Inventory 2015

I could begin today's blog with the statement that you'll probably not hear from me again until next year, but considering that notion has been used so much on the 31st of December, I'll opt for a more original approach. 
 
So here we are standing on the threshold of another year.  It's time to take inventory, to list the many blessings that we have and consider what we might wish to change in the next twelve months.  Ten, nine, eight, seven....
 
At the top of my list is the submission of "A Love for the Taking." On this end I'm scratching my head.  Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist but I'd rather be certain every word is what I intend, instead of throwing a novel out there in quick and feeling an instant writer's regret. 
 
Writer's regret:  running out into the yard to close the barn door only to realize all of the farm animals have all ready gone.  Words; if used with the proper consideration they are known to have a most positive effect on the reader...the want for more.  My goal is to tell a decent story with bells and whistles, sparkles and shimmers from elbow grease and ten coats of polish.  I'd love to be seen as a classic Camaro in pristine condition speeding down the highway, not a care in the world as I swing to the curb to invite you along for the ride.  I want to share that feeling of escape with all who read my stories...the joy of the experience...with music, great conversations and maybe a stop somewhere for an ice cream float. 
 
If I manage everything in the right sequence, with the proper timing, we can have that, if not, I'll be the clunky old rust bucket with the suspension off balance, exhaust fumes radiating from the muffler which will leaves everyone in the car feeling ill.  "Pull over, pull over!"  While my passengers jump out, I'll realize the plot was lacking.  Death trap.
 
With that said, I fell back into schedule this week surrounding my next book.  I think I'll ask one more friend to give it a read-through and then I'll feel more confident.  Maybe I'm over-thinking this process, maybe I should just leap without considering where I might land. The story is long, the longest I've written, so I feel a bit more care is necessary.  Detail Nettie will say "tsk, tsk," as she shakes her head and crinkles her nose if I move forward in haste.
 
Anyway, back to the list...  Resolutions:  I think I should stop smoking...that's simple enough because I don't smoke.  Okay, I'll give up drinking..again, I don't touch the stuff...   Here's one, seriously...I will try to do my absolute best surrounding time management and to not over extend myself during the following year.  I sometimes feel that I live in a double time rotation, meaning that the second hand moves extra slow for me and that I can fit more into a day than others.  During the "crunch time" I'm literally running around in a circle saying "I think I can, I think I can" with great fail.  This type of  chasing my tail is no way to live, trust me.
 
More walks, less contact with people who are nasty to me, less sitting, more doing...all good things for sure.  Setting stronger boundaries that include saying "no" when something doesn't work for me.  To stop being such a push-over.
 
Listening more and talking less...yes, that's an important goal.   Asking more questions so as to gather and collect.  To take more pictures and to simply breathe with a greater appreciation for life.
 
There it is, on to 2016...it will be the best year ever because I am choosing it to be.   Happy New Year everyone!  Be safe.
 
six, five, four, three...
 
~Trixie Archer