Dear Me, 2017

Dear Me,

What an amazing start it was in 2016!

You opened your profile on July 14, 2016 and began immediately to post your poetry, flash fiction, and essays.

NaNoNette invited you to be part of the "I Write in August, September & October" Challenge almost immediately. The consistency of posting a new piece of writing every week in some contest and reviewing one item from another writer each week as well was a great warm-up for the next pitch.

GabriellaR45 contacted you in October, 2016, informing you that ~ Santa Sisco ~ had recommended you and had offered his services as your sponsor in the Rising Stars Program, and wondered about your interest in being part of this prestigious group of writers. You were certainly interested and you still are as you work toward graduation. The first few weeks were a bit of a challenge "off-the blocks," but your performance in January, 2017 has more than made up for the slow start. Completing the review of All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was an excellent start to the new year. Registering for Winnie Kay 's Comma Sense Class with New Horizons Academy will no doubt improve your writing, immeasurably. The 30-Day Blogging Challenge hosted by Fivesixer has most definitely lived up to its name.

Now, as to your plans for the immediate future of 2017, how do you think we should proceed. That's alright! You take a moment and think about that! In the interim I will tell you what I think! This is definitely how we should proceed.

First of all, the Rising Stars Program is scheduled to be completed in June of this year. However, you will not need all of that time! We will show your metal. You, my friend, will finish in April, 2017, if not before! At last count you had a mere 6100 credits to achieve your graduation status of 18,000 credits. February, March and April all together make three months. 2000 credits per month is so doable for you! Besides, when the credits for January, 2017 are finally counted with the credits for the 30 DBC and for this Dear Me post, then your average will be less than 2000 credits for each of those three months. Anyway, a rising star, like yourself, has no need of being merely average. Let's go for broke! Let's get 'er done!

Secondly, after graduating from the Rising Stars Program, you will wear well your new status of Preferred Author as the notable poet, that you already know yourself to be.

We both do know your best remains
from ink of poet's quill,
Your days are blank without refrains,
'til lilt as rhymes do thrill!

How. Are. Lines. Built,
In the poet's lilting way?
Why. Do. Some. Wilt,
When we just want words to play?

Now to find the words to say it,
Have you ever tried before now?
With the gifted skill to play it,
All will stand you then will take bow!

SWEET, Friend! You still have the poetic juices flowing! What else do you have in your Briefcase of Giftings?

I know that face! I agree with you! You will most definitely do well to dive head-first into the realm of long prose! Indeed! What a novel approach! NanoWriMo is a scant nine months away. You have a great deal of prep work ahead of you!

What will your subject be?
What is your chosen genre?
Who is your audience?
Will there be any peril in the story?
Will there be any linguistic land mines, such as words we would never speak in polite company? On the other hand, can you tell a story with great gentility, avoid the "words," and still create the needed tension, conflict, suspense and mystery to draw the reader from page to page to page to page... In other words, do you think you have what it takes to create a Page Turner?

Quite true! I know you like Christmas, but I am not sure that Christmas has the mass-appeal to create a 50,000 to 75,000 word suspenseful, mysterious novel that will fly off the store shelves. However, expressing your likes is a good place to start a round table discussion with your closest confidants, like me.

What's that you say? A Year in the Life of Christmas Town...is an interesting title, but once again we need to explore this from the eyes of the reader, not simply from the eyes of the writer. For starters this concept has already been tried, Elmo Saves Christmas as told in person on the video by Maya Angelou was certainly cute for the children of the preschool and early elementary years, but the point was loudly made. "Singing Christmas songs twelve months out of the year makes your singers hoarse, and it begs the question, 'What's so special about Christmas, if you celebrate it all the time?'"

Of course, there could be a rather interesting backstory here.
What was the life of Santa Claus before he became Santa Claus?
Did He have any adventures?
Did a youth full of twists and turns lead to senior years of the straight and the narrow?
Are there other humans, who have given their lives to altruism because they fully embraced the concept, "It is better to give than to receive"?
How does Santa compare to Mother Theresa? To Princess Diana? To Sam Walton? To S. Truett Cathy? To Corrie ten Boom? To Oskar Schindler?
History is replete with selfless individuals, whose entire purpose in life was the betterment of Mankind. Who are these people? What themes and stories can be turned into a novel from the people, who overcame hardships to give themselves fully to the releasing of others from similar hardships?

Could this be one reason why you are so drawn to Christmas as a recurring theme in your own life?

See there? I think you have quite a plethora of ideas to begin your novel. If you get stuck, then you can always touch base with Carol Saint Ann to bounce ideas off her most excellent mind with her clearly novel approach to book writing. Let us not forget the importance of an on-going conversation with Winnie Kay , who will have daily answers to the novelist's most pressing question of life. "To comma or not to comma. That is the question. Whether it is more noble to have run-on sentences of every stripe without a hint of grammatical intervention or is it better to separate, every, word, with, commas, to, feel, the, full, effect, of, every, word!" She will know. After all, we can't take in every stray comma we find on the street and bring home with us.

Finally, we would be wise to remember the importance of team-building in our writing career. As the old saying goes, "There is no 'I' in team." However, Michael Jordan did seem to shoot that idea all full of holes during his illustrious career as a professional basketball player. Yet, anyone who knows his backstory will confess, that even Michael Jordan could not have been Michael Jordan without Scottie Pippen and the rest of the Chicago Bulls team.

Again, team building is the key to a successful writing career. You have a host of great support players already on Writing.Com.
Jade Amber Jewel is your "right arm." As your daughter she is your most faithful cheerleader. She's that B-12 shot-in-the-arm, when you start to feel fatigued.
Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? is another of your consistent cheerleaders, who has a good word for today. As that "little sister figure" in your life, she helps to keep you on-track with the adrenaline flowing.
Choconut has more good words for you. Besides, she has that little "trick-up-her-sleeve" that works for most of the human race. Chocolate can fix anything. I mean with chocolate and coffee next to your writing pad or laptop, how can you NOT be a successful writer?
Chris Breva stays by your side to give advice and encouragement from The WORD because he knows "from whence our strength comes."
paddy1 is there to make sure you always know when and how to post pertinent information in order to give your career the credit it truly needs.
Samberine Everose helps her close friend and teacher to know how to say things in the most effective way possible. Being a "native speaker" loses its importance, when those for whom English is not the first language cannot easily understand your meaning.
Naveed & Hanna ~ Be Kind 💕 remind you the importance of clarifying one's thoughts, choosing expressions that have appeal to all ages.
~ Santa Sisco ~ is a constant reminder that writers with experience recognize other writers with potential. Therefore, you should always show gratitude for any and every level of trust others have placed in you.
Monty is such a joy and encouragement in the love of traditional poetry. Poetry may grow and change over the years, but our roots in classic poetry will keep us grounded.
Dave is Monty's coworker in the field of classic poetry. He will help to keep you grounded in traditional forms as well. It's one thing to have a passion for writing variations in music, but if one doesn't know the original theme, then the variations have no moorings to give them meaning.
Espero , Seuzz , Fivesixer and Lornda are all there to encourage you and to challenge you beyond your "normal" self to a version of yourself that is truly excellent.
Hannah ♫♥♫ has been a consistent helper and encourager in the Rising Stars Program. For this I am most grateful. :D

Finally, in the spot, labelled, "Last but certainly not Least." We focus on GabriellaR45 without whom the possibility of being a Rising Star would NOT be possible. She is one of your most consistent cheerleaders because she would NOT have started the Rising Stars Program, if she did NOT have personal, emotional capital invested in your success as a writer.

These people do NOT have to understand you always, nor even fully,...ever...in order to wish you the greatest success in life and in your writing career. Many people are altruistic enough to wish others, like yourself, the best life has to offer, all the while, knowing that you are no more a perfect human being than they are. There is grace mixed with this knowledge.

Go forth and conquer, Jay! You have a great deal to share with the World!

Sincerely,

Well,...uh,...Jay!

Word Count: 1980

I'm a member of the Rising Stars Program for 2016-2017