Hello again!
It’s been five years but I thought I’d try my hand at this blogging thing once more. A lot has happened in the last five years but I’ll try to bring you up to speed.
- A Pandemic
- Two of the kids are TEENAGERS now
- I graduated from The Writers Studio
- I completed my first novel, and then a few more
- I’m currently editing the book I fondly refer to as “Canned Soup”
This month I’m going back for my fifth year to the Wild Writing in the Boreal retreat, which I attended for the first time and wrote about in my very first blog post. It seems like a fitting time to jump back in here and share my writing journey.
Wild writing is in fifteen days and I’ve been counting down for a while. This will be my last year attending. I’ve learned so much from the amazing workshops I’ve taken with Lauren Carter and Donna Besel. They have truly inspired me and helped me keep writing even at the hardest of times. That said, I’ve done exactly what I set out to do at this retreat. I’ve learned, I’ve met other writers, networked, and made lifelong friends. It’s time for me to move on to the next chapter, after one last hurrah of course.
My posts are going to be a little different than before. I spent some time this morning reading my old posts and I was delighted to hear my younger self enthusiastically putting my writing out into the world as often as I could. I had successful social media platforms and I proudly, apologetically pressed “Publish” with glee. I’m a little older now, and I stepped away from all that in 2019 to pursue my education at The Writers Studio. I sank into novel writing which I’ve found to be an all consuming, but quiet and isolated process.
As my time at The Writers Studio was ending a pandemic was beginning. This led to several chaotic years of unemployment, homeschooling and overall madness in this household. Writing again was pushed aside as I attended virtual kindergarten and tried to keep my poor child in his seat. This was an all encompassing all day every day affair. There were many dark days, and no room in my life for creativity.
I’m now happily employed full time, my children are all in school and thriving, and it’s time to get back to the work I love, writing. It won’t look the same as before, but I’ve learned a lot over the past few years and I want to bring my readers along on this journey towards (hopefully) publication.
My first novel was a learning experience. I’ve edited it to the point of completion and it still just isn’t something that’s going to be published. I shelved it and have applied all my skills and knowledge to Canned Soup, and I’m right in the middle of revisions. From now on I’ll be providing monthly updates, which will also keep me accountable. I’m ready to finish a novel worthy of publication and move forward to a career I’ve always dreamed of.
