to see a few more.
Neopets: A Dream Come True
Anyone who knows me well understands that Neopets was a huge part of my childhood. It not only got me into making websites, but also digital painting, webcomics, and storytelling. When I got an email asking if I could blurb the upcoming Neopets graphic novel called The Omelette Faerie by Rebecca Mix and Heather Barns, I shrieked. To this day, I still can’t believe that I got to blurb a book for a video game I played everyday as a kid.
“I’d like to offer you representation…”
One of my favorite parts of the year was getting to work with Stephanie Gulranick on her graphic novel, Huckleberried, as a Round Table mentor. It was my first time mentoring someone 1:1 for a year, and words can’t explain my excitement when she got a literary agent shortly after we wrapped up! It felt like the icing on top of a wonderful mentorship and newfound friendship.
Other Highlights
I couldn’t fit all of the wonderful moments above so instead, here’s a collage of some other amazing moments from this past year. (Also, a HUGE shoutout to my family, who has been the greatest support this past year.)
Things to Look Forward to in 2025…
I have a huge amount of posts I’m excited to share in 2025! First, I’ll be migrating some of my most beloved blog posts over to Substack including:
How I Got My Literary Agent
How to Find a Graphic Novel Literary Agent
Jen Wang’s SCBWI Graphic Novel Intensive: Writing with Pictures
What’s in a Graphic Novel Pitch Package
New post topics in 2025:
Recap: Graphic Novel Thumbs
Making a Digital Plot Board in Miro
Writing a Graphic Novel Script
Art Retreat Experiences
Lettering a Graphic Novel in InDesign
Templates (such as thumbnail printouts, character height sheets, “get to know your characters”)
…and so many more!
Thank you to everyone who made it this far and wishing you nothing but the best for 2025! 💙
You did so good this year!
L•O•V•E ~ L•O•V•E ~ L•O•V•E
I didn't know you went back to our old stomping grounds and was featured in the paper!!! What an absolutely incredible year for you BB :D
I cannot wait to see what you have got in store for 2025.