So This is the New Year…
“So this is the New Year… and I don’t feel any different…” – Death Cab for Cutie
Oh, hey 2019. It’s hard not to see you with all of your gleaming, empty calendar squares. You’ve got a lotta potential… also a lot of unknowns and assured moments of clumsiness. The action is all just waiting to unfold for you. Dramatic suspense really suits you.
But let’s not sweep ol’ 2018 under the rug so fast. There was a lot to appreciate about the past year. To name a few:
I finished revising three books and developed a handful of WIPs. I was writing everywhere, from an 1800’s double-seated school desk at home to a creaky 1800’s Victorian in the Ozarks that was most-likely haunted. (I mean, it had to be haunted.) There was also a fair amount of work done in coffee shops and donut shops and taco shops.
I enjoyed fun and games with SCBWI and The Writing Barn: meetings, workshops, critique groups, webinars, a weekend writing retreat (avoiding snakes and scorpions!), and taking “Everyone Loves Bacon”-Wrapped-Dates to our chapter’s holiday party (“Who wouldn’twant a date with bacon?”).
I caught up on some craft reading with Uri Shulevitz, Ursula Nordstrom, Ann Whitford Paul, Anne Lamott, and Stephen King – to say nothing of the podcasts and web pages I soaked up.
I read gads of new picture books, explored early chapter titles and even snuck in a few novels.
I made new friends. We should never stop trying to make new friends. Friends just make the world-go-’round, don’t they?
Surprises. Unknowns. I fell out of a hammock and have never laughed so hard, with a couple of my very favorite people laughing with me.
I fueled up. I enjoyed time at my favorite preschool, with my favorite preschoolers. I logged countless hours in libraries, near and far. I went to work, helping more books get into more kids’ hands.
I wrote. I revised. I started over. I revised more. I kept at it. I doubled-down.
So you see 2019, those empty calendar squares won’t be empty for long. I have work to continue. I have new work to begin. And while there may be moments of confidence that turn out to be as stable as an abruptly flipping hammock, I’ll embrace those moments with laughter, get up and get back to it.
Here’s what’s on tap for the year ahead:
12×12 writing challenge – 12 book drafts in 12 months!
Storystorm – 30 ideas in 30 days!
SCBWI conferences, webinars and hijinks
Writing Barn workshops and classes
But most importantly, I’ll be enjoying the process and getting words on the page.
“There will be no distance that could hold us back…”