In reality, 2017 began with a death in the family. Major breaks in long-standing relationships were not healed by year end. My dear husband's health shifted and never quite improved. Highlights: A summer birthday celebration for a dear friend, a cruise through the Panama Canal, two completed quilts for friends, maybe 7 comfort quilts for cancer patients. And now, outside, snow, the darkest time of the year, lightened by family and friends, Leaf Day, and ongoing participation in writing groups, including A Round of Words in 80 Days.
The writing? Finished Rivers of Stone, my biggest goal. Taught a few workshops on writing. Helped publish Celebrating Spokane Authors, an anthology featuring 19 writers.
Not quite sure what is next. Part of me doesn't want another major project. Yet, the research tickles my fancy. Smugglers in northern Scotland in mid-19th Century. The beginnings of the suffragette movement, sometime in the 1860s in England. Those rumblings for Irish independence (the Fenian movement) about the same time. As I'm now almost to the middle of being a septuagenarian, perhaps a three-year turn-around for a novel seems daunting.
We leave for Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico for 7 weeks, starting in early January. This may be our last trip, for dear hubby doubts he can travel so easily as we have in the past. But we have rented a small house, an 18th Century Colonial, just 4 blocks from the historic district, an easy walk (we hope) to those necessaries. With netbook nearby, I'm looking forward to 85 degree weather, unstructured time, and immersion in a culture we love.
Maybe I'll find a story or two, or some lovely tropical birds as we sit on the patio in the sun.
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| Tres Ventanas by Lucy Nieto (Flickr) |
Meanwhile, I wish the very best for ROW80 writers in the coming year. May your goals be specific and focused, infused with dreams and energy, and may you find the words you wish.
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Hope you enjoy your time away!
ReplyDeleteI would say to follow the lure of the research if it's delighting you. There is no requirement that you actually write another book, but there are a lot in favor of continually exploring and discovering the world around you, no matter what your age.
ReplyDeleteMay your time in Merida be joyous, no matter how things you get to see or do. A few small delights are always better than a lot of "oh, that's cool"... You know how it is. The memories are built and retained in the extremes, not so much the day-to-day.
You are a wordsmith, Beth, creative and inspired. Savor those wondrous gifts as long as they wish to lay themselves with you