My Word for 2023 is Change
January 12, 2023 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, Word of the year, Writing GoalsMy word for 2023 is change.
Why change?
This year will be some big changes in our family. And I hope to make some changes of my own.
What type of change?
First our family changes. With our youngest in his senior year of high school, we will be done volunteering and being involved with high school activities come June. I will miss it. Supporting all the kids, cheering at choir, theater, and other events, and hanging out with other parents. Three kids and 10 years at the same school (for our 3 sons), it will be weird to say goodbye.
But with goodbye, is the opportunity to spend more time on my writing endeavors. To change my writing process, my manuscript, and my writing time. And hopefully do a little more travel and exploring with my hubby. I’m super excited about that.
Researching My 2023 Word Change
I like to explore and research my word, finding quotes and phrases that support why I chose the word I did. What I found encouraged me even more that this was the perfect word for me in 2023.
Change begins at the end of your comfort zone
Roy T. bennett
I’m at a place where I know I need to change things in my manuscript to take it to the next level. And I’m ready to do it. After a lot of work (my word in 2022), reviewing and evaluating the entire novel, I know what I need to work on. And embracing change instead of being fearful of it, is how it’s going to get done.
Here’s to a year of change!
Denise M. Colby loves to choose a new word each year and then share what she learns about it. She wrote about her 2022 word, work, in her latest blog post, and created a highlights page for her 2020 word of the year courage on her website.
Choosing a Focus Word for Next Year
December 12, 2022 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, Word of the yearI’ve written several posts about choosing a focus word each year and work hard (my word is WORK after all, this year) to find ways to study it, learn about it and share throughout the year. Over the past few years, I’ve had my word scream at me by the end of October. This year, it’s a little more subtle and I’m not sure what to choose. Have you picked your word yet?
How do you start to choose a focus word?
My word of the year journey began in 2015, when I decided to choose a focus word that I could cling to in my writing. I quickly realized that my word applied to all areas of my life, not just writing. And I have found it to be something I love to incorporate in my social media and discussions with people throughout the year.
You can introduce your word of the year in social media, take pics when you find your word, and share quotes and verses which include your focus word.
About a year ago I figured out each word builds on the previous word and a true indicator of my overall writing journey. Now I just have to figure out what my 2023 word will be.
Here are the words I’ve selected since I’ve started.
- 2015: Hope
- 2016: Believe
- 2017: Strength
- 2018: Steadfast
- 2019: Purposeful
- 2020: Courage
- 2021: Wisdom
- 2022: Work
- 2023: ???????
I have a short list for next year already, I just want to look up verses and see if there’s enough quotes to support and encourage me throughout an entire year.
Do you have a process you use to select your word? Or if you haven’t ever chosen a word, I wrote this blog post on the Wisdom of Selecting a New Focus Word Every Year
If you’ve already chosen a word, I’d love to hear what it is and why you chose it. Please write in the comments so those of us who have not picked a word yet, can find some inspiration!
In the meantime, I wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas.
Blessings,
Denise
1 0 Read moreMy Work In Progress, Applying My 2022 Focus Word
November 12, 2022 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, Word of the year, workI love the play on words with the term Work in Progress for my 2022 focus word. With my word being “work” this year, I, myself am a work in progress. Just like what us authors call our current manuscript, work in progress (WIP).
I have found this word to be a great word to focus on. The word work can mean many different things, and I have focused on the noun.
Exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; productive or operative activity
My favorites have been the synonyms for the word work. These highlight what I wanted to focus on this year.
Interestingly, for my manuscript work in progress, I have been able to focus on digging deeper into editing, reviewing each chapter with my critique partners and learning through editing their work as well. I also have entered additional contests and participated in classes and online learning. With the limited time I’ve had, I feel I have continued work on my manuscript and have made progress.
My Personal Work In Progress
Personally, I am always a work in progress, but especially this year my focus has been on my health. Even with a significant car accident earlier in the year that put me in physical therapy for many months, I have made great strides in my health. I’m sleeping better, I have more energy, and I can eat a larger variety of foods again.
It has taken a daily commitment to build new habits in both of these work in progress areas. Sometimes it’s been challenging. Sometimes I wonder if I would ever get better (both in my writing and my health). But as days have become weeks, and weeks, months, I do see progress. The best complement I received recently from a dear friend; they could see how much healthier I look. And as I reflected on those words, I realized I do feel healthier and happier.
Creating Fun with my word, Work
I like to make my word each year fun and memorable and find all sorts of quotes and verses with that word in it. The last few years, I get to the end of the year and I haven’t posted as much as I wanted to about my word. That too, seems to be a work in progress. And then it becomes a mad dash to do just that. So bear with me as I share these quotes and verses related to my word work.
I hope they inspire you in your own work in progess, whether it is your writings or your personal life.
Denise M. Colby loves to write words of encouragement blog posts. She also loves to write about her word of the year she chooses each year. She created a page on her website on her 2020 word, courage, a blog post about her 2021 word, wisdom. She started 2022 sharing why she chose the word, work
0 2 Read moreBeing Out of Balance Stifles Creativity
January 12, 2022 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, Word of the year, writers goals, writerslifeDo you ever feel out of balance in your life? Where you find your days lopsided in your to-do’s, and you aren’t able to dig into your well to do what you really want to do? Have you found yourself with the desire to create stuffed inside but no way to come out? Am I the only one who needed a mental and creative break at the end of last year?
When I say creative break, what I really mean is giving my brain a chance to catch up with itself. Taking the time to organize thoughts, goals, wins, and losses, and get out of the funk I found myself in.
Time to conduct a Sacred Rest Assessment
Susan May Warren added the Sacred Rest assessment in her 2022 Brilliant Writer Planner (that I love!). It’s a way to determine the rest you are lacking (and what you are not). It’s all about balance. And she organizes our needs into these buckets:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Creative
- Spirutal
- Social
- Sensory
- Mental.
When you find your life is out of harmony
For me, my mental and creative areas are sorely lacking. And taking time over the last two weeks to purge through some to-do piles, evaulate my year, and write out thoughts, made me realize I don’t schedule this type of downtime for my brain enough.
And that’s exactly what the assesment is supposed to do.
Help you figure out areas you should focus on this year.
For me, I like time to let my mind catch up with my inputs. Let my mind wander. With my scheduled life, I don’t get a lot of time to do that. Yet when I did recently, I found the creative juice I’ve been missing.
Ideas began to pop into my thoughts. Energy to dive in and get to work.
Finding Symmetry
And that what was so exciting, because WORK is my word for 2022. Something I chose because God isn’t finished with me yet. And I am not finished with this writing journey.
He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. Philippians 1:6.
Noun: exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something
Dreams don’t work, unless you do.
My manuscript is a work in progress
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart….Colossions 3:24-25
Which is exactly what I plan to do for 2022.
I process my thoughts by writing. I explore what’s in my brain by writing. And what I found myself not doing at the end of 2021 was writing.
It takes work to write. And I’m now ready to get to work.
Figuring Out Balance
In her Sacred Rest Assessment, Susie May asks three questions at the end
1. What areas do you need to focus more on this year?
2. Why do you feel you are depleted in those particular areas?
3. What activities can you pursue to refresh your life with Sacred Rest?
And just like that I figured out how and what to schedule (what I need to bring balance back to my life) into my week.
How about you? Are you in balance with your Sacred Rest?
You may want to schedule some time to assess to help you bring yourself back into balance this year and together, maybe we can help each other do just that!
Denise M. Colby loves to write words that encourage, enrich, & engage. Every year, she chooses a word to focus on. Her word in 2021 was Wisdom. If you’d like to see more of Denise’s posts on this blog, you can check out her archives.
0 0 Read moreThe Wisdom of This Year’s Focus Word
August 12, 2021 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M. Colby, wisdom, Word of the year, writerslifeAs I’ve mentioned in my January post, my word for 2021 is Wisdom. And as usual, I realize now how perfect this word has been for me this year. That there was wisdom in selecting wisdom as this year’s focus word.
I selected this word because this was the year. The turning point year where I’d apply the wisdom I’ve learned thus far, and also seek out others’ input for my next step in my writing journey.
Wisdom, I’ve learned, encompasses the integration of knowledge, experience, and deep understanding; and how you apply those three in your decisions.
This is exactly what I wanted to explore in my writing. To make final decisions about how it’s written and get it published.
And that has given me focus.
I’m happy to report that I’ve gotten my manuscript to a point where I’ve shared the entire thing with a select few. And have received positive feedback. That’s a huge step for me!
So as I reflect on this year so far, I think choosing the word Wisdom has helped me reach that goal.
Which is the entire point of choosing a focus word for the year.
But as always, choosing this focus word has not just been applicable to my writing.
I’ve thought a lot about how I apply wisdom in my decision making skills in my life too.
And in my search for quotes and phrases and wisdom about wisdom, I realized some things.
Each word I’ve selected has been building on each other. Hope, believe, strength, steadfast, purposeful, courage, and now wisdom. I needed to glean the knowledge of the other words first before I could truly embrace the word wisdom.
That was a huge aha moment for me. A small dash of wisdom, which has altered how I look at myself, my writing journey, and my life.
That’s why choosing the word that fits where you are and where you want to go is so helpful.
Other thoughts about my word Wisdom
Did you know that my name Denise means wisdom?
When I found these cards amongst some old papers, it was quite the aha moment. The timing was right for me to select the word wisdom as my focus word.
Denise M. Colby
Because quotes are all about invoking wisdom, I have had to purposely search for quotes and phrases using the actual word wisdom in it, vs finding quotes related to wisdom itself.
It took some time, but I found some. And they have helped me explore this word further.
Night Sky, Hyden, Western Australia. 
I really like to study words and share what I learn.
And I’m excited to have a few more months to explore my focus word, wisdom.
I’m never really ready to let go of my words, which is why I’m thankful to have learned that the words you choose don’t really go away. They are a part of you, like building blocks, helping you grow into the person you are meant to be.
Last year I had so much on the word Courage, that I built a page dedicated to the word to put everything in one place.
I’d love to hear what have you learned about your focus word this year. Please share in the comments.
Blessings,
Denise
0 1 Read moreFeatured Books
THE DAY BAILEY DEVLIN PICKED UP A PENNY
Oh, Boy! Oh, Bailey!
Find a penny, pick it up; just don't bank on Lady Luck.
