Year in Review

I feel lucky to have a birthday smack dab in the middle of the calendar year. It gives me an opportunity to reflect every six months--in January at the start of the New Year, and in June at the start of my New Year.

I read back on this post regarding my Writing Action Plan for 2009, and I'm happy to say I'm on track: I'm working on the ole novel, and have 2 stories I'm sending out (and getting a lot of rejection notices on...). I sent in a query to NPR, and also got a rejection. But hey, I sent it! So I'm trying at least. I attended Grub Street's Muse and the Market Place (and will post about it soon... better late than never, no?).

I have also recently begun some volunteer activities, which I'm quite proud of. I'm going to start tutoring some ESL students in Brockton (a nearby town that has a big immigrant population) in July, and I've contributed time and seedlings to a garden plot whose produce will go to a food pantry.

Speaking of gardening, I'm taking time to do a lot of it. I'll post some pics (including one of a basil leaf as big as my hand!) as soon as I can find the damn cord that connects the camera to the computer.


There is still much I'd like to do in 2009:
1. Publish a story,
2. Get a second draft of most, if not all, of my novel
3. Do NaNoWriMo in November
4. Get one more story finalized and into send-out rotation.

But all in all, the first half of 2009 has been a mostly happy, mostly productive time, which is all I can ask for really.