Children’s author Julie Hedlund, challenged participants of her 12 Days of Christmas for Writers series to post SUCCESSES (rather than resolutions) on our blogs this year. She believes the way New Year’s resolutions are traditionally made come from a place of negativity – what DIDN’T get done or achieved in the previous year. Instead, she suggests we set goals for the New Year that BUILD on our achievements from the previous one. I decided to participate in this Anti-Resolution Revolution! Here is my list for 2019.
Until recently, I thought I hadn’t done much in 2019 as I hadn’t done much writing – then I started to go through photos for my son to make a ‘Highlights of 2019’ video for me and I realised that 2019 has been amazing.
Here are some of my successes:
- I ran some School Holiday workshops in Melbourne & Traralgon in the January holidays
- Had a storytelling tent at the Heyfield Family Fun Day (if I had copies of the picture books, I would have sold quite a few too)
- Continued running the Young Writer’s Group at the Mount Waverley Library
- Completed training at Gippsland FM in anticipation for starting a radio show in 2020
- Started a Street Library in front on my home and attended the local Street Library launch for the program a good friend of mine was organising
- Had a stall at Drouin West Primary School and a lot of my books are in the hands of new readers
- Held my first Book Tasting event
- Attended author talk at the local library to hear Nelly Thomas
- Attended the Story Festival on Phillip Island and met Amy Bodassian, Uncle Jack Charles, Michael Veitch, and more amazing authors and story tellers
- Interviewed on Gippsland FM
- Finished editing a picture book I started in 2012 in the 12×12 challenge and decided to self publish in 2020. I have an amazing illustrator. Will share more about this one at the end of January… watch this space
- I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension – this may not seem like a success, but it feels like it as I had felt for ages something wasn’t right and kept being told that I was just stressed!
- Attended a book launch for the picture book of some amazing friends
- Started having big dreams for the future!
- Working on some online courses for young writers to be launched in 2020
- Read over 50 books and continued reviewing books for Books on Tour and EK Books
That’s an amazing list, especially in a year when I felt that I hadn’t done much!
When the video has been finished, I’ll share that too. Bring on 202o!
