Say Yes More

Well Happy New Year (yes, I know I’m late).

Well here we are in 2015. This time last year I was nervously waiting for the outcome of the Firefly Press prize. A year later here I am, with a book on the shelf with my name on the spine, a first draft of another ready for editing and a sixth draft of a third that will get finished one day, I keep promising myself. 2014 was quite a year! I met lots of amazing new people, worked with the fabulous Firefly Press and Peter Stevenson and learned how valuable a brilliant editor is (hats off to the fabulous Janet Thomas at Firefly). I also learned that one’s family and friends are even more loving and supportive than you think they will be and that no matter how much you want your dream, often they have been wishing it for you even more than you have.

So what do I want out of 2015? Well I have a few New Years Resolutions – find an agent, get another book accepted, finish the handful of projects that I am so keen to send out into the world. Above all, I think my new resolution, and one that I’m already working on, is simply to say ‘Yes’ more.

I’m a rather tentative soul. I tend to say ‘can I think about it?’ when I should be saying ‘yes’. I worry about failing, about making myself look silly, about getting things wrong, about the practical things, about the cost,about a whole host of things. What I don’t worry about enough is missing opportunities. Just lately I’ve started saying ‘yes’ to things, and it is opening up so many more experiences.

An example – a few weeks ago on Twitter I answered a call for people who have had their debut books published after the age of 40. I looked at the post, thought ‘do I put my head over the parapet and say ‘me’?’ With my new resolve to say ‘yes’ more, I responded. As a result I have connected with an amazing group of writers and am already learning so much from our talks on Facebook and Twitter. There was to be a lunch in London. Did I want to go? I wasn’t sure – it’s a long way from Wales to London for a day, even though I sorely wanted to meet everyone. ‘Just say yes!’ said both my husband and the small voice at the back of my head. So I did, and I’m off to London to meet up with a group of writers I have never met before, to share experiences and celebrate the joy of writing. All from just saying ‘yes, me’ one evening on Twitter.

So that’s my main resolution this year – to say ‘yes’ more. To be less afraid of new experiences. To embrace change and see where it leads me.