2018: Beginning again . . .

I wasn't quite sure how to check in to A Round of Words in 80 Days this time. Perhaps we're always 'between' this moment and the next.

I've just finished a major project by publishing (hooray!) Rivers of Stone in December. In 6 days, we leave for nearly a two-month stay in Merida, Mexico, truly a tropical respite, and I'm not quite sure what to write next.

So, 2018 is looking a little murky at the moment. I want to shake my head and make a list, but I also want to stay open to possibility.

Usually I set up specific goals by the month, track progress daily with journal notes, and assess as I go. Something happened in late November, though, perhaps in talking with my daughter as she organizes her busy life and attempts to balance that sometimes overwhelming triad of work, family, self. I recast what I want to do as "Big Picture Goals" and put these in chart form (who doesn't love a check-it-off-chart?).

I still like the scope and flexibility of these goals, so this chart captures my 2018 goals. What's next? Each month, I add a column to the right that spells out those action steps we love. And I keep a running journal to set priorities of the day, rough notes about research, progress, unanswered questions, etc.

Something new: And for the second time, my writing friends gathered for coffee, and we each set our 2018 goals together. These goals were rather more specific than above. We recognize the value of keeping a short list, and we are all willing to change. Mine are simply:

1. Finish and publish Mothers Don't Die in 2018.
2. Draft story ideas/scenes for In the Shadow of a Tapestry Jan/Feb.
3. Work on memoir (scan pictures, write and research).

Sandy, Sue, and me (December 2017)

Happy New Year to all. Happy writing and reading to all. Doubt not! Persevere!