I am now a level 55 human! Later today, some of my favorite people will come for a mini-retreat at my house and I get to have fun making cocktails and cooking for them. This is, genuinely, one of the things I love to do best.
Which is why I have a party favor for you.
I’m not going to gloss over this. Last year was very hard. I’ve been calling it the Year of Five Deaths. I published one piece of fiction, “Cold Relations” at Uncanny Magazine.
I am very proud of this story in part because I managed to write it in the middle of, well, A Lot. Please, do read it — but this isn’t the party favor.
The party favor is the tool that I used to write that story. Last year, writing was hard. I wrote a novel, yes, but I had a big span before that were I wasn’t writing. I wasn’t upset about it, because I understood why and I was being gentle with myself.
When I was ready to write again, I also wanted to be gentle with myself and ease back into it. So the way I found my path back to writing was by creating a challenge for myself. It’s a 30(ish) day writing challenge and it doesn’t have a failure state. Any words you write at all are a victory.
This is my party favor to you. You can use it for email or anything else that you’re blocking on.
I don’t know who the show runner was for this season but the pacing was ridiculous and unrealistic. If you’ve had a rough year, too, I just want you to know that I see you. You’ve been doing amazing work, just surviving. Celebrate that with stars on a calendar. We like stars.
Thank you for this. 2023 was a tough year for me also, and pulling myself out of the funk has been an uphill battle. I write for personal enjoyment, not as a profession, but not writing still leaves me spiritually constipated. This feels doable, and I am going to try your suggestion.
And happy birthday – may 2024 be better for both of us.
Also the year of deaths at my house. Oof. I have many levels on you, yet still found it difficult to move through. So proud of you for finding a way back to your art. Thanks for the party favor. Brilliant and inspirational. Here is to a much better 2024.
Feeling you about 2023. Chronic pain + my mom’s death didn’t leave a lot of room for writing (and the sad fact is, I didn’t even realize that wasn’t normal until thinking back on it just now). I feel like I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I agree with Colonel Snuggledorf that not writing (or not doing anything creative) is worse – spiritual constipation is a good description!
Happy Birthday and here’s to a brighter 2024!