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Since my birthday is in October, I like to think of that as my new year, using the time between then and January 1st as a "soft opening" of sorts, when I play with new ideas, plan new projects, lay the foundation for the actual new year so I have a head start on those goals.
This year? Not so much.
I have no idea what 2018 will look like. It's all vague and blurry, like the landscape viewed through a steamed-up window. Ghostly shapes emerge - a big writing project, some smaller ones, an exercise routine, a plan to manage the anxiety and other issues - but all their edges are soft, smeared. And if I can't see them clearly, how will I know how far away they are? How will I know how to get there? And will I even recognize them when - if - I do?
These last few months have been rough, and I'm hoping December will be a time of reflection, of quiet, of clean-out and clean-up. Maybe I'll even take a squeegee to that window so I can finally get a good look at all the amazing possibilities that are on the other side.
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I don't think I have very specific plans. I'd like to buy some baby geese if I can find them local, but that's the extent of my big plans so far. LOL!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I use December to reflect. January I use to rest because it's the coldest month of the year where we live. By February I've revived and ready to start the year again.
Uh, I don't think buying baby geese will be on my To-Do list.... :)
DeleteInteresting how you take January to rest! So many people - myself included - get all rah-rah in January. Your way might be a different way to go...hmm....
My view is obstructed like yours. I've been floating along for most of this year and hope to make 2018 different, but how to accomplish that is still out in the void somewhere. Here's to a peaceful December for both of us.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome to borrow my squeegee. Or maybe we should just chill out, have some hot chocolate, wait for the window to clear on its own? :)
DeleteSorry it's been a rough few months. Get that squeegee out, I'm sure there are some amazing possibilities for you during the coming year. Cheers - Ellen
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ellen! Fingers crossed you're right. :)
DeleteMy entire year has been one increasingly ridiculous delay after another, so my plan for 2018 is identical to my plan for 2017. And 2016. But, hey, not 2015, so that's something, right? :)
ReplyDeleteSorry you've had a rough few months. May 2018 treat you better!
That IS something. :)
DeleteBest wishes for you, too, for 2018!
Hopefully 2018 clears when it arrives. It has been a blur, these past few months. I'm ready to have many naps during the holiday break. :)
ReplyDeleteYeh for naps! That sounds like a lovely plan. :)
DeleteMore writing, less worrying! I can't see two feet in front of me except for the computer. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that should be our new chant or mantra or something - "More writing! Less worrying!" :)
DeleteI hope December is the time of reflection you need it to be.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chrys. Me, too.
DeleteI hope you take time this month to sort and organize. Unplug if you have to.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of unplugging. Will definitely think about that.
DeleteThe last few months were not so good for my writing, I progressed at a lame snail's pace. I just have one agenda for 2018, and that is to write lots.
ReplyDeleteA lame snail?! Now that's slow. :)
DeleteGood luck in 2018, Rachna - you can do it!
Let December be the time for your reflection. That's important. December is my time to slow down. Everything goes into what I call a very slow dance until the middle of January. I am also an October baby. I think October babies are so genial.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best and a successful crossover into 2018.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
I don't think my husband - or anyone else who knows me - would agree with the genial description fitting me all that well. :)
DeleteWishing you a wonderful 2018, Pat!
Maybe there's something contagious going around. These past months have been horrible on many fronts for me, and it seems many others as well.
ReplyDeleteIt will get better! Right? Right! :)
DeleteI'm working on figuring out what 2018 will hold for me.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you, Patricia! I know you'll figure it out. :)
DeleteI'm sorry you've gone through a rough patch, but let's hope all of that is in the rear view mirror. Now that you've gotten through it, it's time for a fresh start. Don't worry. Those amazing possibilities will make themselves visible when you're ready for them. In the meantime, chill and enjoy the soft blurry edges while they last.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. I do kind of like when things are softer, less sharp and focused. It reminds me of when I wake up in the morning, before I put my glasses on. :)
DeleteWith my birthday in late November, the last part of the year tends to be somewhere between a mental limbo and a rush to finish things by the new year.
ReplyDeleteTough place to be! But at least you know it's coming every year and can manage it, work with it if you have to.
DeleteHow sad am I that I find hope in your post? If someone with as much talent as you can feel discouraged, then maybe my own overwhelming feelings of "what the heck do I do from here?", feel so much less scary. When in serious doubt, I put all the options in a hat and draw...let fate decide until my brain is firing again.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am all for more hope and less overwhelmed, but you, Elizabeth are already talented so you put that fear in the past of 2017 and get going on 2018. :)
DeleteHmm, maybe I'll put all my options in a bowl and let the tortoises choose what I will do first? Forget Fate, I'm betting on Larry and the Mrs. :)
Like Elizabeth, I find hope in your post, too. I am in this odd "just drafting" mode in my life. In a way, that's about my writing, but it's also about living life, too. This is the rough draft time for me.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes cleaning off that window for a brighter view!
I love the idea of the rough draft time in writing and in life - that's what these last few months feel like for me, too.
DeleteWe'll all see clearly soon!
The window was a great image of the future. Loved it. Look or don't look, or clean or don't clean. You'll face it when you're ready. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Thanks, Anna! I like the idea of facing it when I'm ready. I just wish I knew when that was!
DeleteHi--Great to meet you here on your blog. I think December is just naturally a good time to reflect and rest and enjoy the holidays and not get too uptight about writing that's not getting done. It can happen in January.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for the coming year. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Welcome, Cathy! I'm going to do my best to rest and renew this month.
DeleteBest wishes for you, too. :)
My "new year, new life" starts April 1, 2018, when I leave the rat race to write full time. And keeping my eyes on that prize is the only thing that gets me through the days sometimes. So the chaos of my writing life right now is just a "this too, shall pass" stage. It's all good.
ReplyDeleteYou need one of those countdown clocks. :)
DeleteYou're right - generally speaking, it's all good. :)
Brilliant minds . . . I've had one of those since February, 2016. Bwahaha!
DeleteSome things are clear and some really fuzzy. I need to get a clear moment to plan and prepare or it will be one big mess.
ReplyDeleteFocus on the clear spots - and through them - and the rest will reveal itself as the steam dissipates. :)
DeleteI am hearing the same thing over and over. It's sad to think of so many people struggling this year. Yes, 2018 is blurry, but oh, the possibilities. Best to you, Madeline.
ReplyDeleteI suppose you're right - beneath all that blurriness is so much potential. You never know what amazing things 2018 will bring!
DeleteI've come to realize that we're not supposed to know what comes next. If we did, it would change our lives drastically...and not just for the better. Have faith 2018 will rock and then rock it!
ReplyDeleteI'll do my best! :)
DeleteI have been searching for a squeegee for months. I guess people around here don't like looking out of their windows. Sometimes not knowing where things will be heading is when they are about to go in exactly the right direction. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, the not knowing part doesn't always mean a bad result. It could be amazing!
DeleteLast December, I had no idea that my son & his family would leave Arizona to come up here to Michigan. I had no idea they would live with us for 2 months. I also had no idea we would welcome twin boys into our family. Nor did I imagine that I would get 2 books published within all that chaos. life throws us so many curves. 2017 has been the best year yet. I hope 2018 is good for both of us.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great year! Hope 2018 is just as good, if not better. :)
DeleteSorry your year didn't go too well. Hopefully, the next year will be better. Best wishes, Madeline!
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't terrible or anything, just had some rough spots. Hopefully 2018 will be great for all of us! :)
DeleteAfter the past few weeks, my vision for 2018 is becoming clearer. I need to spend more time writing, reading and less time on the internet. I'd like to think that can be done. ;) Best wishes for the new year!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that can be done, Debbie. And I'm on board. Definitely something I'm going to consider for the rest of the year and into the next. :)
DeleteSorry things have been so blurry for you. I think it has been a rough year for everyone. Find all those little positive moments and you'll get through it.
ReplyDeleteI do have a lot to be grateful for, so I will definitely look for those positive, shining moments. :)
DeleteMy life has been so very, very busy, but I'm enjoying every minute of it. Hope I can keep up through 2018
ReplyDeleteExcellent, Susan! And if anyone can keep up, you can. :)
DeleteClear, what's clear? LOL. Happy Holidays.
ReplyDeleteHa! :)
DeleteHappy Holidays to you, too!
Hi, Madeline! I'm wishing you a bright and happy new year. I hear you when you say that the last few months have been rough! I love that the IWSG has understanding people like you. Grab that squeegee!
ReplyDeleteThe IWSG is amazing!
DeleteI hope you have a wonderful new year, too. :)
I hope you get your quiet time of reflection.
ReplyDeleteMe, too. :)
DeleteI should be hard at work writing a new novel while I query a finished one. Instead, I'm looking at the clock, wondering if it's too early to break for lunch and then a long, long nap. Sleep deprivation and creativity just don't mix well.
ReplyDeleteHow about a snack then go back to work? Work then that nice nap? Hmm, a nap sounds like a really good idea....
DeleteI'm feeling fuzzy, too. For me, I think I need to start setting the alarm for an hour earlier than I actually need to get up and then accomplish something out of my norm during that hour - just to get the enthusiasm for something going again.
ReplyDeleteHope you find your clarity in whatever way works for you. Love the idea of a 'soft beginning'.
Sometimes all it takes is one small step, one small thing that's different to get us going again. Just the act of getting up earlier might do the trick for you. Good luck to you! :)
DeleteI love your squeegee analogy. Good luck in 2018 with your writing, and wish me the same. I never have the time, in between work, family and other things.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely wish you the same! :)
DeleteI hope 2018 becomes more clear to you soon! It's a year that has me looking at it a little nervously, as we'll be undergoing some big changes when my husband retires (and that following the big change this fall of the empty nest as your younger son started college). My writing has taken a bit of a hit from all that; hope you manage to do better with your adventures, whatever 2018 may bring!
ReplyDeleteI wish you all the best in 2018 - with your writing and with everything!
DeleteThese past few months were busy, but thankfully a heck of a lot better than my summer. I'm getting there, and I've planned out next year so my windows are a lot less foggy.
ReplyDeleteI wish the same for you. xo Congrats on your huge NaNo success! You killed it.
Good for you for having plans in place already for next year! I'm working on it, but it's slow going.
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