It’s time for an update on the writing goals I set last September. I set a goal of finishing a 100-poem manuscript by January 31, 2022. Well, I did complete the manuscript but not until the middle of February. I’m happy to say that it is now in the hands of my critiquers. This is the wait part of the hurry up and wait model. When they’re done critiquing, I’ll revise the manuscript with fresh eyes, keeping in mind the critiquers comments.

I was not so successful with my second goal. I wrote that I would have the next manuscript in my Rochester series (set at Mt. Hope cemetery) completed by February 28, 2022. I’m sorry to say that although I’ve spent a lot of time researching the cemetery and many of the people who are buried there, I still do not have the hook for the story. No more goal setting until I get that hook. Then the words will come easily. So what do I do now? Read and do more research and take some time away at the beach. Who knows if an idea might come in at the next tide.