New Year, New Challenges

As I wrote in my last blog, I joined the Orangeville Art Group this year. Yesterday, I not only got two of my paintings hung in one of their 3 local displays but I got a new job to do. I'll find out more details at our meeting on Tuesday but it involves contacting three local high schools and finding new art and artists to encourage. The other jobs they had available at the moment were President and Vice President. I figured those were challenges I wasn't quite ready for yet!

Today the Headwaters Writers Group met at our new location. The local library decided that for writers to meet and write on their premises, we would have to pay to rent the room like everyone else. We decided we could do better. And we did. One of our members got us a room at a local church which, ironically, is named after Lord Tweedsmuir whose real name is John Buchan. John's most famous literary work is The Thirty-Nine Steps, which was later turned into an Alfred Hitchcock movie. That knowledge made the church feel a lot more like home!

Some of the things I've decided to accomplish this year are:
1) Finish and submit the first of my three novels. Well, it is finished but needed some work, which is what I've been doing lately. Making it longer and stronger.

2) work on the other two novels so that when I do get attention from an agent or publisher, I'll have a lot to offer.

3) work on and complete one painting per month. That doesn't sound like much but when you already have kids, work, volunteer work, etc . . . it's an extra challenge but one I need.

4) work on my dad's memoirs and make them something publishable. That will take a lot longer than the novels will!

Watch for more paintings to appear. More excitement as my writing gets more attention. And check out some of my links. There is a lot of stuff going on in 2010!