Goals for a New Year…
C.E. Grundler
I've never paid much mind to that whole December 31/January 1 odometer flip – no big parties or much else – in fact it stands as tradition that I don't leave the house, and, like most every other night of the year, I'm sound asleep long before midnight. And this year was no different. I did my usual, I wrote until I saw double (my vision's subtle way of telling me it's time to step away from the keyboard) then nodded off on the couch in front of a zombie marathon. Or maybe it was Dick Clark, I'm not really sure. Either way, another year came and went with minimal fanfare. Truth is, I've been a bit too busy to pay attention, but I have noticed that this seems to be the week for resolutions here at Write on the Water, and reading everyone else's got me thinking.
Resolutions are all about setting goals and reaching them, whether it's that next book, a far horizon or a creative approach to waterskiing. And I've always approached my goals as an ongoing process, constant, continuous and ever-evolving. I try not to set grand goals, but instead focus on attainable achievements. I suppose it comes back to that displacement-speed approach to getting where I'm going – slow and steady, but persistently moving forward. Even the biggest achievements rarely arrive in a single simple step – they're more often the sum of countless small steps. And the true goal is not so much the goal itself – like sailing it isn't so much about where we're going but our choice of how we get there. And, as with sailing, we may just as well find us somewhere we never intended or imagined. The weather won't always be ideal, the boat won't always cooperate, but it's those challenges and obstacles we face that make us stronger and richer for the experience. And with that comes skill, confidence and ability, which is an accomplishment in and of itself.
Okay. That's enough philosophy for me. You want resolutions? I'll give you resolutions, but in my usual way, I'll set the bar nice and low, so I can accomplish these and move on to bigger and better ones.
Boating resolution #1: We WILL NOT launch Annabel Lee next year. In fact, we will make sure she stays up on blocks in precisely the same location she has been parked for far too long. We will, however, complete the work we were so close to wrapping up last fall, and we will tackle a few other, more manageable projects so that by spring of 2013 ALL structural/mechanical work has been completed, and she can return to the water at long last.
Boating resolution #2: I WILL keep my eyes out for a vessel of the wind-powered variety, between the length of 8-10 feet, which falls within my limited budget and allows me to get out on the water and under sail before my sanity gives out entirely, and can serve as a tender to the mother-ship once she is back afloat.
Writing resolution #1: More mayhem, in the form of a heist/payback! My slightly sociopathic and somewhat violent heroine, along with the rest of the gang, will return for the third in the series, and I WILL have that book completed by November 2012.
Writing resolution #2: Go with the flow. The last six months have been amazing; a year ago I could have never imagined the changes 2011 would bring to my life, and this has all been leading up to the spring (re) launch of Last Exit In New Jersey and the launch of No Wake Zone. I have no idea what lies ahead – but I plan to enjoy it!
And once again, a Happy New Year to all!
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