Dear Me - 2021

Dear Me,

2021!

People born at the dawn of the new millennium become legal this year. Of course, you've been legal for quite some time, though many times you didn't act it. While you've always had a passion for writing, the past 15 to 20 years has developed it to a pretty high degree ... at least until the past year. What happened? In a word, survival. I know you felt something missing in 2020--work overtook that passion.

This is your 12th Dear Me letter since joining Writing.Com. It should have been your 13th; but you missed last year. You saw how that year turned out. I'm glad you're getting back on track addressing what is missing.

The end of 2020 saw the StoryMistress reviving the Season Tickets event that supports worthwhile iconic WDC programs. You won a package that pushed an old idea to the front of your mind--"My Writing Bucket List" . You fell far short of your imagined goals last year having written only one short story and a handful of reviews. You did manage to keep your Noticing Newbies newsletter schedule on track. You must do better.

Alright Jace. January is drawing to a close. You've spent most of your time this month preparing this letter, trying to get it just right. So I'm giving you this month. The remaining eleven, however, must be dedicated to returning to your writing roots.

Roots is the key word. For many years you've dabbled in your family history, tracing your roots and talking with family members. You've gone as far as you can without more active efforts, including traveling to family historical sites both here and abroad. But, what you can do over the next eleven months is focus on a personal history of you for your children and grand-children, or just for posterity.

Your creative period is early in the morning. Logging onto your computer is the first thing you do every morning, and you're always there an hour before work. Spending the first 15 to 30 minutes on WDC will re-kindle your writing fervor.

With that in mind, I propose the following goals for 2021:

          Write your personal memoirs:

1. Revise "My Writing Bucket List"  to include a list of special and personal life moments to write about.

2. Enter at least four stories of those moments in the "Roots & Wings Contest" .

3. Collate and publish these moment memoirs in a chapbook for distribution among family members.

          Embrace a more active presence on site as befits your Senior Mod status:

1. Maintain an active daily presence in WDC forums, including "Technical Support Forum" , "Non-Technical Support Forum" , and "Writing.Com General Discussion" .

2. Maintain an active daily presence in newbie forums, especially in "Noticing Newbies" , AND publish an official Noticing Newbies newsletter once every four weeks.

3. Become more involved with new members, helping out as needed with them learning the ropes of the site.

          Participate more on WDC:

1. Write at least one story per month and enter it in an appropriate genre contest.

2. Re-establish your reviewing activity with at least 15 reviews per month, including a review of two Newbies featured in each Noticing Newbies newsletter.

3. Find someone to mentor. Develop community and fellowship with others to enhance writing skills among fellow writers. You had a mentor who helped you greatly during your first year here. Do the same this year.

          Finally, prepare a history of Writing.Com: That's the one thing you've always wanted to do, your abiding interest in things historical notwithstanding. This is your Hail Mary goal. I'll leave it open-ended since I know not where this may lead.

So Jace, can you do all this in the next eleven months?

I believe you can while maintaining an active and successful business. You certainly can with the proper encouragement. You've wondered if this might be the year you cut back anticipating retirement. I know you always said you'd never retire--you love the creativity and services you provide through your custom woodworking TOO much.

So if you reduce your woodworking efforts, you'll need other stimulation. Writing.Com fills that bill. For the next eleven months, learn to do both. I know your life will be enriched with the diversity.

Accept it! Embrace it! Fulfill it!

Word Count: 689