A certain day became . . .

A certain day became

the beginning, 

child of my heart.

For the first time I see 

the end of my days

and a beginning for you, 

my daughter, and now, your child.

Dearest child, what lies before you?

I am privileged to watch you both

unfold into each day, 

blossoms unending.

Today's poetry prompt came from Julie Jordon Scott over at Facebook's Writing Poetry Group. Thank you, Julie. What else could I write about but Leda Rose who's just a little over 6 months old? Today also marks my last entry for the final ROW80 (A round of words in 80 days), a writing challenge for writers who are willing to post goals and check in twice a week.

So this has been a week of reflection and some work between sad, national news, snowfall and still coming to understand the joy of being a grandmother! This is my second round with ROW80, and I love the sense of community of writers and care about writing that has emerged -- as well as my own sense of accountability. One of the charming aspects of ROW80 is the recognition that our goals change constantly -- and that is OK. So here goes my last entry for 2012 with more to come in 2013.

WRITING:  I did reread Standing Stones and feel affirmed that this story is complete. I hoped to read the first draft of Years of Stone (YOS) before year's end (still have one week). Majorly revamped the opening for YOS. I think the goal of starting research for the next book in this series is too ambitious, though that still pulls me. Interlibrary loan came through this week. I found Lucy Frost's Abandoned Women: Scottish Convicts Exiled Beyond the Seas (Allen Unwin, 2012) impressively useful for YOS, set precisely in my time zone, even to including measurements for the Cascades Female Factory and insights into the staff there, as well as many other useful bits that help me flesh out that time and place, 1842, Van Diemen's Land. Another goal: to blog the Africa trip daily was a bit ambitious, but I'm still processing pictures and experiences, just maybe 2-3 times a week for the travel blog.

READING/CRAFT/MARKETING: Perseverance furthers. My goal to clean out a backlog of several years of writing magazines is not complete. But I did make progress. The stack is now only 6" high, so I have a chance to complete this goal before year end.

I now have my own copy of Bell's Plot & Structure (very useful). I'm getting more comfortable with LinkedIn and Twitter as resources for finding good articles on writing craft. Yes, I actually Twitter now several times a week. Amazing.

GoodReads has become another online writerly community. My list of "to reads" is longer, and I want to write at least 1 review a month for GoodReads. I ran into a snag when I began reading a well-loved writer's latest release and just could not finish it because the characters repelled me. I'm continuing to critique works in progress through the Internet Writing Workshop and did sub the new opening for YOS there. Surprise: Three points of view in the first chapter that I just didn't see!

I just joined LinkedIn's Fiction Writers Guild (excellent discussions here re online marketing). Marketing remains a challenge. I will work on more measurable steps, but I learned that asking folks to consider my books takes a raw act of courage. But one reader told me my stories brought tears to her eyes!

May you reach your writing goals in the coming year. May words come easily to bring to life those deepest held stories. And may we all celebrate and share each day with joy and hope.