Cyber-smooches to the Writers in Our Community, Taking Inventory, and Merry Whatever-you-celebrate-mas!

Today is Christmas/the third day of Hanukkah/the day before Kwanzaa/two days after Festivus/and whatever-you-celebrate day, and for many of us, it’s a joyous time full of awesomeness and sparkly decorations, spending time with family, exchanging gifts, and eating way too many cookies. But for some of us, it’s also a time of lousy weather, seasonal affective disorder, weird family interactions, and sadness that seems amplified because you’re supposed to be happy.

And if that’s you, dear writer, you have full permission to feel sad or angry, write somber poetry, punch dance it out in the woods like Hot Rod imitating Kevin Bacon in Footloose, change the lyrics to Christmas carols, and chug a bottle of Jägermeister in the bathroom while avoiding your family. Honestly, do what you need to do to make you feel happy. I’m thankful for you, and for all the writers in our community. In fact, I don’t think I would’ve gotten through 2019 as gracefully had it not been for the writing community.

Last Christmas Day I blogged, I’d just broken my ankle trail running and was scheduled for ORIF surgery (which was simply wonderful because instead of Santa Claus climbing down your chimney to leave you presents, a surgeon drills a hole into your bone and puts a metal rod in your leg while you’re sleeping), but 2019 proved to be my most challenging year yet. We didn’t get a tree this year and decided not to purchase any gifts because honestly, it’s more fun to make things like ugly dolls, chocolate chip cookies, fart jokes, and laughter.

My husband has had four surgeries this year and is scheduled for another one in February. He’s currently on chemotherapy for colon cancer, and for a quarter of the year I administered him with four IV drips a day through a picc line for a bone infection caused by a total reverse shoulder surgery, of which he’s had three. Our business was forced to close last February and he’s been out of work since, and I’ve taken on two extra jobs to support our family, and my father-in-law who currently lives with us has onset Alzheimer’s. I’ve dubbed him the “Notorious Rapscallion of Caffè Mocha Accidents” and will be printing him business cards with his new title for the New Year.

And yet, every time I visit the oncologist and talk to the beautiful survivors with colorful head wraps it quickly puts things into perspective. So today, I’m thinking about the people who are having a hard time—the people who are sick and the ones caring for them, the people who are out of work and struggling to make ends meet, the people who don’t have any family to spend the holiday with, the heartbroken, those who’ve lost their homes, the people who’ve lost loved ones and are grieving, the people who are depressed during the holidays and having a tough time. Today I’m thinking of you. This may not be your best holiday ever, but I’m thinking of you today and wishing you a better New Year.

I’m also thinking about the writing community. The writers and instructors here at WOW, the writers in my Butt-Kickers Accountability group and my Mem-Warrior group—they already know about my personal issues because that’s what writers do. Maybe because we’re used to excavating our stories, finding that kernel of insight to share with the world, that we tend to support each other in ways that go beyond writing. That type of cyber-hug is never more than a click away. In fact, some of my most cherished friends are women I’ve never met in person. But we’re there for each other.

If there’s one thing that helped me get through the year, it’s writing. I breathed writing in every spare moment because it gave me a break, and gave me purpose. Knowing you have writing is like having the superpower of invincibility, and maybe invisibility too, because it allows you to disappear for a while. I thought I hadn't accomplished that much in 2019, but then I took a quick inventory, and discovered that I:

• wrote 58,570 new words of my memoir, created a beat sheet, chapter summary, and marketing plan
• completed 3 workshops with WOW, and wrote seven essays
• read 32 books
• submitted creative nonfiction to six publications, had three pieces accepted, and one of my essays was nominated for both the Best of Net and the Pushcart Prize

In my work as editor at WOW, our team:

• published 4 new e-zine issues with 46 articles
• facilitated 8 writing contests
• published 82 works of fiction and creative nonfiction
• published nearly 350 blog posts, an equal number of social media posts
• launched 14 blog tours
• interviewed over 146 writers in our community
• sent 129 email campaigns with valuable content
• and I personalized over 147 Amazon gift cards for contestants and WOW staff this year
• the list goes on

Congratulations to team WOW, and to our vibrant community of writers, readers, and followers. We'd love to hear what you have accomplished! Leave a list in the comments below if you feel inclined to share. I bet you’ve accomplished more than you think you have.

Writing is hard, but so worthwhile. Much like life.

Thank you for your support this year, writers! I’m grateful for you, and I hope you're not dizzy from all the animated .gifs. They just brighten my day. :) I mean it when I say I couldn’t have gotten through the year without our writing community. Merry whatever-you-celebrate-mas and cheers to a better, most awesome and sparkly New Year!

We will bring it in 2020.