Blessings and Resolutions

First things first: Tolkien’s Day! Whoo-hoo!  Today is Master Tolkien’s birthday, everybody, and as such, because I always like to do something symbolic on this day, I’ve opted to post today instead of yesterday… That being said, off we go:

Because I am already switching the Top-X Books-of-the-year lists to Inkwells and Daydreams, I won’t post my Top-20 Books of 2014 here, as I’d planned originally…  well, I won’t post it there, either, but instead a Top-15!  Turns out, because of the “low” number of books read (only 40 this year, egad!), I have to make do with a shorter list this time around…  Oh well, let this be a lesson for me to try to keep up with myself during this year and every other one from now on…

So, because I want to begin this year afresh, I want to hug every blessing I’ve had as of late, and then make a huge scary step that will have me pumping myself up so I can actually make my projects happen!  The hugging of the blessings will consist in enumerating everything that’s been valuable and gratifying, of course.  The huge scary step will consist of me posting out in the open my 2015 resolutions!  Hehe, they’re basically my work plan so I can keep myself in check and know that there’s people watching me now and I’ll have to keep up to my writing dates!  I’ve tried something similar previously, and it sort of worked, so now I want to experiment this way.  It’s very Julie Powell, I know, but hey, I’m drawing inspiration from her, and I need the pressure!

First of all, the hugs to my lovely blessings:

·         I’ve found the love of my life, a man who not only fulfills my every need but also offers me new adventures, creative challenges and things to learn about.  A man who knows the importance of healing, growing and evolving and who is always ready to lend a hand to anybody who needs it for those same ends.  A man who’s honest and kind and nerdy, and that’s hot! (Ten points for anyone who knows the source of that one, another ten for whomever gets the pun, and thirteen for Stephen Cole, who is surely laughing at this and knowing that I mean it even through the joke, and because regardless of what’s being said online, he would be the perfect 13).

·         I finished Wideawake and sent it to an agent… hooray!  Not that I’ve had any luck yet, but that’s the first scary step that any writer always has to take, and it’s a blessing that I found the courage to do it.

·         I have two books on Amazon Kindle, and that’s not a bad number so far…

·         I have so many good memories to share, from so many places of England and Mexico, as well as many other places of the world; some might be shared through stories, others maybe verbally at gatherings, but they’ve all been blessed with joy and harmony.

·         I’ve got so many friends in the mentioned and unmentioned places of the world, and some I know in person and others I don’t, but they’re all bright little beacons that I follow when I need cheering up, serious advice, or maybe just a funky laugh!

·         I’ve got an amazing family, loving and supportive (with our highs and lows, just like most, but always there for each other) (and who are worth taking last week’s post momentarily down for; in a few weeks you will understand).

·         I’ve had the chance to come and see Alanis again (and will be forever grateful that I had the chance to say good-bye to Michigan last year, my ternurita).  Not only am I sharing her room again, but she sometimes comes back up on the bed with me, something that she didn’t do for the few months I last visited…  That’s a huge blessing for me…!

·         I have managed to keep up a blog for a year now, yay!  And have opened another two, all of which I have huge plans for…  I am officially a freelance writer, and that’s something that the disbelievers will have to get used to…  I have come this far now, and I feel proud.

·         I have three things to say about the following picture: 1) it doesn’t matter if it’s blurry, it’s still one of my favourite pictures ever taken, 2) it is the perfect image to show how far I’ve come, all I’ve become and all the blessings I’ve received, and 3) it’s a picture with a story: a past and a future, the things we choose to take with us and why, the roads we take to get to where we want and the thresholds we cross when we find ourselves in front of them… this picture is a blessing in itself!

 

And now, for the big scary step… drumroll... My resolutions for 2015 are:

1.       By the end of January I will upload Tales from the Rooftop on Amazon Kindle (yes, I mean Cuentos de la Azotea, English version!)

2.       By the end of January, as well, I will have the intro, full chapter list, cover letter, synopsis and pitch for the non-fiction book.  (Oh, I will not be posting actual titles for my non-published stuff on this entry, just so you know…  But every success I post when I see I’m managing these resolutions will contain those titles, of course!)

3.       I will take a month to copy and clean all the notes I’ve been doing during my research for my five-part saga

4.       I will take 5 months to write every segment of the first book of the saga, to have the first draft of that novel ready for editing

5.       Every month I will upload an entry of each blog weekly, whatever it takes.  My days of choice for them will be Monday for Clarity Found, Thursday for Inkwells and Daydreams, and Friday remains for That Voice in my Head, but I retain the right to change it in any given week because of eventualities or just external reasons

6.       I will translate of The Shadow Behind (that’s right people, my mission is to have both my Kindle books in English this year, so those of you who want to read La Sombra Detrás will get to at some point this year…)

7.       I’ll give myself a day each month (to be selected as they come) to relax and try to come up with a new short story for the second collection.  I won’t pressure myself with it, I’ll just do my best and if by the end of the year I have six or seven workable short stories, I will feel blessed…  If I have twelve then I will probably YouTube my happy dance, I don’t know…

8.       I’ll open and keep my YouTube channel for literary, healing and creative purposes

9.       I’ll give myself time for plenty of reading, lots of learning, Doctor Who filming, many rituals of different kinds, and to always say hi to my people through every social media and of course in person

10.   I will read at least one more book than last year (might have to do this each year till I manage to get to 52 again…  please don’t let 2013 to have been a one-time thing!)

11.   I’ll also do something symbolic on the anniversaries of all of my favourite authors

12.   I’ll be kind to myself and remember that sometimes I can only do my best, and my best shall be rewarding because it will be done with love…!

 

Anyone thinks this is too much?  That I’m putting too much on my plate?  Well my dears, this is what I’ve been doing lately, anyway…!  Let’s say that this is why I got so overwhelmingly tired over the past few months, even though I was doing other types of writing.  In any case, this is the amount of work I chose to go into, because I love it and because I can’t imagine my life without it…

So there you go…  Eek!  Now I have to make it happen…  Excuse me for a moment, I’m going to be writing for the next 347 hours, nobody disturb me please…!

Cheers, world!  And happy New Year!!

Sincerely,

Sandra Tena ≈ Writer, dreamer, healer, lover.