A year for prosperity

A pensive Idris Elba peers down at me from the dreamboard above my desk. His subtle reminder?

Shouldn’t you be writing?

Absolutely, and I have been. Almost every day for months.

Help for writers via the dreamboard

Dreamboat. Yes, he is. Oh, I misheard you, you asked about the dreamboard. Yep, he’s on that too.

Why a dreamboard? Aren’t I a practical, evidence-based kind of person. Yep, I am. And I’m also exploring a conscious, joyful life, being creative and curious. And I love a visual, so the dreamboard works for me.

My life has been a much more certain thing these last few years since I switched to being clear on what I wanted, asking for it and taking action towards getting it, rather than bemoaning the fact I didn’t have whatever it was. Letting go of that scarcity mindset and giving myself encouragement and inspiration to be a doer not a watcher.

Most days that works well. Other days it’s the support of family, good friends, books or the dreamboard that remind me about what matters in my life, and why, and what I’m doing to keep it that way.

At the top of the dreamboard this year is my one word…

PROSPERITY

Now this is less about prosperity as a measure of economic wealth and more about its meaning as a state of flourishing, thriving, good fortune and success. Though if we win the lottery I’ll be sure to let you know.

In the centre of my dreamboard is the question…

If not now, when?

This is my defense against the dark cloud of doubt, impatience and procrastination that occasionally  hovers over my workspace. Works a treat for me. Try it.

For 2018 I have time to write, time to create, time for fun, and time for family as the big four of what’s happening. And of course, there’s a little time for coaching, change and facilitation work in there too. And the fundraising through Women Who Care (more on that next time).

Time to write

How does time to write work with prosperity? We’ll skip tactfully over the fact that there’s been a bit of a gap in the blogging since July last year, not quite a prosperous flow of words there – well here really.

I have been spending a lot of time writing—just not writing blogs.

When I finally gave myself time and permission to be a writer a couple of years ago, getting up at the crack of dawn to begin, I ended up writing my memoir Breathing While Drowning: One Woman’s Quest for Wholeness. I needed to write and share Jacqui and my story. To put down on paper my own quest from grief back to life.

What’s next?

With my first book published I found myself free to write fiction.

Who knew that once I cracked the fiction dam it would turn from a trickle to a flood.

If you’re on my Book Friends email group, you’d know I’ve penned the first draft of my second novel. Well, here’s where prosperity starts to flow. It seems I’m overgenerous with my words, positively profligate—that’s the recklessly extravagant meaning of profligate not the utterly and shamelessly immoral one.

Draft One poured out. 116,000 words in about six weeks – prosperity.

Ideas pouring forth

Great! It had strong heroines, wicked villains, murder, mayhem, magic and mythical beasts. Wait, what? What are you writing I hear you ask? Don’t you usually write tips for a conscious life, empowerment for women?

Yes, and I’m following my own advice from my very first blog—it’s never too late to start afresh.

The manuscript has one woman who finds herself worn down. She yearns for a better life, connection to other people, a little adventure and a modicum more attention from the rest of the world. Her quest to save the universe becomes her quest to save herself. It just happens in a world full of magic and mythical beasts. As I see it I’m still empowering women, they’re just fictional rather than real. Not so different.

Back to the draft. My writing coach suggested I’d written 3 books, so I divided up the draft, worked on the first third and within a few weeks draft two reached 110,000 words – prosperity again.

Third time’s a charm

Yoikes. I sent that draft in and, you guessed it. I do like threes. The coach’s suggestion, take the first third and slow it down, let the characters loose, let them tell the story at their own pace, let the readers get to know them before I let them discover they are brilliant at magic, feed them to the dragon, or send them on their quest to save the cosmos. Oh, and add more on the senses, weather and world building.

And that’s where I’m up to. Draft 3 stopped at 88, 270 words. It’s been red-penned and I’m ready to revise and polish. My prosperity continues to flow in all shapes and sizes. I have an extravagant amount of time to write and that’s what I’m doing.

Release the words into the world

What about you?

Do you have a word that’s your focus for this year? Could you spend a couple of minutes in quiet contemplation and see what pops up?

Have you every tried a dreamboard? Have you ever set yourself a goal that takes you closer to your dreams? Do you let yourself dream? Is there a book or creative project inside you waiting to break the dam wall and burst forth?

It’s time to dream a little.

If not now, when?

Thanks for reading.
And if you’d rather listen to me read the blog, head over to SoundCloud HERE

Veronica

If you’d like some sneak peaks at my next book, sign up to my Book Friends list in the website footer to get my irregular newsletter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.