I’ve changed.

I used to be the sort of person who came up with New Year’s Resolutions. Now, I find I’m more into New Year’s Directional Ideas – the more vague cousin of a resolution. In this season of my life, I find I look inward a lot and make changes all year round, on an as-needed basis. I’m not as interested in those concrete Fitness Goals or Reading Goals. I find them all too easy to discard, and anyway they seem far less impactful than, say, the goal of stress management (a major theme of my 2017).

I have learned a lot about myself in the last couple years. Having traveled constantly for two and a half years, I’ve been forced to learn exactly what I need and how to get it.

Last year I tested my writing abilities and finally started to notice patterns in how I write best. I have learned that I write books best when I dive in head-first and become consumed with the project, turning it out quickly rather than dragging out a book by writing a little bit every day and hopefully finishing something in a few months.

Last year I also learned that I am wired for textile art. I have claimed it as a piece of me, and adopted it as a method of expression, committing to its development. In the first week of 2018 I launched Tinker & Wish, a place for my hand embroidery textile art. In the coming months, I intend to fully illustrate an issue of “The Scribbler“, my kids-zine-for-adults, with textile art. Eventually, I will use it to illustrate children’s books.

My main work-related goal this year is to truly find my rhythm. I want to establish the ebbs and flows of my writing, to know when to go into seclusion to make a novel, and when to work on shorter pieces. I need to find the right recipe of self-discipline and cooperating with who I am and how I’m wired.

This new year is off to a great start! I look forward to the surprises, lessons, and achievements of 2018.