I also have to realise I don’t have to do everything right now, I can plan them, and do some now, other things later. After thinking about this for a week or so, I’ve made a plan and a decision. This is it:
The next anthology I was going to get working on to launch later this year, will now happen toward the end of this year, with a possible launch in 2023.
Covid is a killer, and thousands of people are being affected every moment, with sickness and death, and then the terrible grieving that comes after. So the time to let this theme go, and move on to the next one, is clearly not here, not yet.
I wrote a blog post about this new anthology, and while it is still in the back of my mind. there are other things in my mind as well, further forward in the front of my mind, that will happen before the anthology. The subject of my first anthology I edited, the one titled “Plague Invasion” is still in the news , and it doesn’t feel the time to move away from that subject, when it is still so incredibly relevent to us all.
And I have other things happening with my writing and connected activities, even in this Covid restricted world. A poetry collection to come out in a five more months, the event to launch it, with guest writer/poet events with my writing group to be presented (if Covid allows it), at our usual venue – the Prince Albert Hotel in Gawler, in the months before m own personal event put on by our writing group.
I am one of the two organisers for these wonderful events at the Prince Albert hotel, and have to admit, I’ve been missing being there in recent times, because our writing group has been meeting online instead of in person, because of you know what, yes Covid …
And I don’t want to sound too much like I stuck on a theme in exclusion of everything else, but the monthly events our writing group puts on, are all reliant on us being able to meet in person, safely … I was at the hotel today, celebrating my wedding anniversary with my husband, actually, and took the opportunity to check out the areas where we usually hold our events.
And from what I saw, I can’t say for sure that it seemed likely that we’d be able to hold the Gawler Poets at the Pub events there, not just yet … having to keep socially distanced is a thing we have to do, in the interests of the safety of all. But sitting that far away means difficulties for all, and the need to wear a mask unless eating and drinking is another ‘issue’.
So thinking about whether we’re going to be able to hold these events, and whether our writing group are going to be able to meet up for real again soon, these are in my mind as well. And of course, there is the novel I’m writing, bit by tiny bit … I want to work a lot more on that for sure. I think a full day just doing that would be a great thing, but when …
The one thing I do, regarding writing is the monthly newsletter I edit, and that must be ready, and sent off to be printed by a certain day, to be printed and distributed before the end of the month, every month … The January issue is on it’s way, but not ready yet, so I’ know what I’ll be doing tomorrow – the chronicle, not my novel, or any work on an anthology that isn’t going to be released until next year …
Writing that down, shows me I have a plan, and I can stick with it, doing my homework, and the writing exercises with the writing group, at the proper time. Working on the newsletter in the moments that become available, and waiting until my poetry collection is ready to launch in May. Fingers crossed to it being OK to meet up for book launches again by then.
I’m triple vaccinated, and I hope most other people are as well, so we can all safely gather together, and even give hugs to people! Won’t that be a glorious thing? I’d love to prioritise a time for that to happen!
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 