Welcome to List Season

It’s that time of year again. Time for everyone to make their lists.

Best of lists. Year in review lists. Top ten lists. Regardless of what you want to call them, we see them crop up at the end of every year, like clockwork. The numbers get crunched and a boundless amount of lists get curated, all celebrating the standout performances of the past year across many different industries. Film, writing, television, sports, music—you name it, and you’re definitely going to see a list for it over the next few weeks.

If you’re someone who loves lists, then naturally, you love this time of year. If you’re a creator, though, list season can sometimes reside on the more stressful side of things. For instance, let’s say you’re someone who put something out into the universe for the first time this year. Well, landing on a list (depending on the list) could be a huge boost for your career, making the wait to find out if you made it or not an excruciating one. And let’s face it, if you’re like me and you’ve never made a list before, any list will do. And while all of this is true, I personally have my own way of looking at list season.

While we celebrate the achievements of many over the past year (as we should), I also like to think about those who are still hard at work on something right now. I’m talking about those who are working on a project that might end up on someone’s top ten list not this year but next year, or even a few years from now. Who’s to say that someone isn’t hammering away right now at what will become the best-selling murder mystery novel of 2026?

All of this extends beyond writing as well, of course. There are athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians, journalists, activists, and loads of other people who are all working on something meaningful and potentially groundbreaking as we speak. And it might take some time before that work lands on the list, but it’ll be time well spent. So as this year comes to a close and people are off creating their lists, here’s to whatever it is that you are fearlessly hammering away at and whatever opportunities the new year might bring you because of it.

Who knows, a “best of” or a “top ten” with your name on it could be around the corner.