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Reach for the Joy of the Work, and Other Almost-Resolutions, by Emily Whitman


This picture is Edward Lear's Foss the Cat. He makes me happy. That's one of my goals this year. To keep reaching for the little things that give me zaps of pleasure, that wake me up. To find ideas lurking in odd places, and be awake enough to know, "That one is MINE," in a greedy, instinctive way.


Here are my writing goals for 2012, my "almost-resolutions"--almost because, as much as I think I should just know them once and for all, they are things I have to discover over and over and over again, as if we're meeting for the first time.




Reach for the joy of the work!

Practice craft! Be greedy for new ideas about ways of working.

Stay in touch with the muse.

The parts that are hard mean there's also soul work to be done. Gather bravery and plunge in.

Feed writing friendships and community so they grow.

Life is a balance. Writing is part of it.

Get stuff done, get it out in the world, and let it breathe on its own.



Happy holidays to you and yours!

Emily
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Comments

  1. Alisa M. LibbyDecember 18, 2011 at 10:54 AM

    YES, thank you Emily! I've been kind of dreading this post about my goals - I'm not a new year's resolutions type of person, and yet I have such unspoken high expectations of myself...But your blog post hits the mark. Optimistic, but also giving yourself a break. I especially like "Life is a balance. Writing is part of it." Well said.

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  2. Emily WhitmanDecember 18, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    Hi Alisa. I know, about the balance part. And here we are a few days from the solstice, the even balance between light and dark--a good time to think about life balance, I guess. So glad you wrote. Looking forward to your post!

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  3. Jennifer R. HubbardDecember 18, 2011 at 4:04 PM

    *applauds*

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  4. Christine FletcherDecember 18, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    So true about having to discover these things over and over...this is a lovely reminder. Thanks, Emily!

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  5. Joy PrebleDecember 19, 2011 at 2:15 PM

    Love these. Feeling as though what I real want to do when it's my post in a few days is just direct everyone back to yours. Life is indeed a balance.

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  6. Sarah PorterDecember 22, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    Lovely post, Emily! Your observation that the hard parts in a book also indicate something about the writer--a place where there's some kind of psychological resistance--speaks to me now, as I get back to a difficult book. Thanks for reminding me that courage is the only solution.

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  7. Sarah PorterDecember 22, 2011 at 12:24 PM

    Lovely post, Emily! Your observation that the hard parts in a book also indicate something about the writer--a place where there's some kind of psychological resistance--speaks to me now, as I get back to a difficult book. Thanks for reminding me that courage is the only solution.

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  8. Holly SchindlerDecember 22, 2011 at 1:13 PM

    BEAUTIFULLY said...

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