Happy New Year, one and all!
As you may remember from prior blog posts, I often enjoy sharing “word of the year” selections with y’all. (Oxford picked “goblin mode” for 2022, which delighted many people.) But as we move into 2023, I want to share a word of the year that has a bit more personal meaning.
When I was out with friends for NYE, I was in line to get a drink when someone in the group behind me challenged his friends to name a band they wanted to embody 2023. I decided to answer the challenge as well, picking Fleetwood Mac; in part due to their very hopeful “Don’t Stop,” but also because, even in spite of their various troubles and disagreements, they kept coming back together to make incredible, memorable music. (RIP Christine McVie.) So, not only a hope that we “don’t stop thinking about tomorrow,” but also that we all can endeavor to put aside some of our differences and come together to make that better future.
But when I returned to my table, one of the group had an even better question for us: what word would you pick to represent 2023. OooOOOOoooo…challenge accepted!
We all had good picks, but for me, that word was momentum. This was not only because I wanted what successes I had in 2022 to only keep getting better, but mainly because I wanted my professional endeavors to gain and give said momentum. For my own writing, I want to see both current projects gain more notice and traction, and for more of the ideas in my head to get down on paper. And for my clients, that my guidance and editorial assistance can help them gain momentum in their own creative pursuits.
But speaking to that first kind of momentum — what I want for my personal projects — it will mean my availability will be a bit more limited. (In fact, tomorrow I start the ISA’s 30-Day Screenwriting Challenge, in an effort to jump-start my next script. Wish me luck!) So thanks in advance to those emerging authors who want to work with me for their patience, as well as their understanding if I’m not able to fit them in this year.
Most important, though, I encourage you to build your own momentum and hit those goals you once thought out of reach. And, in the words of Fleetwood Mac, “Don’t Stop.”