New year, new beginnings. I’m tackling my study. For the last year it’s been tormenting me, like some sort of nagging, resident bully. So many unfinished projects. Bundles of ancient notebooks stuffed in cupboards. Boxes crammed with draft after draft of incomplete stories. Then there’s the books, piles of them, many read but too many unread. Not to mention the photographs, old magazines and unhung pictures. Stuff. Everywhere. The chaos of it all.

The past year has been one of enormous change in every sense. The world's in flux. On a personal level too, there's been all sorts of readjustments. The future feels uncertain and time is precious. It’s easy to get caught up, weighed down and paralized. I can’t change my ways. I’ll always be a bit of a shambles with hoarding tendencies. But what’s a new year for, if not for renewal, hope and good intentions.

So, 2017, here I come with this little TO DO list in mind;

Finish things.

Be kind.

Be present.

I’ve got the next week to begin to sort things out (ha!) before I get busy with Words Away again. A promising year lies ahead, with guest authors including Stella Duffy, Ruth Ware, Essie Fox, Sara Grant and Francis Spufford, lined up for Salons with Emma Darwin and me. I’ve started reading Stella Duffy’s beautifully written book, London Lies Beneath, before our Writing Short Stories session on the 23rd January. It’s a wonderful book, set in South London where I live. I love the way the stories weave together as a whole to bring the past and place alive. I’m so excited about this salon and hope you can join us too. Do try and book online as it’s looking like a busy one.

Meanwhile, back to the tidying up...

Here’s wishing everyone a happy, healthy and productive New Year. With some laughs. May 2017 be kind to you all.

Kellie

PS: If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to pick up the pen and get writing or to return to that novel you've started, don’t forget we’ve got our Writing Fiction retreat 17th - 19th March with our guest tutor, Emma Darwin, at Rathfinny Wine Estate in East Sussex. It’s a gorgeous venue. I’ll be hosting and participating too. You can find out more and book here.