JOIN: Celebrate This Week - Two Months of Baby Steps

Every Saturday, join me as I CELEBRATE This Week 

with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.

I can't believe December is coming to an end...and 2015 as well. Two months ago I launched Story Exploratory and I've made baby steps since then towards bringing it to life. But in my heart, it feels like giant leaps, big, bouncy skips through a dandelion field because this work is so close to my heart.

This December I joined Linda Urban and her Write Daily 30. I've been writing (almost) everyday. My goal was to put in 20 minutes of drafting my middle grade novel every single day. I did a pretty good job except for the week before winter break when I barely managed to eek through the week in general. I doubled the number of pages I already had and added over 9,000 words. That feels pretty awesome. 

It's not actually a lot but eventually all those words will add up to be a whole book. And that feels phenomenal.

On December 12th, I held the first Story Exploratory workshop - Setting Your Story Free. We met at a local coffee shop on a brisk Saturday morning and I took brave story explorers through a series of activities to help them find the story they need to tell right now in their lives and to help them brainstorm how to take steps towards telling that story. It was an emotional few hours but I left feeling empowered after talking with people who were so honest and introspective when it came to writing and their lives. 

It was only a few hours but it was the first Story Exploratory workshops and I'm planning more for 2016. And that feels exhilarating.

This months marks two months of Story Exploratory fun and one month of having our puppy Perdita in our family. Through yoga, I found how to calm my thoughts. By writing, I found how to be mindful of my thoughts and how to propel myself forward by listening to everything going on in my head. From spending time with Perdi, I've learned how to slow down and be in the moment. She loves to sit at the end of our driveway and take note of everything going on in the culdesac. I've come to love just standing there and soaking up the moment. It's helped me be more mindful in other areas of my life. 

It's all these small additions to my life in this short time that have helped me know that all the energy I put into Story Exploratory are worth it. I have a story to tell and part of my story is inspiring others to find their stories. And that feels wonderful. 

Celebrate with me! 

What do you have to celebrate from this week? 

This month? This year? I would love to hear about it!