The Write Year by Steph Beth Nickel

A year to do nothing but write . . . what a thought!

If money weren’t an issue, I’d travel to Jasper, Alberta, with my hubby and meet up with our kids. (Dave loves it there and we’ve never vacationed in the mountains together.) I would also hop on a plane and visit our eldest son and his girlfriend in Scotland. Nathanial desperately wants to show us the sites. (And I think he’s just a tad homesick too.)

While I know I’m supposed to spend this glorious year writing, just imagine what wonderful inspiration I would get from my travels.

I would write blog posts galore and include photographs from my adventures. (I could write an entire book on Life through the Lens. Hey, maybe I’ll do that anyway. Dibs on the idea.)

I would also write an abundance of picture books and articles for children’s magazines. (I love writing picture book manuscripts. I just have to find an agent or publisher. Speaking of that . . . if this year to write could include having someone else find homes for my writing and take over the marketing end of the business, I would be beyond thrilled.)

I would love to write novels, but having so many wonderful friends who have done so, I wonder if I have the stick-to-it-iveness to see the process through—time and time again. Perhaps, I would focus on short stories and novellas.

If you’ve seen the Disney movie Up, you will understand me when I say I have Squirrel Syndrome—or as I prefer to call it, Butterfly Syndrome. I tend to flit from one thing to the next.

Barbara Sher wrote a book titled Refuse to Choose. Some people seem to be born knowing exactly what they want to do in life and they make a beeline for whatever it is. However, God did not make us all that way. I am eclectically-interested and eclectically-involved. For the most part, that’s exactly how I like it.

So, would The Write Year look much different than my life does now? Well, yes, since most of my writing-related endeavours involve editing other people’s work (which I love, by the way). But when it comes to writing, I would still flit from one project to the next. I would write for preschoolers and seniors—and for most everyone in between.

There is one project I would likely jump into with both feet if I had the opportunity. Since Deb Willows’ memoir was released, people have been complaining that it is too short and want to know when her next book is coming out. Given an entire year to write, we could make tremendous headway on Book 2. So, if I had to choose a single project, in all likelihood, that would be it.

But since I don’t anticipate the windfall that would make this possible, I will continue to rejoice in the opportunities the Lord brings my way and I will seek to remember God’s command in Colossian 3:23, which says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord” (ESV).

You can read more of Steph’s writing at Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests. You are also invited to visit her website, http://stephbethnickel.com/