A step into the wilderness.
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“Always in the big woods, when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the Unknown, and it is your first bond with the wilderness you are going into.” ~Wendell Berry
I’m not a fan of the culture of comparison and judgement that dominates the last week of the year. Then again, I am not someone who has ever responded to negative re-enforcement and peer pressure. My obstinate tendencies tend the other direction, I am and will always be, my harshest critic. It’s obvious why I shy away from the annual wrap up.
Despite these inclinations, I did want to share a few significant things I accomplished this year in case you missed them. I am beyond disappointed that another year has passed without putting The Voyage of the Pleiades in your hands. But it hasn’t been from a lack of effort and an abundance of rejection. I’m hopeful that you will have it by this time next year.
In May, the romcom pilot that I co-wrote had its premiere at a table read at the Salida Film Festival. It was super fun to work on this project. We’ve roughed out the ideas for future seasons, so perhaps someday, you will have the opportunity to meet the characters and world we’ve developed. Working with the actors and hearing them perform our script was an amazing early birthday present.
Over the summer several of my fifty-word stories were published. One on 50-Word Story Website and one in the Fall issue of the print publication, Blink Ink. I wrote about 75 fifty-word stories in 2022 and it continues to be a format I love. So be prepared to see more of these from me in 2023.
In November and December, two episodes of Colorado Experience aired on Rocky Mountain PBS, both of which I was a contributing writer on. Script writing for a documentary was a new experience and a welcome challenge. I describe it as a combination of piecing a puzzle together and collaborative writing. When I begin working on these scripts, I have an outline and hours of interviews. None of the visuals. Our job is to create a compelling story by piecing together other people’s words. It calls upon many of the skills I’ve develop over the years. I have worked on a few other projects that you will see eventually, and I hope to continue to do more in 2023. Here are the links to the two episodes, you can watch them at any on YouTube.
Twin Lakes: Twin Lakes was the traditional land of the Ute people who were removed during a time when mining entered the area. Can the many broken treaties be reconciled? Air date: 10 November 2022
The Women of the Santa Fe Trail: The Santa Fe Trail was a major international trading route during the 1800s. This episode profiles three women who lived and traveled the Santa Fe Trail. Air date 15 December 2022.
I decided to use the motivation of NaNoWriMo in November to finish a draft of A Garden of Shadows, the sequel to The Voyage of the Pleiades. My productivity exceeded my expectations, and I finished in two weeks. I existed in a rarified, muse induced reality during that time (writing more than 50,000 words) and somehow came out the other side with my sanity and a complete draft. I’ve been editing that draft since and am on deadline to have a cleaned-up copy to my developmental editor by mid-January!
There was more happening behind the scenes including expanding my freelance editing to work one-on-one with authors, in addition to commercial copy editing. I finally got around to polishing my professional website.
So, those are the mileposts that I wanted to share with you. And as always, thank you for your support, I appreciate every click and every email. I am grateful for your company on this journey. Onward!
