Like many teenagers, I wrote poetry in high school. I cobbled together a journal from spare ruled notebook paper and a used binder, hand-sewing and gluing the spine. The pages were deckled (not intentionally) by my inability to cut straight. I filled this upcycled journal with confessions, story snippets, and poems.

I wrote far more fiction than poetry in the years between, but I indulged on occasion. I used to post Wednesday poems on this blog some years back. I’d mess around with metaphor and meter in my stories, but not to great effect. (Rhyme was always hard for me.)

Since my writing block last year, I’ve struggled to find ways to put words to screen. I practically reinvented my writing process twice, but that didn’t seem to fix things. Even blog posts have been difficult and sporadic, though to be fair my topics have been difficult, deeply personal, and met with a great deal of hostility.

Earlier this month, unsure of what day exactly, I started writing poetry again. The first poem was excruciating to write, like turning a rusty nut off a threaded bolt, but the threads caught and subsequent poems have been easier.

Short answer: not as it exists right now.

Long answer:

It’s no secret I left my UU church last year. While my specific grievances are personal and partly confidential, I can speak to an overall trend that I’ve witnessed in other UU churches.

Mainstream denominations are in big trouble, and Unitarian Universalism is no exception.

Though I no longer do New Year’s resolutions (too ambitious, too inflexible, you’ve heard this already), I’ve decided to do some month-long commitments. Among my commitments this year: abstaining from most streaming video, i.e. Netflix, Disney+, etc.

I have several good reasons for this.

Yeah, about that…

I knew I wouldn’t be hitting 50,000 words this month. I wasn’t expecting to fall short by 49K, though!

There were two primary issues: one of which is just luck of the draw, and the other is more significant:

1. Changing priorities meant losing my focus. Some family drama, professional uncertainty, and other (undisclosed) personal issues kept me from giving Field of Shards the attention it needed.

2. I over-planned.

I may have been a little too ambitious with last month’s plans.

For a variety of reasons, I’m back on Facebook earlier than expected. I’ll remain off Twitter (much more of an issue with me personally) until the end of the month.

As it turns out, people expect you to be on social media to keep in touch. I tried to be proactive in reaching out to friends, but that skill has really atrophied, and unsurprisingly I felt isolated.

Total words written: 1,034.

It’s, uh, not a great start, but it is a start, nonetheless.

I haven’t scheduled my time well this week. I was socializing all Friday evening, then was out all of Saturday. I had some time Sunday morning, but didn’t take advantage of it. I’ve been getting words in here and there.

Hopefully I can gain some momentum this week, as I have nothing planned for the next few days. The challenges this year are different than last – this time around, it’s a matter of maintaining emotional engagement rather than time management. At least, that’s what I thought until I actually started writing this year.

I’m wrapping up my revisions to the existing draft of Field of Shards. Other than some scene rewrites in the first chapter, it’s been smooth sailing.

I noticed a very Hemingway-esque trick at the bottom of my manuscript: leaving a sentence unfinished as a prompt to continue writing. I recall doing that a bit last year, sometimes out of exhaustion, having finished my writing quota and not wanting to keep going. It sorta works – there’s a compulsion to finish the sentence, sure, but afterwards is harder when you’re drowning in the tar pit of writer’s block.

I’ve decided to make the transition to a plant-based diet.

“Again?” I hear you say, dear reader. Yes, but with some important changes this time.

True, I’ve had some false starts the past few years, which you’re familiar with if you follow me on social media or know me in meatspace. My issues with maintaining a plant-based/mostly-plant-based diet has been documented extensively on this blog. This time around, I’m making several important changes:

One thing I’ve developed a skill for is knowing when to step away from social media. Like Ross and Rachel, we’re always on a break, never a breakup.

(Though now that I recall, they did break up on that show, didn’t they?)

This time, I’m taking time away from Facebook and Twitter in particular. There are a few reasons, chief among them a need to reclaim some free time for NaNoWriMo next month. I’m also noticing that I’m getting angry over social media interactions as much as real-world tragedies, which is so very wrong.

As November 1st approaches, I’ve begun preparing for this year’s marathon of words. Read on for the details.

This Year’s Project: Continue working on Field of Shards

Although I eventually stalled out at ~17K words, Field of Shards had a great start last year. I’ve learned from NaNos past that you should never start a new project if there’s one you’d rather be doing, and this story’s pretty decent, if I may be conceited for a moment.