Insecure Writers: The Year Of Big Good Things

It's the first Wednesday of the month, so it's time for The Insecure Writers! The IWSG is an online group created by Alex J. Cavanaugh for writers. You, too, can join us anytime!

Happy New Year, everyone!! I hope you all had joyful, festive, delicious, cozy, and bountiful holidays.

I thoroughly enjoyed my two-week (sort of) media vacation, which was coupled with a one-week staycation from my day job as well. It was my first ever staycation, believe it or not, and it was wonderful. I was worried about it, because I kept expecting to feel obligated to do useful things around the house, and to bang out lots of chores and other onerous duties, but I can happily say that the week ended without my having done one. Damn. Thing. At least, not one useful thing. I read a ton of books, cooked and ate too much food, drank a little too much, spent time with friends, and vegged out. And that was it. It was glorious, and exactly what I needed.

Oh, wait...excuse me...I seem to have veered away from this week's topic, and gotten carried away with reminiscing. Ahem. It's IWSG, isn't it??

Ok, then: Happy IWSG!!! I'm not going to focus on insecurity today; instead, I want to talk about NOT being insecure. How about that? It's like I'm a whole new person. New Year, New Me.

I've mentioned before that I am not a fan of New Year's Resolutions, and someday I might bore you all to tears and expound on that (but not today; don't worry.) So instead of making a resolution, I decide things. See the GIANT difference??? Deciding is so much more, well, decisive that resolving. This year, I decided, is going to be the year of Big Good Things Coming to Fruition. This got started a little early when I got the world's best Christmas present, and it's going to continue all the way through 2015, because I say so.

All kidding aside for a moment, I am a big believer in the power of intention (no, I haven't read the book, but I do like the title.) I do believe - and trust, and feel - that the energy we put into the world is what comes back to us; like attracting like. So when I say that 2015 is the year of Big Good Things Coming to Fruition, I am (with a small bit of silliness, because it's me) setting the intention for all of those wonderful, powerful things to happen, and opening myself up to receiving them.

We all have different Big Good Things that we want. Mine are familial, as well as career-driven. One is to start making money from my writing. I believe I'll be able to make it happen this year. What about you? What's one of your Big Good Things?

Happy New Year!

Insecure Writers: Shaking Off the Rust

NOTE: It's the first Wednesday of the month, so it's time for The Insecure Writers! For those who don't remember, it's an online group created by Alex J. Cavanaugh for writers. Most of whom are insecure. So, we support each other from the safety and comfort of our desks. 

Hello, everyone! Happy New Year! I'm fresh off of a two-week blogging vacation, as well as a short but amazing trip to Iceland - which is every bit as otherworldly, spectacular, gorgeous, and, at this time of year, dark and cold and wind-driven as you might imagine - and I have to admit that my hands and my brain feel a little bit rusty. I'm back in the saddle today (or, OK, at the computer), but I haven't quite gotten my sea-legs yet. Which you just might - might - be able tell by my ridiculous mixing of metaphors in the previous sentence.

Isn't it funny how extended time off can make you feel like a beginner again?

Or, wait, is that just me?

Anyway, I'm not really a big fan of New Year's resolutions - I'll save you the long, wind-baggerish trip down Curmudgeon Lane and just say they're not my thing - but I do feel like I should mark the new year somehow on this blog.

So...since it's IWSG Wednesday and all...I'll admit that I'm starting the New Year by shaking the rust off of my hands, and I'm doing it with more than a little trepidation. When I took off for Christmas, and then Iceland, I left my new project smack dab in the middle of a looming mountain of research. So imagine my surprise and dismay when I returned from my travels only to find that no one had done any of that research for me while I was gone.

Can you believe it?? It was Christmas - a holiday positively brimming with elves - and I went to Iceland - a country whose people overwhelmingly believe in elves - and not one little elf came by and did any of my research for me! How irritatingly realistic!

Sigh. Lack of elves aside, the real IWSG revelation here is that I'm having a hard time facing down this Research Mountain with a positive attitude. I usually like doing research, and the fact that I'm sort of dreading it right now is worrying me. Did I take on too much? Has my idea moved so far beyond my original concept that I've lost the excitement I once felt about it? Do I need to rethink, and make some semi-drastic changes?

It's possible, too, that this is all just part of the post-vacation, post-holiday blues, and that in a week or two I'll feel very different and realize that I may have been overreacting. I hope this is the case. It's frightening, though, to think about all of the time and energy I've invested in work that I might need to throw away. I know getting rid of stuff is part of writing, but it sure isn't my favorite part.

For now, though, I really don't know. So I'm starting the trek up Research Mountain, anyway, backpack of reference books strapped on tight, and hoping that it's the right path to take. Only time and work will tell...

Wish me luck?

And in the meantime, I'll leave you with a couple of Icelandic visions of beauty:

Þingvellir National Park, where the Icelandic parliament Alþingi was founded in the year 930 AD

 The gorgeous black sand beach of Reynisfjara, with views of the Reynisdrangar basalt pillars 

Swimming in the natural geothermal pools at the Blue Lagoon

The charm and loveliness of Reykjavik