Defining "Work" and Another Invitation
For the past few years, my family has been fortunate enough to attend a fabulous New Year's Eve party hosted by our friends Holly and Theo. Each year, the party has a theme.
This year, the theme was "Retro Future." While not completely "retro", I went as a Slitheen. I don't think anyone had a clue what I was supposed to be. But I thought my husband did a nice job on the zipper. :)
(If we're Facebook friends and you'd like to see more pics of the party, you can go HERE)
The day after the party, a group of us gather to write down our goals and dreams for the year. We share them, modify them as we listen to feedback, and basically reassure each other that our dreams are not crazy. Our dreams are waiting to come true. And I always leave feeling hopeful for all of us.
From last year's list, here are the dreams I listed that came true:
1. Finish Living With Jackie Chan and sub to Joan
2. Sell Living With Jackie Chan
6. Sell foreign rights and audio of ANYTHING—I didn't sell foreign rights but I did sell my first audio for See You At Harry's :-)
7. Carve out more time for myself
8. Express ANGER—I don't think I expressed ANGER but I did act more assertively when I felt like I needed to speak up for myself both in my personal and professional life, with great results. So, I'm counting this as a goal met.
9. Spend more time working with writing friends
12. Get less nervous at public speaking
13. Start exercising regularly
14. Worry less—I am worrying a LITTLE less but I still need to work on this
15. Have more fun
16. Have a party
17. Renew passport—I did this but then it came back because we used the wrong form!
So, 12 out of 18. Not too bad. Right? I'm pretty pleased.
Like the party, I also choose a theme for the coming year. Last year, I declared it The Year Of Being A Writer. I invited you to join me. I feel like I met this goal about halfway. I have, by what feels like a miracle, managed to move from writing part-time to writing full-time. This is truly a dream come true. But what I haven't managed to do is actually, um, write what I would call "full-time." Because what I have found myself doing with my time once spent doing freelance work is goofing off more on Twitter and Facebook, doing household chores during the week to free up the weekend, and other various procrastinating techniques that have kept me from finishing a challenging revision.
Well, no more of that. This year, my theme is THE YEAR OF DOING THE WORK. I mean that literally, yes. I want to spend a set minimum of time writing Monday to Friday, like I would any other job. But what I also mean is doing the work that is meaningful to me. Do you know what I mean?
I will try to explain.
I want to get back to those pre-published writing days when, while in the writing mind, I was truly IN the writing mind. I wasn't thinking about what my agent or editor might think of the sentence I just wrote. I wasn't thinking about reviews. Or sales. Or best-of lists. Or snarky GoodReads.
I was thinking of story. Of character. Of words.
There was a purity to that time and I want to get it back. I want to get lost again in the pain and the beauty and the journey of wherever my characters need to go. My agent said my theme should be THE YEAR OF WRITING DANGEROUSLY. And I guess this is sort of what I mean. But "dangerous" seems to have taken on new meaning, and I want to banish it. I don't want writing honestly and fearlessly to feel dangerous. I want it to feel like it used to: natural.
What I know is that I have been given a gift. An opportunity of a lifetime. And I want to honor it by writing as truly, as deeply, as best as I can.
Yesterday, before I left the House of Magic, Holly pulled me aside and gave me this:
And that pretty much says it all.
Thank you, Holly. And all my writing friends. I am so glad we are traveling on this journey together. I hope whatever your own theme is, you'll share it so we can help each other stay on our paths.
I had some very sad news last night and I now know with certainty that this year is going to have it's downs as well as its ups. But I know, too, that love will guide us through. And I am truly, truly grateful for that love.
Happy New Year <3
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
What is your theme for the year?
This year, the theme was "Retro Future." While not completely "retro", I went as a Slitheen. I don't think anyone had a clue what I was supposed to be. But I thought my husband did a nice job on the zipper. :)
(If we're Facebook friends and you'd like to see more pics of the party, you can go HERE)
The day after the party, a group of us gather to write down our goals and dreams for the year. We share them, modify them as we listen to feedback, and basically reassure each other that our dreams are not crazy. Our dreams are waiting to come true. And I always leave feeling hopeful for all of us.
From last year's list, here are the dreams I listed that came true:
1. Finish Living With Jackie Chan and sub to Joan
2. Sell Living With Jackie Chan
6. Sell foreign rights and audio of ANYTHING—I didn't sell foreign rights but I did sell my first audio for See You At Harry's :-)
7. Carve out more time for myself
8. Express ANGER—I don't think I expressed ANGER but I did act more assertively when I felt like I needed to speak up for myself both in my personal and professional life, with great results. So, I'm counting this as a goal met.
9. Spend more time working with writing friends
12. Get less nervous at public speaking
13. Start exercising regularly
14. Worry less—I am worrying a LITTLE less but I still need to work on this
15. Have more fun
16. Have a party
17. Renew passport—I did this but then it came back because we used the wrong form!
So, 12 out of 18. Not too bad. Right? I'm pretty pleased.
Like the party, I also choose a theme for the coming year. Last year, I declared it The Year Of Being A Writer. I invited you to join me. I feel like I met this goal about halfway. I have, by what feels like a miracle, managed to move from writing part-time to writing full-time. This is truly a dream come true. But what I haven't managed to do is actually, um, write what I would call "full-time." Because what I have found myself doing with my time once spent doing freelance work is goofing off more on Twitter and Facebook, doing household chores during the week to free up the weekend, and other various procrastinating techniques that have kept me from finishing a challenging revision.
Well, no more of that. This year, my theme is THE YEAR OF DOING THE WORK. I mean that literally, yes. I want to spend a set minimum of time writing Monday to Friday, like I would any other job. But what I also mean is doing the work that is meaningful to me. Do you know what I mean?
I will try to explain.
I want to get back to those pre-published writing days when, while in the writing mind, I was truly IN the writing mind. I wasn't thinking about what my agent or editor might think of the sentence I just wrote. I wasn't thinking about reviews. Or sales. Or best-of lists. Or snarky GoodReads.
I was thinking of story. Of character. Of words.
There was a purity to that time and I want to get it back. I want to get lost again in the pain and the beauty and the journey of wherever my characters need to go. My agent said my theme should be THE YEAR OF WRITING DANGEROUSLY. And I guess this is sort of what I mean. But "dangerous" seems to have taken on new meaning, and I want to banish it. I don't want writing honestly and fearlessly to feel dangerous. I want it to feel like it used to: natural.
What I know is that I have been given a gift. An opportunity of a lifetime. And I want to honor it by writing as truly, as deeply, as best as I can.
Yesterday, before I left the House of Magic, Holly pulled me aside and gave me this:
And that pretty much says it all.
Thank you, Holly. And all my writing friends. I am so glad we are traveling on this journey together. I hope whatever your own theme is, you'll share it so we can help each other stay on our paths.
I had some very sad news last night and I now know with certainty that this year is going to have it's downs as well as its ups. But I know, too, that love will guide us through. And I am truly, truly grateful for that love.
Happy New Year <3
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Monday Morning Warm-Up:
What is your theme for the year?
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