Your Story

In many ways, a new year shares the same excitement as starting a new story. Everything feels like a fresh start, and the possibilities are practically endless. I love breaking out a clean calendar and setting up a day planner full of all the goals I want to accomplish over the next 12 months. Writers everywhere are charting their yearly progress and renewing their determination to produce, promote and prevail. It’s truly exhilarating.

I find myself looking back on the successes and short-comings from 2011, and feeling good about the overall progress made in my writing life. I’m compiling all the classes and workshops that have vastly increased my craft knowledge, comparing the quality of my work from January 2011 to now, admiring the improvements I’ve made. It’s gratifying to review the evidence that my persistence has paid off and proving to myself that writing well is in fact a learned skill, not a blessing from the elusive muses.

Another important goal for me last year was to increase my social media presence, and I’m very pleased with how far I’ve come since that journey began. I was a complete newb on all the major sites, and I was honestly a little scared of the whole process. I needn’t have worried, because there are so many wonderful people on the web to help and support novices like me. Now, online networking is a lot of fun, and I’m proud to be in the company of all those wonderful bloggers and tweeters out there. Being in constant contact with other writers, and having the opportunity to share our experiences with each other has had an amazing and positive influence in my writing life. Thank you all!

On top of what I want to achieve on the page, I’ve got big plans on a personal level to contend with as well. Hubs and I intend to continue the search for a new home, probably out west and quite far from where we currently live. We’re hoping to finally find the right fit where we can settle down and grow our family. It’s a pretty daunting task, and we’ve been moving around regularly for the last eight years or so, but I think it’s time for us to pack in our rambling ways and put down some roots. Moving is stressful and expensive, so I’ll be happy to quit for a while, LOL.

Time to buckle up and launch into 2012 with uninhibited vim. We’re exploring new ideas for the Salon’s sophomore year, and I’m so very excited to see what comes next. No resolutions for me this year, just sailing on with my plans laid out and striving fiercely toward every goal. Whatever your story is this year, I hope you take the best of what comes and run with it.

I’d like to end with a super special CONGRATULATIONS to RJ and her family on welcoming baby Jackson into the world Christmas week.