The Year of ...

I'm so far behind in this new year already I don't know what Year of the....it is. That's what happens when you let holidays and cruises take over your life. I do, however, know that I was born in the year of the dragon and my husband was born in the year of the rat. And we are not supposed to be anywhere near each other, much less married, according to these Chinese predictions. Needless to say, we didn't pay any attention and have been married for over 33 years even though we did another dangerous thing and got married on Friday the thirteenth.

So much for predictions. That includes the predictions of what this year will have to offer all of us. We make our own good luck. We work hard at what our passions are in life. We writers must ignore the omens, do our research, conduct our interviews, write our short stories or poetry, edit, rewrite, and submit--that will happen if we are diligent, not because of some sign of the zodiac or some prediction of astrologers. And, though not all of you will agree, I believe God is in control of my destiny and he gives me the knowledge, the words, and the direction to be published or not.

I don't make resolutions but I do set goals. I probably have pretty much the same goals year after year. Most years I fail--not due to anyone's fault but my own. This year my goal is to have more published, to complete a poetry chapbook I have been working on for years, and to submit/publish more nonfiction than I have in the past few years. I did accomplish publishing goals in 2010; I had many poems accepted for publication, I completed my columns for The Storyteller Magazine on time and they were accepted/published, and I assited other writers in becoming published.

Assisting other writers is always on my goal list. I love teaching and leading other people who have this passion for writing. I am continuing my Word Weavers writing class and my memoir class at a retirement facility. I am going to be teaching a class for beginner writers that will be open to the public of all ages on Saturdays so all ages (and working people) may attend. I love this craft and want to share, and be shared with, what we all have to offer.

What is your goal for the year?

CHUNKS OF TIME

As I mentioned several blogs ago, I've been under the knife for skin cancers. That good-for-you antibiotics make me fuzzy headed. It's really very disconcerting. Here I have this large chunk of time--free time to work on that book I've been trying to restart and complete--and I'm wiped out. Brain doesn't work for extended periods of writing. Concentration is woozy. Terrible!

That doesn't mean I won't get anything done. It will be less than I usually plan. I have a schedule every day where I set aside at least two hours to write. Because of my busy life and scheduled teaching gigs, the chunk of time set aside is not the same each day. But I attempt to get those hours in.

Experts say we should create a time to write, the same as we set aside time to eat and sleep. Yes, there are some people who equate being able to write with the needs of daily living. I think I might be one of them but I do manage to snack at the computer and that is done without a schedule or any will power. It's not the best way to sustain myself.

I often have deadlines set by someone outside my usual schedule--editors, publishers, Homeowners Board I serve on, or lesson plans for my classes. I schedule those. Around them, I still mamage to make time to work on that unfinished novel, create an outline for a new short story, try to understand all the requirements of a POD publisher for my latest book, and all the other ideas flitting thourgh my head.

Those chunks of time are needed by all of us who write. Take advantage of them--make time for them--create that schedule to include them. Once you make the alloted time a part of your writing life, it will be routine to claim those chunks of time.

SHARING KNOW-HOW WITH EACH OTHER

In spite of the laptop problems (still can't print from my wireless laptop when on the Internet or in e-mail status), I have had a good day. I completed all the lesson plans for the rest of the week--two classes this week to teach--and the first section of a cookbook I am creating. It is to share with the readers of "Aunt Lutie's Blue Moon Cafe," my novel which may never be published but is a hit with my classes. The cookbook is comprised of dishes found in the book and will be a fun gift for my students at Christmas.

Today, I also received my monthly exchange of info with a group of nine other writers scattered all over the US. We are a close-knit group even though most of us have never met and seldom speak by phone. We keep in touch with emails and snail-mail; we critique each others work, and share what we learn in the writing and publishing biz. This exchange is like a shot in the arm, a shove to write more and better, and offers a feeling of being in touch with people who understand what we are attempting to do in our craft. Great letters, gals!

I used the word "share." We do share our knowledge and our work. I also do this in my classes each week. Have you heard the old saying, "Those who can do. Those who can't, teach." Sometimes, although I have been published often, I feel like it certainly pertains to insturctors. I have found that I allow teaching and life to get in the way of my personal writing. I like to say I am busy helping others learn to write but is that merely an excuse? Procrastination on my part? Laziness?

It's not the money. I don't get paid for one of these teaching assignments and the other is pay for a few hours per month. But when several of my elderly students recently were published for the first time, I celebrated with them. What a pay-off for me!

Many writers are fortunate to be able to attend writing conferences; here they can learn and share. Others, well-known authors mostly, teach/lecture at these events. I've never attended a prestigious conference--only smaller, more intimate ones, less expensive, because I need my budgeted writing money to be spent wisely--like maybe on that external hard drive I should purchase. Having said this, I have taught writing workshops and, as with my classes, feel a certain gratitude to be able to share what I have learned over the years spent writing and publishing.

If you chose to teach or lead workshops in order to share your knowledge with other writers, you must create an atmosphere, and sustain it, in which work flourishes. You will find all sorts of personalities attending or reading your expertise, including the know-it-all-already, saboteurs, or know-more-than-you-ever-will who threaten to take over. You must keep your sharing on-track, keep a friendly and casual atmosphere while certain rules are followed. Only then can the ones who really want to learn more be able to do so.

If you are thinking of sharing your knowledge, do it with a willingingness that will convey the trustworthiness of what you have to offer.