What I Wish For You in 2024 (A Love Letter)

Hopes for a good new year

Mindset, motivation and inspiration for novelists—with a dash of instruction about writing craft added in. There’s no one approach to writing that works for everyone, but I can help you find what works for you. Subscribe (free or paid) to get the fuel you need for your writing career.

Photo by Vernon Raineil Cenzon on Unsplash

Hello lovelies,

And welcome to the last day of 2023. (And 123123 day—thank you to my sister, Christine Rains, for pointing this out.) Are you happy to see this year go? While I hate to demonize any particular year (except for 2020) I’m more than ready to move on. Because, let’s just be honest: in so many ways it was a crappy year. I don’t have to detail the awful things that happened in the world and the ongoing crises we face. I know we can’t turn our eyes away from all of that, but my point is not to look back in horror but to look forward with hope.

One dark early morning last week, as I sat beneath the fuzzy wool blanket that has soothed me throughout my post-surgical time, working in my journal, I started thinking about all of you. Yes, you. My beloved readers. My writers. My clients, students, friends, family. And I thought about what I want for you in 2024. Not in terms of stunning word counts, massive publishing contracts, wonderful writing successes all year long. I want all that and more for you. But the kinds of things I thought about are more foundational. More emotional. More personal. And maybe the slightest bit weird. But, hell, so am I.

So here goes my list.

What I want for you in 2024

Photo by Jade sia on Unsplash

Time and energy to write.

The most important and foundational wish of all. Because you are a writer, and when a writer can’t get to her writing, things are not right. For said writer, her family, her friends, and I will also venture to say the world at large. Remember the Butterfly Effect, which says the tiniest of events, even the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, can effect huge changes? When a writer can’t write, there’s a warp in the time-space continuum. It might be tiny, but it’s there. And who knows what kind of devastating consequences that might have? So I hope you have all the time and energy you need to write this year.

Appreciation for the old.

And I don’t just mean old people like me (though that too is important). But also, your old work, the writing you’ve done that has brought you here, to where you are now. The experiences you’ve had—some awful, some wonderful—that have made you into the writer you are today. Maybe you’ll bring some of these experiences into the new year, and maybe you need to let go of some. But whichever, a bit of appreciation goes a long way.

Openness to the new.

Sometimes what we need is the ubiquitous breath of fresh air. A new idea, a new technique, a new way of doing the same old, same old. Maybe a new character for your novel. Although I generally have way too many ideas and need to get better at finishing before I start something new, I know there are times I resist the new. Maybe it seems like it’s going to be too much work. Or I don’t know how to do it. Or I’m afraid of it, because sometimes the new is scary. If this happens to you, I wish for you to be open to what may come. (And right now, on the cusp of a new year, is a great time to practice this.)

Stress-free productivity.

I hope that you reach your word count or complete your plans to rewrite on a daily basis, or however often you want. But, and this is a big but, I hope that this happens with grace. That it’s easy and fun. That you feel free and loose while you’re writing, not tight and worried about how the work is going to be received.

Time to rest, and most importantly a commitment to it.

Closely related to the above, is taking time to rest. Consider it self-care if you must. I hope you get good at this in 2024. It’s hard for me, I must admit. But enforced rest after surgery for a few weeks has shown me its benefits. I know what your fear is around this—I just discussed it with a client/friend. It’s that you’ll get so good at resting you won’t be productive. May I submit that this happens because you freaking need to slow down? Let yourself have the space you need to relax and trust that you’ll get back to your writing. Because I know you. You’re a writer, and writers gotta write. So you’ll do it. And you’ll be better at it because you are rested.

Health, and freedom from pain in your body.

Health enables us to write. (Not to hammer on things too hard here, but the above-mentioned rest is a key to health.) And I will add freedom from pain because I spent the last year in it. I wasn’t aware of what a huge drain it was on me until I no longer had it. If I had it to do over, I’d opt for the surgery sooner. And so, my hope for you is that if you have pain you will not hesitate to deal with it.

Confidence, in your writing and yourself.

Confidence in ourselves is the missing link. It prevents us from pushing publish on books (ask me how I know), from sending that query to an agent, from sharing our work with others. Sometimes writers mistake confidence for ego, and lord knows we’ve been trained not to be egotistic. But it’s not the same thing. Egotistic is when you bluster and bluff and bully about your work, but it’s all built on hot air. Self confidence is when you quietly acknowledge that your work is good, and worth sharing. When you remember the hours of writing, improving your craft, doing the work, and know that the end result is worthy. I wish that for you in the new year.

Support.

I wish for you insightful beta readers (thank you to mine!), an honest critique group, supportive friends and family. Good readers and people who understand that when you want to go write, it’s nothing against them. You’d just rather work on your novel than binge watch yet another show. I wish for you family members who understand that this writing gig takes time and success doesn’t happen overnight. Loyal pets who sit on your lap or at your feet while you type away.

Appreciation for gratitude and glimmers.

I know it’s a cliche, but gratitude matters. In the aftermath of my surgery, I was so grateful to be on the other side of it, that I wrote a list of things I was grateful for every morning. It’s not a bad way to start the day. And I’m doing my best to remember to notice glimmers, those lovely little moments that spark joy. So important for writers.

Kindness. To others—and yourself.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” Wendy Hass. Yes, ma’am, this is true. Does it take much effort to smile at someone or offer a hello? No, no it does not. And, for the love of god and all things holy or profane, I wish for you to extend kindness to yourself as well. Do not beat yourself up when you get so engrossed in a novel that you read when you should be working (as I just did), or don’t meet your word count. Or get another rejection. It’s all part of the process. Be kind.

Love.

Yes, love. Familial love, congenial love for a friend, love for the place you live or are planning to move to, love for your pet, your fountain pen, love. Maybe even romantic love! (A friend of mine in her fifties has inspired me by unexpectedly dating a widower.) It doesn’t matter what kind, because love really is what we all need, in one shape or another. And it’s part and parcel of every single damn novel out there in the world in one way or another. I’ll fight you on this. Though that wouldn’t be very loving, would it?

While we’re on the topic of love, it would be remiss of me not to mention my love for you, my Wordstrumper readers. Thank you for tuning in to these missives and commenting and responding to me. I love you all!

And with that, I will sign off and say, merrily, see you next year!

Love, light, and good writing,

Charlotte

---

Books

Neena Lee is Seeing Things, by Sheila Athens. Sheila is a writing friend I met through a couple of masterminds I’ve been in and this book is newly released. I just finished it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Neena Lee is up a creek. She’s grieving her brother, her relationship with her daughter is not going well, she’s broke and fighting to keep her last free-lance job. When she gets sent to Cumberland Island to write about JFK Jr.’s wedding there many years ago, she is stunned to run into his ghost. Yes, his ghost. But this is not a ghost story! It’s about Neena learning to forgive, most importantly herself. Recommended.

The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon. I’d seen this book recommended with rave reviews, so when on a Christmas shopping trip our local bookstore had only one copy left, I made my husband buy it for me on the spot. (The store wrapped it so I couldn’t start it until after Christmas.) I finally cracked it open and it was the cause of the afore-mentioned incident of reading too long and missing work. Set in 1879, it is based on the real-life Martha Ballard, a midwife in Maine. The writing is a master class in beautiful but clear and never overwhelming description. So good. And I’m less than fifty pages in.

(Note: the links are affiliates. If you buy through me, I get a small fee in return.)

---

Articles and Resources

Living in a multi-generational home, I’m always looking for a good noise-canceling soundtrack. Here’s a new one: listen to the sound of honeybees from inside the hive while you write:

I’m a sucker for any article about a commonplace book. This one should be free, at least for a little bit.

Inside my commonplace diary

Crafting unforgettable settings

What’s your story about? Maybe it depends.

And finally, here is the book marketing class I took last fall that I highly recommend. Lainey Cameron knows her stuff inside and out, and she shares a ton of great information. I still haven’t processed it all! A new session starts soon.

---

Events

Creative writing workshops in France and Italy next year. (England is now full.) See all here.

---

Coaching

I’m revamping my book coaching offerings and creating a website, so stay tuned. One of my plans is for a Plan Your Writing Year package. More soon, but if you’re interested in any kind of coaching, reply to this email. (FYI, I have an MFA in creative writing and I’ve been doing this work for twenty years.)

Photo by Peng Wei on Unsplash