Happy Winter Solstice my dear writing buddies and friends,

As the wheel of the year turns, I wanted to share this with you, this Solstice Sentiment:

Nature remembers what humans have forgotten:  Every cycle must return to stillness, silence, dark

Every out breath requires an in-breath; Every outward endeavor turns back inward to its origins, to its center, and begins again

From death comes new life, and from the darkest night, the new dawn is born.

This sentiment is appropriate to what I’m going to tell you about 2015 for SnoValley Writes!, for my own Write Life.

In 2015 I am embarking on some new and exciting journeys.

Firstly, I have a couple of short stories that are going to be traditionally published.

Next, I’ve decided that I will take the dive, like so many of you, and self-publish one of my novels. For awhile I thought that for me to dip into self-publishing would be to admit defeat. I wanted to traditionally publish first before self-publishing. That was my personal goal – and is in no way a slam on anyone else’s chosen path. I admire anyone for being so brave to do that. But, the world has now taught me my initial desires might be a bit backwards. I’m fueled, as always, by so many of my fellow authors’ success, that I’ve decided to take this step forward in my writing career. It’s time for me to kill my fear, and be brave as well. It does not mean that traditional publishing is off the desk for me. I still have WHEN A RAVEN PECKS OUT YOUR NORMAL to finish and give to the interested publisher.

Also, the other activity I’ll be channeling energies into is that I’m going to be working with veteran organizations and teaching writing as healing. I’m very, very blessed to have such a calling and will certainly keep you all abreast of this new endeavor. I had hoped that I could announce a defined plan for this, but as I’m working with others, I have to wait until they are ready for me to announce.

My freelance life is going to be moving to more and more book doctoring and fiction editing – as was my goal when I left the corporate world in 2011. I’m very excited by such work and it fuels my own writing passions.

With these new undertakings, and the increased demand on my time as a special-needs parent, the latter of which many of you are so acutely aware, it is necessary that I take a bit of sabbatical from other things. Before you look in horror that I’m leaving all of you, rest assured that SnoValley Writes! is not going away. I simply will be taking a break from doing workshops for SnoValley Writes! As I said, it’s a sabbatical. The writing cafes will continue. The weekly emails will continue. But our workshops are on hiatus. Much like a professorial sabbatical, this will only be a year. My hope is that things will balance out come 2016, we will reconvene anew. Now, however, if someone else or a group of some ones wants to take on the workshops, the library is still offering us space. You just would have to decide by the first of the year.**

Regardless, I will not be heading those workshops. So many of you have gone beyond what I can teach you. I rest solid in the knowledge, as so many of you have expressed to me, which you wouldn’t be there without my mentorship and my encouragement. This is always why anyone teaches, yes? Therefore, it’s necessary that I turn inward – as the Solstice Sentiment detailed – and catch up to many of you, and come back with many new things to teach you come 2016.

You will see me in 2015 at the neophyte storyteller’s circle, and I’ll continue to bring you information on those via our weekly emails. I’ll also be encouraging attendance at literary field trips, readings, book launches, and other art-centered events.

I’ll still be here, it’s just going to look different for 2015.

Happy Yule, my friends. And a successful and happy 2015 to all of you.

**The group that attended our gathering this morning decided to keep the workshop time and will make it a more informal gathering, to bring work in to read and trade and to receive feedback and more detailed critiques. Who knows, maybe there will be more workshop-style stuff, too! So the 3rd Saturday of every month from 10:30 a.m. to Noon at the North Bend Library meeting room — the writers will still meet and help and encourage everyone to move forward in your writing. More information on that to appear in our weekly emails. 

—
What did you Write today?
~Casz

Casondra Brewster
Moderator/Founder
Sno Valley Writes!
Helping Writers Reach New Literary Peaks Since 2008
http://www.snovalleywrites.org
Check us out on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/SnoValleyWrites

“But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling, like dew upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.” ~ Lord Byron