This year is no different, in practical terms, except that I want to do MORE. More of everything I didn't do in 2015. Somehow, I came off track last year, and was somewhat adrift. I was holding myself back for years, but now I want to break through the barriers I'd set up. Years ago, when my daughter was riding horses, there was one thoroughbred gelding named Scooter who was a bit high strung. One day, the trainer was laying out a riding course with string. Scooter walked up to it, snorted at it, and danced his hooves along the edge. But he wouldn't cross it. The trainer laughed, and said, "He's easy to contain."
Sometimes, we all are. We imagine we can't cross even the smallest bit of string. But there's always a way.
In 2015, my life had actually loosened its hold on me. As of August, the grandboys were finally all in preschool, kindergarten and first grade. I hunted for part-time jobs, but I had writing time, for the first time in about five years. It was amazing. It was great. It was... squandered.
Not this year.
I'm very close to finishing my 91k futuristic novel. That's going out to agents. I'm going to take my time finishing the novel I began for NaNoWriMo because it evolved into more than I'd imagined, and I want to get it right. And I'm going to expand on the steampunk novella I'd written last year, and get that subbed, too.
This year, I'm breaking out of that flimsy string boundary I'd constructed around myself. Wherever it takes me, I'm going to enjoy it because I'll be satisfied that I put forth my best effort.
I hope that in the coming year, you break loose of whatever barriers you might have, real or imagined.
