A writer friend on Instagram asked recently if people had met their writing goals for 2021.
I haven’t met my writing goals, but I was pleased with everything that I did write. I’m proud of the pieces I published. I wrote a lot this year – but nothing publishable in the last couple of months.
A big part of it is all the extra tasks that accompany the holiday season. (I’ll admit that I dislike choosing gifts for people. I can’t guess what people want. It stresses me out.) But it’s also the weariness that befalls me when the evenings grow darker. Plus, this season my spirit was laden by personal stuff. I was feeling moody and stressed. (I’m fine now. I started feeling cheery and Christmassy, especially once school closed for winter break and we could relax the schedule.)
Anyway, these are all my reasons I didn’t publish much in the last couple of months. The last things I published were this autobiographical essay in About Me Stories and this post about Ten Reasons I Write (Hint: It’s Not for the Money). But that doesn’t mean my mind hasn’t been busy while I’ve been shopping for gifts, cleaning and decorating my home, cooking homemade fudge, and baking cookies.
My mind has been busy with plans for 2022.
I’m excited to say that in mid-2022, I’ll be launching a new home business! No details now, but it will combine my love for writing with my interests in neurodiversity and education. I’m excited!
I’m excited, but trepidatious as well. I feel like I’m challenging myself to swim across the English Channel. Except I only know the doggie paddle. (True fact – I’m a terrible swimmer.) Yet here I go, plunging into the choppy depths.
Although, I’m not really plunging in. I don’t plunge in anywhere, at any time, into anything. Spontaneity and I are not besties. I’m a planner. I’ve been thinking through the variables for a few months. I’ll be putting it together for the next few months until I’m ready to announce a launch date for the new site.
This endeavor feels like it will be in my wheelhouse. I’m a detail-oriented, independent thinker, and I like doing things my own way. This will be the kind of venture that can start small and be scaled up as I go. Also, I’m no stranger to hard work or initiative. (In my early twenties, I cleaned houses thanks to an ad I placed in the Pennysaver paper for housecleaning services.)
There will be a new website and a new blog, but I’ll still be writing here and on Medium, too. I have no plans to get rid of sarah-mcinnes.com.
2022: Optimism & Excitement. These are welcome emotions after two years of stress and anxiety amidst a pandemic! Stay tuned in the next few months for details 😊
Right now, I’m busy enjoying the Christmas break with my family, but look for my January newsletter to arrive soon in your inbox – you can Subscribe Here.
Sarah McInnes 
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