2024 has gifted me with a surge of creative energy at an intensity that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before.

Many things have rolled into this: entering my fourth year of consistent therapy, finding the right combination of meds after lengthy trial and error, emotionally divesting from capitalism and its many untruths, and of course the largest thing being my kids growing into an age where I am both sleeping well and finding that I have just a little more time for myself. 

I am channeling this energy into two things: planning and prioritizing. 

I am the type of person who enjoys planning. Despite this, I never really found myself investing the same level of planning I do to my personal passion projects (again, there was also a lack of time for the past 5 years) as I do to my corporate and non-profit work. I used to view project planning as more administrative and less creative, however I have learned that it’s actually a place where I can tap into an immense source of inspiration and energy.

In January, on somewhat of a whim, I signed up for a writing class at Changing Hands Bookstore. This class has fundamentally changed how I approach my writing process and has been a fantastic way to springboard my year. I am viewing tasks such as outlining, researching, and pitching not as “admin” tasks, but as necessary, crucial, and yes creative (incredibly so!) part of the work.

Since finishing my Bachelors in Creative Writing in 2013, I have struggled to prioritize my writing, mainly because I am a provider for my family (which started as 2, and has since grown to 5), and my writing has not been a source of income. That doesn’t bother me personally, however I have always been someone with a strong sense of responsibility and a desire to “do the right thing”–and prior to the last several months, I couldn’t figure out how to fit my writing into a life that demanded so much of me: as a spouse, as an employee, as a parent, as a community member. Of course, capitalism also instructs us that “worth” is inherently tied to “profits,” and that is something I have been working to unlearn.

I am learning that prioritizing my writing–when I am doing it in a way that feels authentic to me and honors my own pace–allows me to feel more human. (And as an added bonus, that enables me to show up with more integrity and understanding in every aspect of my life.) Learning to honor my own pace has also been incredibly freeing. I have previously envied writers without kids. How much time they must have! How few interruptions! (Even though this is, of course, not inherently true). Rather than begrudging my lack of time, I’ve accepted and embraced it as part of my process. I’ve let go of needing to do everything all at once, and also found space to honor that my writing pace is slower than others–and that’s okay. My pacing is sustainable, and that is what matters most at the moment.

Lastly, I have been thinking a lot about how I want to use this blog. (And if you’ve made it this far into reading this post, I just want to say thank you!) I have previously used this space as a way to make some of my short-form creative writing available, but I have not been particularly intentional about how I want to use it in conjunction with projects pending publication. I am turning my attention this year to crafting my longer-form projects ([1] an intergenerational memoir, and [2] a YA [young adult] semi-autobiographical fiction novel), and the publishing goals I have set for these and other works. I will continue to periodically share updates related to life and writing (and possibly some other creative pieces!) here while I honor my other writing goals. This space is important to me as a place to share with and tap into my community, as writing often demands a lot of time spent in isolation. So if you have the time, please consider leaving a comment every once in a while–it can be about anything. It genuinely means so much to me. 

If you would like to support me and my work in another way, one thing I ask is simply to stay connected with me–Ask me about my writing, both because I enjoy talking about it, and also because I could use the accountability! Another thing would be to Buy Me a Coffee, which is a platform I have set up to accept monetary support because, transparently, writing incurs its own set of costs (including: registration fees associated with workshops, conferences, and other continuous learning opportunities; book purchases to study craft; and, quite literally, buying a coffee at a local coffee shop so that I can get some work done in a quiet space away from my kiddos when needed). 

Above all though, I sincerely value you simply being here. Reading my words is the best support of all. 

I look forward to seeing what else 2024 has in store for all of us.