January IWSG: New Year and New Magic

Hello, friends! It's hard to believe it's time for the first 2019 meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group. 2019! How did we get here already? My blog is officially 8 years old now, which is also hard for me to believe. It's been an amazing 8 years thanks in no small part to all the wonderful people who make up this group, which was founded by our Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. To view list members and this month's co-hosts, visit the IWSG page here.

It's safe to say 2018 was not a productive year for me writing-wise, and as December came to a close I was grumpy and mired in the type of defeatist thinking that has plagued me for as long as I can remember. I was certain that 2019 would be the same, as well as 2020, 2021, 2022, and so on. In short, I had decided that I would surely never write again and I was a moron for ever thinking I could do it in the first place.

But then I was going for a run back in my favorite park and out of nowhere I had some new ideas come and sit on my shoulder and whisper in my ear. They were ideas for the story I've been working on forever and ideas for stories I'd never thought of before. I started feeling warm and fuzzy and tingly with adrenaline. I couldn't wait to get home to write down the ideas and start exploring them.

By total coincidence, I started reading the latest selection for the IWSG book club, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, that evening. I was amazed to discover that the title of her book refers to her own experience with having ideas and inspiration arrive unbidden. She likens it to the excitement felt when first falling in love, and views it as a form of magic. Big Magic.

While reading I thought of my experience back in the park and the excitement that coursed through me and decided I agreed with her. It was magic! And it was magic I haven't felt for far too long, as any writing I have done recently has felt more like a chore than like something I love to do.

So now I'm planning to ride this magic wave into 2019 and work on these ideas that have taken up residence in my head. I'm thrilled to feel excited again!

Happy New Year! I hope 2019 is a year filled with lots of magic and joy for all of us.

Happy New Year to All, Happy Blogoversary to Me

Tomorrow is my first blogoversary, as I wrote my first post on December 31, 2010. When I look at the post now, there's not much to it, but I remember agonizing over writing it. Not so much about the content, but about whether or not I should actually do it. I remember my finger lingering over the "publish post" button for what seemed like forever, and I must have hit the "preview" option 100 times.

Looking back on the year now, it's hard to imagine I was ever that nervous about starting a blog. But sharing my thoughts or experiences does not come easily to me, as I have spent most of my life as a closed book. But this blog was all about making changes, and a big part of that was changing what I had always done and always been. So while my first post doesn't look like much now, it was a big first step for me. For that reason, it will always make me smile.

When I started this blog, one of the things that inspired me was this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.

 Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

That's what I tried to do in starting this blog, and I'm thrilled to have taken not only that first step, but also several others as I've gone through 2011. I'm working on setting some concrete goals for 2012, but I know my overall goal is to continue to make my way up that staircase. I still can't see all of it, but I have a good idea of what I want it to be, and what steps I need to take to reach the top of it. 

I've said it before, but I can't say thank you enough to everyone who has followed my blog, left a comment, or just visited and read a post or two. I'm so grateful, and I hope I have been as supportive and encouraging to other bloggers and writers as so many have been to me. It's been such a joy to get to know so many amazing people over the past year, from all corners of the world, and I look forward to continuing to follow your adventures in the year ahead.

I wish everyone a safe, healthy, and Happy New Year! May we all continue to make our way up the staircase in 2012 and beyond.