The End of the Year

"Just a few more hours/that's all the time you've got/Just a few more hours" Those lyrics are from Get Me to the Church on Time from the Broadway musical, "My Fair Lady." The song is actually about the last few hours of freedom before the guy gets married, but they are appropriate now, as well. Because it is "just a few more hours" until we turn over another year. And, as so many others are doing, I'm looking a little bit back, and a little bit ahead. On the big scale, it was a bit of an unsettled year. The weather was unsettled in a lot of areas, with storms and earthquakes and disasters seeming to occur on a regular basis. On a smaller scale, here in my world, we had a freak snowstorm in late October, and are still having unseasonably warm weather interspersed with a chilling cold day now and then. Wind, rain and hot weather were a bit topsy-turvy all year as well. We lost some big news names: Kim Jong-il, Anne McCaffrey, Harry Morgan, Bil Keane and Steve Jobs, just to name a few. Some things changed, some did not. All in all, it was a year much like any other, with ups and downs, good and bad, highs and lows. And now it is time to say good-bye, and welcome in a bright, shiny new year.

New Year's always holds a bright promise: this one will be better. Whether you are a resolution maker (I am not), or you prefer to just hold out hope that things must go better, the feeling is there. We've sent the old away, it's behind us, and we can look forward to something better.

And you know what? I think that is a good thing, as long as you realize that the New Year alone is not going to fix everything. You have to add your part to it. The turning of the year gives you the chance to put the past behind, and face a new, improved future. But it will happen only if you make it. January 1st presents you with a blank slate, and that's all it is responsible for. Keeping the shiny, and making the new last is all on you. And that's not a bad thing, either. We all need to get more involved, more motivated and just do more. So whatever you want to happen? Get out there and "Make it so!" as Captain Picard would order. Do it. Even if it's just a small thing that affects only you and your life. It's worth it, because next year at this time, you can look at that one thing and say- I kept this shiny and new all year long. And that, my friends, is worth more than all the big, sweeping resolutions that are forgotten and abandoned. Happy New Year!

And one last thing that has nothing to do with New Year's, other than it is the deadline for this: Writer’s Digest 101 Best Web Sites for Writers is taking votes.

I'm asking for votes for one of the most useful websites and podcasts for writer's I know: I Should be Writing by Mur Lafferty (http://www.isbw.murlafferty.com) It's informative, interesting, sometimes tough, sometimes personal, but always has good, solid, common sense advice, plus interviews with everyone you want to hear about.

I have gotten a lot of benefit from ISBW. I've voted! It should be included on the list. If you have listened or read ISBW and think it's worthwhile, please add your vote. I thank you and I know Mur does, too!

The basic instructions: 1.Send an email to: writersdigest@fwmedia.com 2.Put 101 Best Websites nomination in the subject line 3.Write a brief note asking for WD to consider the site for inclusion in the 101 Best Websites list and make sure to provide both the NAME of the blog/site, as well as the URL. I Should Be Writing http://www.isbw.murlafferty.com 4.The deadline for nominations is January 1st, and winners are announced in June.