As I sit here and write this blog post, 2021 is coming to an end. What a year it’s been. When 2020 ended, little did we know that 2021 was going to be far worse. It has been a challenging year.
Covid has seen us all separated from family and friends because of hard lockdowns and border closures. Sadly, many people around the world have lost loved ones to this terrible virus.
Despite all these challenges, I wanted to reflect on the year that was for me as a writer. The writing community continues to be a never-ending source of encouragement and support. It most definitely helped me make it through a tough year.
As many of you know, I work as an Aged Care Clinical Nurse Consultant in my day job. The last two years have been the most challenging I have ever faced in my career to date. I have been feeling burnt out as a nurse for many years now, and the pandemic has only exacerbated my feelings of being trapped in a career I find myself becoming more and more disconnected from. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but would give it up to write in a heartbeat if my writing paid the bills.
As many of my fellow writers were finding more time to write during stints working from home and being locked down, I was finding it more and more difficult to find both the time and energy to write. I often had little left to give after a day at the hospital, caring for patients in full PPE, day in and day out.
I must be a glutton for punishment, however, as I started ‘The Write Words Podcast' in June. I have loved every minute and have very much enjoyed chatting with my fellow creatives about their work. Season two will air on the 12th of January.
I completed ‘Not Dead Yet’ and the book will be released on the 8th of March. I originally planned to publish it in November, but it got postponed as I could not meet the deadline I had set for myself because of pressures of the day job. Better late than never, right? The story of seventy-one-year-old Mary is very close to my heart and I can’t wait to bring the book to you all very soon.
I have completed a third draft of ‘Scattered Scones’ and am hoping to enter this manuscript into PitchWars in either 2022 or 2023. I am taking the pressure off myself next year. If I don’t think it is ready next year, I will aim for the following year. I feel this story is really special, and it deserves all the nurturing I can give it.
I am working on ‘Tis Not the Season to Be Molly’, a funny Christmas novella, and hope to publish it in December 2022. Again, if life gets in the way, it will be the following December.
I have been burning the candle at both ends for far too long now, and I need to take my foot off the peddle for a little while. I will take a break from posting on the blog in January and will cut down the number of posts per month as of February. I look forward to hosting more talented authors on the blog next year, and would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed in 2021. I would also like to thank everyone who reads this blog. You guys mean the world to me.
I want to start a proofreading and editing course early next year, so I can one day, in the not too distant future, work towards moving away from nursing full time and earn some money doing something I am passionate about. Maybe by the time I am fifty-five, I can drop to part time and supplement my nursing income by providing an editing service to other writers from the comfort of my own home. That’s the dream, anyway. Therefore I need to take the pressure off myself for the next twelve months. I will concentrate most of my energy on the podcast and my study. My new books will come, just a bit later than I planned.
I also want to work on my health and fitness next year.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and could celebrate with your loved ones. I hope you all have a happy and safe new year. Look after each other.
Hayley xxx
