Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Next Class and New Year

My Book in a Week class has been rescheduled to start January 26 and end February 27. The deadline to sign up is January 23. Cost? $60 for new students and $35 for students who have taken the Book in a Week class before. Contact me at aprilkihlstrom@yahoo.com if you're interested. Everything is handled by email so you can read the lessons at 3 in the morning in your pajamas if you want! As always, the first three weeks will focus on brainstorming in a way that lets us take advantage of our non-linear creativity. The fourth week will be intensive writing week where you get to discover how and when and where and what you write best. The fifth week will be a wrap up with some information on evaluating the experience, revising the manuscript and sending it out to publishers. I often have complete newcomers as well as published authors in the class. Come join us and get a good head start for the year!

Meanwhile...I find myself savoring the new year. It helps that we tend to have sunny days and moderate temperatures here in Texas. (I still find it extraordinary that three of my four grandparents came from Finland and that I might have Laplander ancestry on my father's side. I am NOT a snow and cold kind of person!)

I'm enjoying taking the time to think about what I want in my life in this coming year. What do I want to write? Who do I want in my life on a more regular basis perhaps? Where would I like to travel? What workshops might I want to present and online classes teach?

There's a sense of joy in realizing I can choose how I want my life to play out—no matter what the external situation might be. There's power in knowing I can choose how I will respond to challenges. And there's a sense of peace in knowing I can make a difference with the classes I teach.

Sophy is settling in nicely—though she wasn't very happy with all the firecrackers going off here on New Year's Eve.


I hope that for all of you, the new year is starting well and that you are looking forward to the possibilities ahead. We writers have great imaginations! Of course, we seem to more often envision what could go wrong than what could go right but....once we do begin to imagine what could go right, wow! Here's hoping you're seeing at least a few wonderful possibilities for your life, too.