I am a writer. For years I have embraced the discipline and joy of putting pen to page – or fingers to computer – and creating simply because it makes me feel good. On May 30, 2024 – the day my husband passed away – the wind in my sails stopped blowing and the swirling laughing waters of inspiration went still. Oh, I didn’t stop writing immediately, but it tapered off until the only writing I did was in my daily devotional and prayer journals. Everything else – poetry, short stories, blogs, novels, it all dried up. Writing group – five or six friends who meet monthly to read each other’s work and write spontaneously from prompts – has kept me going, helping me across that great divide when grief numbs spontaneity and vision.

I wish I could say I’ve come to a turning point and will get back to a regular schedule of storytelling, but if I’ve learned one thing about myself it is that as I get older, I have crap follow through.

Writing advice, no matter its source, urges the writer to know her/his audience. Who are you trying to reach?Yes, that is the question. Not ‘to be or not to be’, but who the hell is your audience? Shakespear knew and it turns out, all these years later, it’s us, or at least the us who love literature. 

So, not having a clue who may read this, I send it to the Heavens with good intentions and say with heartfelt enthusiasm, whatever it is you feel passionate about, do it now and do it with delight. Wrap your arms around the people you love and say the magic words – yes, you know them – I love you! Say them through your actions and with your voice and with your touch.

Blessings in the year ahead.