After one of the most eventful and fulfilling years of my life in 2017, including a new grandson, it’s now time to end the paralysis of inaction in 2018. I believe I’ve become complacent in my life, which isn’t a bad thing, in fact it’s been peaceful, but after returning from the Algonkian Writer’s Conference, it’s time to take action. First, I can’t stand to wait much longer for those people reviewing my manuscripts. Business is business and I will pursue further options. Second, while writing locally for magazines and periodicals is a passion, I’ve penned two free-lance pieces that need some traction. Third, this is a year of travel and getting outside my comfort zone. Now that the writer’s conference is in the books, I will look to attend the sequel in New York for the ability to meet some editors. There will be travel every month of the year, so challenges will arise, however, those seeds of change will be rooted in a rich loam of creativity and unabashed desire – the last being the biggest challenge. I have everything I need. I don’t desire the material comforts of new cars, clothes or multiples of anything. I truly only wish to have one of my manuscripts travel through the New York publishing world. This is the year I travel Lake Superior in my kayak. This is the year I’ll visit new places and relish new experiences, yet, I have a wonderful home and writing studio I love to be in – always! Thus the worry when using a word such as desire. Maybe I should qualify the discussion and use the word “tweaking” in my lie. For instance, I will be getting a new website; I will continue to work on making the Little Traverse Literary Guild a reality and provide for literary scholarships around the bay; I will continue to be in my studio when I’m home and work toward the perfection of my writing craft; I will ATTEMPT to blog every day – except when in the kayak; finally, I will continue in my life-long recovery and never take what I have for granted and make sure those around me are loved and cared for. So, while the fervent fist pounding at the beginning of this entry was necessary to get the juices flowing, the revelation of thinking-out-loud has reined me back to gratitude and rational planning. There are times I feel  like I simply write to the Universe where no one reads. Then there are times I become fearful of writing because of the caustic environment out there in the land of the internet, and that people read everything and categorize you into either good or bad columns. In either case, these rambling thoughts get me off the schneid. I need to move and not worry anymore. Maybe a true ending to the paralysis is a public First Step?