Happy New Year!
I don’t know about you, but today, I found myself pondering a great many things. How much time has begun to fly for me. How a single day years ago felt the same as a week now. I blink, and time flashes by. It’s both incredible to me and horribly frightening. If I’m not careful, I may see all of the dreams I set out for just before my arrival in Korea dashed against the rocky cliffs of time. And I would hate for that to happen.
So, I spent today in reflection.
Well, and a bit of pregnancy-crazed nesting. Meaning all the decorations came down, the house was cleaned, some furniture moved, and I made some lists.
One of those lists was all the work I wanted to see myself do this year. I have a whole twelve months to put my writing life back on track to where I want it to be. I started last year rather strong, having joined the wonderfully talented team of writers with Concept Moon to work on a project I can safely and lovingly call The Instruments, begun my blog, organized my personal projects, and begun new ones. But somewhere halfway through, I felt myself kind of…fizzle out.
I have a whole twelve months to put my writing life back on track to where I want it to be.
Perhaps it was burnout. Or too many life things too soon. Or maybe just a sudden loss of confidence. Whatever the case, my writing saw a very severe dip. And since then, I’ve been desperately trying to find a perfect time or reason to get back up and try again. I just needed that perfect moment.
I felt that burnout hit hard right around my daughter’s fifth birthday, at the end of July last year. I kept telling myself it would go away. In a week, I’d be back on my feet. So, I let my Word of the Day go, hoping it was just for a moment. That week, I found out that I was pregnant with my son, who is due this coming April. And suddenly, that moment slipped away, and Word of the Day hadn’t been written in over a month.
Burnout turned into failure. Once again, I had started something without finishing. I never finish anything, I heard my mind telling me. And every time I went to try and start again, that same little voice hit me. You can start, but you won’t finish.
But as New Years Day comes to a close here in South Korea, I feel it is very much time to put my fragile ego aside, lock the voice up in the closet, and start again. If I don’t start again, it’s a guarantee that I’ll never finish. If I keep restarting, though, I’ll eventually finish something.
If I don't start again, it's a guarantee that I'll never finish. If I keep restarting, though, I'll eventually finish something.
In fact, if I have it my way, I’ll burn through all that work I was assigned all the way back in November and get my booty moving! After all, I have so many stories just waiting to come out, and it’s only through my own willpower that I will get there.
So, with that said, here is what my plan is for 2022:
Tell that little voice where to stuff it, and stop letting guilt get in the way of starting again when burnout slows me down.
Get some Creative Works up involving my personal project - primarily short stories, my personal take on world-building, and rebooting Word of the Day into my less-daily Spurred by the Word.
Show Concept Moon my truest capabilities as a creative writer and GET. IT. DONE!
And if you have enjoyed my work so far and want to see more, here's how you can help:
Follow me on Facebook and kick my booty when you see a dip in activity.
Tell me all about the things you enjoy, so I have an even more endless list of fun things to chat with you about.
Show me what you're going to be doing with 2022, so we can make that little voice we shoved in the closet jealous of all of the fun things that we will accomplish!
Dear Reader, if you’ve made it this far through my personal ramblings, and you find yourself within these words, remember: there is no perfect time to start. The time to get back up, dust yourself off, and move again is this moment right now. So go do the thing! Have the power! And you know what? Show it off, too. If you follow me on Facebook, leave some comments showing me what you decided it was time to start doing this year.
I believe in me, and I believe in you. We all must begin somewhere; why not right here? I look forward to seeing you real soon. Until then, happy reading!
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