It’s raining sleet and freezing drizzle around our area right now. The town is shut down and even the churches have cancelled services for Sunday. Too treacherous to be out on the ice. A few people have slid down our street, probably coming home from work or getting last-minute supplies. My husband had to go to the corner convenience store for milk, just to make it through another couple days with our thirsty teenager.
If you don’t have to be out in the storm, the days are somewhat pleasant. That is, nowhere to go, might as well relax and take it easy. We built a fire in the fireplace and lit some candles, just in case the power went out. We then played cards, watched a movie, some football, chatted with friends on the phone who were also frozen in (no snow at this point so not sure what to call the day).
I ran a Blizzard Special game with my customers for my other job and we all enjoyed the fun of visiting for a few minutes over the phone. I also took advantage of the quiet hours to write several pages and finish a chapter of my proposal that had been dangling over me. I plan to finish the rest of the proposal tomorrow, read over the entire thing on Monday (a postal holiday) and have it ready to go out on Tuesday.
Perspective. . .the dictionary defines this as: “a view of things in their true relationship or relative importance.” Being forced to stay home, take it easy, relax, reconnect with friends. . . that’s the true importance of life. And I always think that if it hadn’t been for a blizzard and two small children, would we have the wonderful stories of Nora Roberts? Makes you stop and think, doesn’t it? If you’re in the cold, stay warm and curl up with a good book!
I am not going to make any resolutions. Or ask you about yours. I have no luck with the New Year listing of changes that will be made during the coming year.
Now, goals. Those I will do. I like the concept of a big goal. Then I can make a list of the things that need to be done to accomplish that goal.  I’m a master listmaker. I always have a list on my desk of things to accomplish by the end of the day or the end of the week. I love crossing something off: mail revisions to editor and feel a major sense of accomplishment at the end of the day when a list is complete.
I also know that my life won’t be blighted if I have to move something to the next day on the list. Life gets in the way sometimes or an item on the list may take longer than I expected. My goal is to complete the list during the time period I’ve allotted; my reality is that it’s okay if sometimes, I don’t.
So, my goal for this year is to be a stronger and more productive writer. I want to see more of my materials submitted and published. For the first quarter, my list of activities includes: Write at least 3 blogs a week; complete two proposals for Everlasting Love; submit a dozen children stories to appropriate markets; write a minimum of one hour each day, five days a week.
Where are you going this year?
Everyone is home today, which means my regular routine has been shifted. Instead of seeing the family off to school and work, then settling down to write, one person is still sleeping, one is up and fixing parts of the house, and the other is wanting to go finish his Christmas shopping.
My plan was to complete a chapter for my new proposal. I can shut the door and get busy, which is what I usually would do on these days. But it’s hard to ignore a shopper who’s using his own money to buy gifts for his brother and the cousin whose name he drew. So I closed the study door and we went shopping, checking off several names on both of our lists.
My writing brain never takes a holiday, really. Even if I go to dinner or a movie, part of my mind is thinking about my characters, my plot, the next scene in the book. When we drive off to see relatives or friends, I’m cataloguing scenery, wondering about locations, trying to determine which character needs to be the focus one for the next chapter.
So, I have to force myself to walk away from the book every now and then. Not to ignore my writing time but to recognize that sometimes, I need a physical holiday away from my computer and study. I’ll take my Alphasmart with me on our drive to relatives but I will put it away so we can visit and play games. Christmas Day, I’ll keep it locked up all day and enjoy the time together.
How about you? How do you take a holiday from your writing? Or do you?
I’m starting my resolutions early this year (or possibly late, depending on how we look at things). I’m part of a writing blog at another loop and we’ve had a lot of discussion regarding when and how we keep up with the group blog. In the midst of the discussion, I realized I hadn’t done my own blog for a couple weeks.
My resolution? To write something every other day. My son and I listen to a radio show on the way to his school each morning that showcases different comedians. One of the comedians refers to his ‘secret public journal,‘ which tickles my fancy and completely illustrates what I feel a blog is. Your thoughts going out to others. For this blog, I’ll stick to my writing life as much as possible. But that will include books I’ve read, discussions from other loops. . . all sorts of topics that fit into that writing life.
For now, I am resolved to use this as a regular warmup for my writing. Right now, I’m taking a quck breather from finishing what may be the last revisions on my current book. Once I send those pages off, I’ll finish the proposal. My Christmas gift to myself is having that in the mail and off my desk before the holidays start.
Any resolutions on your end? I keep my simple, so that I have a better chance of following through. I also find that I do better with specific goals, aims that I want to accomplish. How do you keep yourself organized?
It’s been a while since I’ve checked in. . . so I hope you haven’t given up on the site!! I was swamped with my first real revisions and then life and family kept me busy. I haven’t figured out a routine yet for the blog and need to get more organized with that. When I was teaching, we had a special name for every day of the week and special activities for that day. If one of the days started with a “B,” I’d be in great shape. I’ll have to be creative and think of something.
We’re celebrating our Thanksgiving on Saturday this year, so that all of our family can be together. My siblings are coming to my house this time, with their families. The first time we’ve had the holiday celebration at our house in more than a decade. We live the farthest away and it’s easier for one family to travel than three. But we put out the invitation and everyone was eager to get away for a couple days, instead of the one day visit that usually happens.
So, at the top of my thankful list will go my family. The other items, in no particular order: good friends, my writing and readers, my new job, my health, a family that worships together, the freedom we have in the United States. My list could go on and on and this year, I’m determined to keep up with my gratitude journal and write down three things each day.
What would you put on your thankful list? Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
