Welcome, Year of the Horse

We are a week into the Year of the Green Horse and I am only now returning to this half written blog post to complete it (before there is a total grid lock of blog ideas and posts lined up behind it). This time last week I was running around preparing the fire for the backyard and writing out all the things I was ready to let go off. The pile was impressive in breadth and in stature, and didn’t just focus on the Year of the Snake. It was an act of complete shedding.

The Year of the Green (Wood) Horse

The Chinese have a brilliant take on the horse. It is strong and magical. The magical elements include the ability to fly. In Chinese mythology Kwan Yin, goddess of compassion, flew through the heavens upon a cloud horse to bring peace and blessings.

The year of the Horse is a time of victory, adventure, exciting activities and surprising romances. Decisive action brings results. Energy is high and production is rewarded. Under Horse’s strong influence, there is no middle ground. ~ SUSAN LEVITT

The Horse Year is also the middle of the 12-brand cycle and is the culmination of the preceding six years.

The Year of Audacious

Every year I purchase a medallion to wear around my neck. I’m not much of a horse fan (I was never that little girl who dreamed of owning a pony, who wanted nothing more than to speed across the countryside on a horse. In fact, if I am honest, horses scare the shit out of me!) So the idea of wearing a horse around my neck all year… I was a bit meh about it. A thorough trawl of Etsy turned up a locket that gave me the final hint for what the theme would be.

With Lady Godiva around my neck, the theme for the year had to be: audacious. (No, not naked!)

A quick flick through the dictionary turns up the following definitions:

• Showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks

• Extremely daring, fearless and brazen

• Extremely original or inventive; unrestrained by existing ideas, conventions or propriety

After a year of being pulled inward, both by thematic intent and every day circumstances, I feel the need to break out. **cue Swing Out Sister** Given two of the definitions include the word ‘extremely’ and Levitt says there is no middle ground, I’m preparing for one hell of a ride on the back of my words this year.

In Essence

I’m steeling my resolve to push the boundaries of my writing and myself, to be open to take risks small and large. In action it means chasing down the dream in reality: writing and submitting like a professional, securing an agent, promoting, communicating, getting books into the hands of readers (whether they be my books or those of my friends). I am committing to being brave and present and accountable for what I do (and for what I’m not doing). For the first time, I am giving myself an entire entire year to take my writing seriously. I will not allow my best efforts to be undermined by fear [insert any number of them here]. I am busting through everything that stands in the way of what I want to achieve.

In Business

It will be another year of hiatus for eMergent, (although there are two more books scheduled for release, but no new eP generated projects). While there is an itch to return to editing, it’s not strong and there remains a lot of uncertainty in the family realm. What extra time I do have at my disposal will be invested (at least in the next few months) in securing some freelance typesetting/ebook design work to help cover the cost of Mr D’s new schooling arrangements.

Slated Projects

A list of projects/goals is always a good start. While I know goals need to be SMART, for now I’m not attaching time frames on them other than to have Post Marked: Piper’s Reach ready for submission by the end of February and to have the second draft of my novel done by April, in time to swap with Dan.

• Complete, ready for submission, (still unnamed) gothic horror novel — including adjunct projects.

• Brainstorm stage play adaptation of novel.

• Shop Post Marked: Piper’s Reach to agents and publishers.

• Complete radio script and record the Piper’s Reach chapbook

• Complete, ready for submission, Encursion and first drafts of another two birthpunk novellas.

• Write and sub one short story and one poem every month.

• Make a pro short story sale.

• Get my first poem published.

• Complete first draft of Elyora screen play.

And the Year of Audacious begins with an invite to read at the Queensland Writer’s Centre’s first Whispers salon this weekend at the State Library. If you are looking for something to do Saturday afternoon, swing on by and listen to a bunch of super talented Queensland authors read. I’m sharing the stage and the theme of ‘false starts’ with Emily Craven, Lee McGowan, Kim Wilkins and Robert Morton. The event kicks off at 3pm at the State Library Café.

Recalibrate

or how a new plan usurped the pity party of The Year of the Snake

The moon slid into her new robes late last night, in the sign of Virgo. Kim Falconer wrote in her New Moon newsletter:

The New Moon in Virgo is perfect to bring more ritual into the daily routine, amping up both ‘heart’ and ‘production’. Virgo is about skill development, and the rituals in life that are constantly creating and re-creating our experience of reality. You start creating habits that make life better.

As it turns out, I was already leading myself to that very place. I like to think of writing as recreating the experience of reality and I was ready to start writing. Properly. Again. I jokingly said, when my serpent medallion arrived last week, that the Year of the Snake could now begin for me. Better late than never!

TIME TO RECONSIDER

(c) Jodi Cleghorn 2013

This week, in a closed writer’s group I belong to, the topic of goals was bandied around. My first instinct was to comment it is all too hard at the moment, with home schooling still in flux, my health only just on the mend (after being slammed with glandular fever for three weeks) and a puppy who is still fitting into the family. The idea of trying to shoe horn anything in, seemed mad. Destined to fail. The best I could do was try and find time to write and to continue editing Post Marked: Piper’s Reach. That was an almost goal, right?

That afternoon I ended up in a cafe without my computer and without my phone. I had my Sony and a notebook. I started to flick through what was written in my notebook. That was enough to inspire me to reconsider my whiny comment.

There are four months left until the end of my creative year, I said to myself. What could I achieve in that time, rather than bemoan all the missed opportunities that have already passed.

NEW GOALS

One thing about goals is they need to be specific. The other is to attach a time frame to them.

A piece of mousse cake and a pot of tea later I had two pages of possibilities downloaded into purple ink under a variety of sub-headings: everything from the short stories in progress or pitched, to novella possibilities, the editing and submission process for Piper’s Reach broken down. The stories had markets and deadlines attached to them. So did the novellas, along with possible windows for writing. The editing schedule went month by month.

On the start of the second page I wrote down some new habits (albeit, new rituals!) I wanted to foster.

NEW HABITS

The three most obvious for the readers here are:

1. sit at my desk five mornings a week for one hour

2. blog reguarly

3. submit every month

I think the new habits will go a long way to helping facilitate success. If I achieve a quarter of what is on that list, then I will be happy. If I manage to sit at my desk five mornings a week, I’ll consider the entire goal setting initiative a win!

Watch this space!

What new goals are you willing to kickstart this new moon.