Dear Me

Dear Me,

It is the beginning of a new year!  What a whirlwind it has been writing!  Can you believe that once again it is time to look ahead and see what it is that we want to do, where we want to go?  First and foremost on the lengthy list of "Dragons to Slay" this year, will need to be editing, revising and re-editing if necessary, our novel that we wrote for NaNoWrimo and getting it ready for publication.  Goal: to have that done before March.  For never writing a novel before we did such a great job on it and it was so much fun to write.  Just going with gut instincts with no notes ahead of time and finishing the word count goal in twenty days and finishing the novel in thirty days.  So impressive!  Even now, going back and skimming over the text, it is hard to believe that we wrote it.  It seems so surreal.  So now, this is the next step.  After that, we are going for publication with it.  Going for broke as they say, I look at this way, we have nothing to lose by trying to publish.  We had nothing before we wrote it and if nothing sells, we will have nothing after.  We tried... and at least we will be putting our best foot forward. If you never try, you will never know.

Writing that book for NaNo, set off a 'writing fireworks effect' in a way.  While writing in November there were so many other short stories that we started.  Writing became fun again and something that would fill in time and I saw the pride that came of the stories that were produced; even the short ones.  The short, short stories were fun but the longer ones were better.  They give us more opportunity to be creative, to shine.  I think that it is time that we take the longest one and finish it, take it seriously, because it has real potential.  Make that one a novel and polish it when finished, just like the NaNo novel.  We did it once, we surely can do it again and again.  We know how now!  Writing has always been in us... just been blocked by illness and doubt, but now- we are free.  Free to write and express ourselves like never before. There too, is the matter of the 'Memoir' that was started and set aside before NaNoWriMo. That should at very least be all put into order on the page this year, so that all memories are in type.  It can be changed if needed later.  But that is one that is important to us and can not be let go any longer.

Wouldn't it be fun too to take all of the short, short stories and put them into a book?  Or even create new ones to put with your artwork and put into a little book for kids.  That would be so incredibly inspirational.  We could let our imagination run wild, nothing could hold us back at all, with the stories or the art.  Then, instead of trying to sell them, take them up to Cleveland Clinic Hospital Children's Wing.  For all the sick kids going through Chemo and treatments of different kinds to read, laugh and make them feel good with the silly stories and beautiful pictures.  Yes, that would be so awesome.  Cleveland Clinic helps me every day that I go there... it would be so awesome to give back, only to the kids, because they would appreciate it the most.  It would take some work.. but in my heart, I know that we could do it, that it would be worth it and those little kids would enjoy them.  To know that we created something for someone else, to create joy and happiness for others means so much more than just writing a novel to write a novel.  This creates a sense of happiness so deep within that no amount of royalties could ever touch, this is just pure love wanting to see someone's spirits be lifted, if only for a brief moment by something that they held in their hands and looked at, read.  Knowing that you had a small part in that, just warms your heart.  So I think that we should make that a project for this year.  And if Cleveland Clinic won't allow us to leave them 'lay', then I will make sure that we just hand them to each child that we see there that day.  But I honestly do not think that they will object to what I want to do.  Cleveland Clinic is pretty generous and open.

There is a lot of work to be done this year that will keep us busy, this is for sure.  I have made the list long but I think worthy of our time.  It will not be easy to accomplish it all, but I know us well, and once we set our mind to something, we can do anything.  We have done a lot more in less time.  There is no order to things, after the editing and revisions of the NaNoWriMo novel.  Then, it is move around as we see fit. This list of "Dragon's to Slay" is possible in twelve months.  I have complete faith in you.  You are talented, capable, an excellent writer and this will be a wonderful journey this year.  Happy New Year and lets get some projects done!

Love,
Me

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