A New Year to CREATE

 Oh, readers. I have been away from my blog for far too long. Hopefully that is something that I can amend in the coming months. 

Here's a quick recap of 2021:

Writing wise, things didn't really start moving until the holidays. The need for some R and R was pretty compelling. I joined my dear friends Franky A. Brown and Rachel A. Andersen to write a trilogy about the Hughes sisters. Rosalie, the youngest sister, was the main character of my book His Mistletoe Wallflower. She is so much the opposite of me in many ways, but I truly enjoyed bringing her story to life.

Mistletoe Mishaps includes Their Mistletoe Baby Surprise, Her Mistletoe Mistake, and His Mistletoe Wallflower.

In November I had the sudden idea to write a series featuring ballerinas and The Nutcracker. With not a lot of time to write, I made the choice to write these stories as novellas rather than full-length novels. It was definitely a challenge and required several very late nights and early mornings, but I got it done.

Christmas at Walnut Creek Series includes A Christmas Wish for Clara, Neighbors with the Nutcracker, A Second Chance for the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Mistaken for the Mouse King

And in getting that series done, I learned something: I've still got it. 

The hardest part of taking a long break from any activity whether it's writing or running or anything in between, is getting back to it. There's the comfort of the new normal you've set for yourself. Tending to little pixelated dragons or watching movies, or whatever it is you've been replacing your activity with are fun and enjoyable and comfortable. It can be difficult to retrain your mind to do those former activities.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely needed that long break. I needed time to refocus and to regroup, plus to enjoy my beautiful baby girl. But once things were settled, and I knew it was time to get back into my writing it was so dang hard. Devoting the time was hard, making myself sit down to write was hard, in some ways just having ideas was hard. I thought of a million reasons why I couldn't do it. And for a good while, I didn't. I got my group project done, and told myself that was all I could accomplish this year.

Working while the kids practice.

And then November hit me with a golden idea. An idea that would be fun to write, which would involve all of my most favorite things. Readers, I had to run with it! And run with it I did. I had days where I wrote anywhere from 8000 - 10000 words. I also had a few days where I only managed 500. In the chaos, I gradually got more consistent. Getting a full chapter written in one sitting became easier. Prince Charming took on extra household chores without complaint so that I could have the time I needed. My children enjoyed way more screen time than they're normally allowed, and the older ones helped with chores around the house and watching the littler ones. I got my writing groove back, and boy did it feel good.

There were still days when it was hard to get in the time needed, hence why there were some 10K days as I worked overtime to hit the deadline. But in just over a month's time I was able to write 85000 words. That was pretty darn impressive for someone who hadn't written much the entire year.

With the start of 2022, I considered how I wanted my writing goals to look. November and December proved to me that I can get a lot done in a short period when the occasion calls for it. While not necessarily a sustainable rate, I have what it takes to get those long projects finished. And I've learned to reassess in a way that doesn't involve, "Well, maybe next year I'll get it together..."

Because the reality is next year will be just as crazy and busy, if not more so. This month as I've tackled my goals (including this blog post which I started 11 days ago and am just now finishing), I've had to face the reality that life just isn't going to slow down for me. Not any time soon anyway. Two of my children are in basketball right now, one child has been given the honor of being in a regional choir, that same child celebrates his birthday today (happy birthday, Gary!), plus all the other day-to-day busyness with home, church, family, and trying to keep my career going.

It's a lot. And it's a chaotic, crazy mess. But I wouldn't have it any other way. So, as far as my goals in writing this year, I plan to get back to Twining Hearts Ranch. I'm definitely giving Starwood Acres another look as well. That spin off from Charming Academy is finally getting set up and will be put on Vella once I've got a good head-start on it. Plus, I'm looking at trying my hand at some new subgenres, which I'll tell you more about later. 

All totaled, my firm goal for this year is 4 new books. My stretch goal is 11. It sounds huge, I know. But this is also the same girl who wrote 4 books in a month. If I can keep to some of my new routines, I can make this happen.  

I'm also choosing to take time this year to focus on Creating. Not just art or books, though certainly both of those will be in my goals this year. But also taking time to create memories, healthy habits, routines, space, etc. Hopefully one of my new habits will be keeping up with my blog more, rather than leaving it to the wayside as I have all too often in the past. 

Readers, I hope you have a great 2022. I hope it started well for you and that it continues to be a wonderful year. Together, let's create positivity and joy in this year!