2021 Word of the Year

Have you made any goals this year? They can be a pain in the butt. I know that I have often had to wait until after the start of the new year to even figure out any type of goals. I usually am still hanging around in the previous year's lingering feelings and take a fair amount of self-loathing to the page. I do this because I am really critical of myself and because it just feels like my normal after not accomplishing my goals from last year. 

However, in 2020 I was disappointed that of my plans, December had been flushed down the pandemic toilet. I decided to look to the future for some inspiration. So before I reached halfway through December, I thought how I don't want to feel like this again next year, and I was throwing around my word of the year. I have picked a word of the year for a few years now, something to keep me focused. 

Throughout 2020 I had accomplished a lot of self-processing because months and months of alone time will do that to a person. I realized there were a lot of ideas about myself that I didn't create but believed anyway. I had a lot of hang-ups when it came to writing. (I know everyone does.) This was different. The lies in my head were so bad it was blocking every bit of creativity I was suffocating myself when it came to writing. 

Then a dear friend asked me to The Artist's Way again because the first time, I didn't complete it, and while it has taken me longer than the typical 12 weeks, it has been worth it. Chapters of the book changed my mind about writing about how I saw it. After creativity trama in college, it was about damn time. I had a billion stories inside of me that I had been holding back because of the hurtful things I had to endure when I was just starting out. In some ways, I wish this book would have crossed my path 15 years ago. 

However, this is all leading back to my word of the year. It wasn't some quiz I took online, but I was really thinking about what 2020 had been for me. It was a time when I was coming back to myself and finally reading all the stories I had been telling myself. So I thought about balance for this next year, but I have always been a clumsy person. Freedom seemed great, but I felt like I was already free. I realized how many other voices in my head I allowed to get a say, which is why I turned to the word centered. 

2021 is about listening to myself again and seeking out spirituality in ways I haven't allowed myself to explore in the past. It is for me about writing about who I really am and who I want to become after peeling back the layers of lies that well-intentioned people told me. Can I tell you if you go down the road of picking a word, a quote, or phrase for the year, it will be challenged?

I literally was challenged for the first 14 days of January. When I hit day 15, I woke up from my fog, and I got to look at how completely uncentered I was. My life had revolved around an individual who then ghosted me. It was in shock, and I saw my total lack of healthy boundaries. So, lesson one of 2021 was to figure out what boundaries even are and stick to them. 

I'm excited to see where centered takes me after this month. Whatever you have decided to do for the new year, I hope it makes you happy. If for any reason, you think you have missed the boat in goals or a word of the year, you haven't. The best part about life is you get to make up rules about these things to be what you like. Pick a new word for the year if you find the last 28 days haven't felt quite like your word; change the world every six months, every quarter, or month if you like. It's your life. Pick a path and start living it.  

Poetry Camp for NaNoWriMo

Hello April! I hope everyone is as safe as they can be. I am here to talk a little bit about Camp NaNoWriMo this year. This year is the first camp with the new NaNo website makeover. It was difficult for me last year in November to get the hang of what we were doing and how it all worked. I have since played around more with the site, and I am enjoying my camping experience. 

The best update I see so far on the NaNo website is that the cabins we had during camp have been turned into permeant writing groups. It certainly doesn’t mean you cannot leave the group you are in if you don’t like it. However, it does mean you have instant access to the buddies you have been writing with twice a year in November too. 

There were some other updates to the projects and goals I have not been as excited about. In the past, I used the hourly timed options as my goal when it comes to my writing. It was a way to build up my writing time during April and July. There are only options for the number of words now. However, you can make your project a little more specific now with drafting, editing, and publishing options as well as the type of writing you are working novel, short story, poetry, nonfiction, and more. 

While I miss the hourly goals, they have made two websites now one, and they more useable all year round. Just being able to talk to your writing group year-round is an exciting thought. If you wanted to track projects with word counts and dates, it is also a valuable tool for free. I think this was a brilliant move on their part to make Camp and Nano more uniform and user friendly. 

I have decided to join a couple of different writing groups this year. I am with my regular group this year. I have been a part of my regular cabin for two years now and a new writing group to expand my writing community. I have been getting to know new writers and chatting with my regular group since mid-March. I recommend trying out different groups if you have never attempted camp before, and it is such a great way to find new people to interact with in the world. 

This year for the camp, I am writing poetry. Poetry was how I started writing. I didn’t write short stories or a novel as a child. It was poetry that came out of me. I couldn’t figure out how to express the emotions running deep in me, so the way they came out was in the written word. For me, it was oral before it was written while I bottle-fed baby calves in the barn. Poetry was dancing in my head and then out of my mouth like a song I always knew but had never heard. I have missed poetry; she was always my first love. It was the thing that understood me before I understood myself. 

Poetry has been something that has trying to get out of me for years now after I tried to silence it. Poetry has been all along bubbling under the surface. I decided to let out this lion inside me out for a solid month to see what I could produce. I am not sure what will happen, but I hope it will help me process my life as my writing often does. I hope to see you in the CampNaNo world and if not…Just write. 

Monday's Mug 012

Last week went by in a flash and before I knew it. I am sitting down to take a few moments to think about everything that happened last week. I have my cup of tea tonight. What can I get for you?

Last week was full of more goal planning for the month. I have been putting off reading a little bit lately, and I find myself longing for more community these last few days. It has been a long time since I have had some one on one time with any friends. I need to interact on Slack more as well with the Superstars. I need to stay on top of my reading goals for the year. I keep pushing off finishing some books, which is not like me because I usually want to do more in that department.

I will take a minute here and talk about the entertainment side of my life since last week; my reading has been minimal. I binge-watched Messiah on Netflix. I thought the show and acting were great. The writing was excellent. I didn't know what was going to happen next every time, which was nice because I usually can figure it out quickly. I will not give away anything here other than saying it was well written.

Are you watching anything? What is your favorite show? 

I have started Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as well, but I am taking this one a little bit at a time. This show is funny, and the writing is a dream come true. You might think I say this about all of the shows I watch, but it is not the case. I have enjoyed finding a couple of new things to watch for pushing me into a unique atmosphere when it comes to the point of view, comedy, and plot twists.

I have been working on my writing more and have been staying consistent with a little over 400 words a day since Jan 1. I am proud of myself because I haven't taken a break so far and don't plan on it.  I think I a lot of it has to do with using the 4thwords.com site to get myself a little more motivated on the not so motivated days. It has been hard for me in the past to stay consistent, but I noticed that when I did my language or another app that tracks every day you log in, I don't want to start back at day one again. It has been helping me get back into the flow of writing and to make progress on stories I have wanted to write.

I have joined the SWAP52 Club prompt /week challenge with Stop Writing Alone. This has been a great experience because I am getting to know more writers as well as new avenues for prompts. I have been consistent with writing a story each week, even though I am not sharing them right now. 

I hope you all have had a great week and we will talk next Monday again. Until then, just write.

Monday Mug 009 - Popping the Question

Hello Everyone, and welcome back to my Monday mug night. It has been a while since I have spoken to you. For me, the year starts new in October. I am not sure why, but it is what I keep experiencing each year. I feel the need to buy a new planner and start over with my goals for the year.  

I haven’t been very active in my usual communities this fall. I am participating in NaNoWriMo, which is National Novel Writing Month. If you are not familiar with this event, it is a time when writers all around the world come together on a website and write together. They all try to reach a goal of 50,000 words and write together in gatherings nearby or virtually. This year my project is partly a new book I am writing and a rewrite of the one from last year. It is strange because I am usually such a stickler for the rules, but I am allowing myself the grace to break them this year. 

Before November, these last few months have been full of hard reflection. I keep asking myself if I am going to continue writing the way I have been or really go 110% put everything out there. For me, everything means sending my stories out for publishing and really committing to my writing time even more than I have in the past. Most of all, this means being productive with my writing. I love to free write, and it does usual yield a story, but it doesn’t yield any editing. So, I have many stories I need to edit, and some I would like to workshop. 

Needless to say, I feel like I’m either going to marry my writing, or we are going to have to stop dating. You know when you significate other gives you that ultimatum. I have been dating writing off and on for about three years. It is either time to put a ring on it or let the muse move on. 

So what do when writing wants you to put a ring on it? 

1. Can I really live without writing? Is it really something I want to push out of my life instead? Can I live without creating another story, poem, or novel?

2. Give strong consideration to how much I love writing and if I will be willing to fight for writing even when it sucks, and it doesn’t feel like love that day, month, or year.

3. Am I really going to make time to spend with writing? Will I always work more instead or keep cleaning the house instead of spending real time writing? 

4. Do I have the finances to support writing, and will my writing be happy with the choices we make together? 

5. Can writing get along with my family and friends? Is there a balance between writing and others in my life?

6. Does writing bring out the best in me and make me want to be a better person? 

Now some of you scoff at this because why would ever need to look at writing that way. The truth is, for me, it is precisely how I need to look at it. Do I have time for the love of my life and to give it my all?

Writing, will you marry me?

 Yes!

So just write.