Those Six Little Resolute Words (Plus a Tweet)

I lack April Halprin Wayland’s artistic skills and techy equipment, so please read my TeachingAuthors’ 2010 Writer’s Resolution below as if blinking marquis-worthy neon lights (maybe ruby red and silver?) showcase the six thoughtfully-chosen words.

           “Start each day with - my - stories!”

That’s what I used to do, way back when, when writing and only writing claimed my day and heart.
I lived and breathed my characters’ stories; their words and actions consumed my waking moments.
And sleeping moments, too, actually.
I’d trained my brain to work the nightshift, assigning it a problem to solve the second sleep befell me.
More times than not, I awoke with the solution. I was off and running, soon lost in my story.

A lover of quest stories, I shouldn’t have been surprised when my writer’s journey brought me something even better than the published children's books I’d sought: namely, teaching and coaching.
Helping others find and tell their stories utilized and maximized all I had become.
How could I not embrace both treasures with heart and soul?

Except that, with but 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week, four weeks in a month, twelve months in a year, my stories soon sat (way too) comfortably off in a corner of my writing room, watching me start my day with another.
They sought my attention, those stories of mine – waving, humming, calling my name.
But oh, how delicious my students’ and clients’ successes!

Not until this past year, writing and publishing S is for Story: A Writer’s Alphabet, was I able to admit: I miss my writing!
Happily I realized, none too late, that feeding and satisfying the Writer in me first, helps me better feed and nurture my students and clients.
A Win-Win solution, thanks to the light of a brand new year.

In the beginning is your end, of course; in the end is your beginning. Or as Richard Peck advises, “Your first page holds the last; your last page the first.”
What better way to remain resolute, to ensure I honor my six-word intention, than to creatively visualize my resolution’s results?
The December 24, 2009 edition of the Chicago Tribune invited readers to sum up their year in a single 140-characters-or-less Tweet.
I invited myself to do the same, for 2010, assuming I’d honored my opening resolution.

Once again, please read the thoughtfully-chosen words below as if showcased in blinking marquis-worthy neon lights (maybe royal blue and gold?).

              “Wrote and sold pb bio, board book,
                re-visioned Mg novel, grew writer/teacher/
                librarian workshops, helped countless
                writers find and tell their stories.”

Hurrah! Hurrah!
And, Happy New Year!

Esther Hershenhorn
P.S.
Don't forget to post your six-word resolution and win a copy of April Halprin Wayland’s award-winning picture book New Year at the Pier.

(1) Provide your email address or a link to your own blog in your comment so that we can contact you.
     (U.S. residents only, please.)

(2) Entries must be posted by 11 p.m. Wednesday, January 13, 2010 (Central Standard Time).

(3) The winner will be announced by 11 p.m., Friday, January 15, 2010.

Good Luck!