2012. Here it is.

[stevieannie]

I'm not going to look back at the year that's been. It's been, there was good, there was bad. It's gone.

What I am all about today is the way forwards.

I've been doing some serious thinking recently, and realising that the only thing wrong with my life is that I don't have enough money to stop worrying about it. I don't want to be rich, but enough money to not have to worry about how the next bill will be paid would be lovely. And really that's all that's wrong.

I am married to a man that I love with all my heart. I believe he loves me too. We are both in good health. We have two remarkably pleasant children, who are growing up to be lovely people. They are both in good health. We finally live in the house that we want to live in, and plan to stay here forever. I have wonderful friends who bless my life beyond the telling of it. I have the dog I've dreamed of for years, and lots of chickens. I get to live a sustainable lifestyle which makes me happy.

All that's missing is enough money to stop worrying. And here's the thing: money I can make happen. I can work harder, smarter, longer. If it was a terrible health issue, nothing I could do would alter that. But it's not. It's just... f*cking... money.

So I'm going to solve that, along with several other things that have been nagging away at me.

They say that a writer writes, whatever happens in their lives. I write, but I struggle to write fiction. It's what I'd like to write, but I'm just not all that great at it, to be perfectly honest. However, I have been blogging for 14 years, non-stop, about things which are close to my heart. Maybe now is the time to look at writing *non-fiction*. Radical. I've had a couple of ideas for books rattling round in my brain for a good 24 months or more now, but have not actioned them because I still harboured the secret thought that writers should write *fiction*.

So I'm going to give it a try. Why not, eh? Maybe a publisher will be interested. Maybe they won't, and if so, then maybe I'll try publishing it as an eBook. But I'll be writing. I'm going to try to put aside a little time every day to turn off the modem and just write.

I'm also starting a works' choir in a few days' time which shows every sign of surfing the Gareth Malone Zeitgeist, and should prove to up my income a little. I'm looking into whether something in my local community might be possible without stepping on any musical toes here. If it goes the way I'd like, it has the potential to double my income without doubling my hours. I feel very positive about that.

You've got to believe it to do it. I really do think that, too.

Happy 2012, everyone! What dreams are you planning on realising this year?

Comments

[maeve-the-red.livejournal.com]

I wish you the very best for 2012, particularly with the non-fiction writing project; if I thought I could be of help, I'd offer my brain/contacts.

And thank you for a post that reminds me that - like you - the only real issue in my life is a lack of the arbitrary barter tokens that our shallow culture stupidly values above the really important stuff.