New Year’s Resolutions

I was having a pretty productive run—in November I attended a WORD regional meeting at the Waterford Gallery of Art with over twenty local writers. We discussed some of the challenges we’ve been facing and what kinds of supports we could use. A list was then drawn up that could be forwarded to our local arts officer.

Lia Mills spoke about Irish Pen, an organisation dedicated to the preservation of freedom of expression for all writers. After the meeting a handful of us went for coffee at the Granary café.

I have to say, it is so so nice to meet with other writers in person. Writing can be a very solitary practice, and while that’s fine most of the time, I do love being able to connect with other writers for support and tips!

After the meeting I went and bought myself a copy of the Irish Writers Handbook at the Book Centre Waterford (my happy place. The building is a former Savoy cinema dating back to 1937. I’d recommend checking it out for the architecture alone, but also booooooks, and a Leonidas counter).

I also signed up for a week-long morning write-along on zoom, facilitated by local writing coach Margaret O’Brien. I felt great about getting some writing done first thing every day. It was all going so well until Christmas, when I found myself busy boiling puddings and visiting relatives (and taking a well needed break, to be honest!).

Now I find it’s mid-January and I don’t know where the time went! I managed to submit a piece of flash and enter two competitions, but it’s honestly been a sluggish start to the new year.

I came up with all kinds of plans and timetables to achieve my goals for 2024, all of which I’m already behind on!

But that’s okay. It’s important to have some time for reflection and realistic goal setting. I think so long as I’m chipping away, however slowly, I’ll get there eventually. Besides, it’s not just about the end product, it’s about the process, too.