I like impossible colors.

More specifically, the lady who came up with that phrase!

In addition to posting some lovely vintage fashion, Andrea shares all the ups and downs of writing a novel. From her simple posts exclaiming over a word-count goal reached to dealing with publishers, she covers it all. She even hosts a challenge for NANORIMO (loosely translates to November = write a novel) that I was too late on this year, but I may have to do next year.

So, yes, my writerly affair this week is with this writerly lady.

And, she shared this exercise from The Relaxed Writer, to greet the New Year.

"Here's how it works.

1. Take a sheet of clean paper and draw a vertical line down the middle to create two columns.

2. Label the sheet, "My Writing Life"

3. Fold the page in half.

4. Set a timer for 10 minutes. On the left-hand side, as quickly as you can, list exactly what you DON'T want your writing life to look like in the coming year.

For instance:

I don't want...

"to not have a place to write"
"to struggle to find time for my writing"
"to be so isolated"
"to keep postponing developing story ideas"

5. Keep going until the timer chimes or you've completely exhausted all possibilities. If you feel uncomfortable with all the negative statements you're making, please be patient and stick with me. Emotionally connecting to your goals will help you achieve them. (I see this time and again in my private coaching practice.) The more you can allow yourself to really feel, see and experience what you don't want, the easier you'll be able to connect with what you do want. 

Please try not to edit yourself as you do this exercise. Redundancy is fine--even instructive! In this step and the next, pay attention to the themes and variations you lay out on the page. Notice where you concentrate your attention. Notice which topics appear again and again and again in different forms. If you pay close attention, the repetition will show you where you've been stuck.

6. Next, unfold the page. Use each bullet point in the left-hand column as a writing prompt. You're going to discover what you DO want by writing a specific, clear intention for yourself. How? Just rewrite each negative statement in the left-hand column into a positive one.
For instance:

I want...

"to have a dedicated space to write"
"to create a consistent, sustainable writing schedule"
"to refresh my network with new colleagues and writing peers"
"to send X new queries each week"
Voila! You've got marching orders for the new year--a perfect starting point to help you make good decisions and take the steps necessary to clear your internal and external environment of unneeded clutter.

Enjoy the process."

I will have to do this very soon :)

Here is another great post of hers, on books writers should read.

Gold Star to the lovers of the literarily minded.