Writers in the Storm

A blog about writing

storm moving across a field
December 29, 2021

One Word To Guide Your Writing Journey in 2022

Our Writers in the Storm team chose single guiding words in 2016, and 2017, 2018, and 2019. We took last year off for Covid, but we're ba-a-ack with new energy, new team members, and new words. We are ready for some writing in 2022!

Ellen

My word for 2022: Patience

Being patient is not easy. Dealing gracefully with provocation and annoyance, with minimal complaint takes loads of practice. However, there are great benefits.

Good reasons for being patient:

  • Taking a long view creates less anxiety.
  • Becoming more patient is a way to deal with stress.
  • Patient listeners have more friends.

A worthy goal, indeed.

Jenny

My word for 2022: Believe

This Fall, I hired a coach to help me achieve the goals I want to achieve and it has brought home an important lesson. It is our own belief in our abilities, achievements, or talents that limits us.

Henry Ford said it best: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right."

So my goal for 2022 is to get out of my own way.

If anyone else has this same issue, high five to you! *smack* We've got this.

Kris

My word for 2022: Hope

2021 had personal challenges and reminded me of the ways we lay the groundwork for hope and edify readers through our characters.  When we create relatable stories with fully developed characters (including flaws), we help create better worlds.  Even if they are imaginary.


"I really do want world peace."
-Gracie Lou, Miss Congeniality 

(Apologies for the less-than-literary movie quote, but it seems to fit the feeling here.)

Happy 2022, Writers!

Lisa

My word for 2022: Editing. 

I have more than enough raw material to take me much longer than a year to edit. But this next year will be special. I want to celebrate the creative process involved in editing and to try and get my muse and my inner editor to learn to play together peacefully.

Lynette

My word for 2022: Growth

I will focus on two different areas of growth. Personally: As a recent widow, I must grow into my new role as a single woman and I'll help my grandchildren grow by sharing books and experiences with them. Professionally, I'll focus on growing my brand, my daily word counts, and my newsletter membership. 

A new year always brings challenges and opportunities. 2022 will have plenty of both. I intend to meet them with an open mind, ready to grow.

Now we'd love to hear from you! What one word will guide your writing life in 2022?

Best wishes to all of you, as you move into this new year filled with possibilities!

from Ellen, Jenny, Kris, Lisa and Lynette

39 comments on “One Word To Guide Your Writing Journey in 2022”

  1. Gratitude. For my amazing life journey that has given me so much material. And now if it's to be it's up to me! Love all the comments that do contain wisdom. Here's to us wordsmiths for a safely well and productive 2022. More dedicated bum glue - but sprinkled with laughter that allows us to look forward to tomorrow. Congratulations to our abilities and honest self examination in order to grow! Thanks for keeping me afloat in the stormy weather that life dishes out each day.

  2. Forward. Because going back is not an option. I believe in taking one day at a time and accomplishing what I'm able to do in that one day. In that way, I'll move ahead ... or forward to the next, able to take on whatever challenges there are.

  3. Thank you to all of you for all you've done and for what you've shared in this post. I'm grateful for all that came my way in 2021 and, looking forward to 2022, I find all your words apply to me. That means my word must be *balance.* Balance in all aspects of my life, but nowhere more than within. Doubt is my greatest enemy and no greater champion do I possess than balance.

    I'm grateful for the *patience* and foresight that urged me to draft my entire series first (7 novels, 1 novella over 6 years) and to better learn my craft while doing so. Moving ahead, I must *believe* in my too-often doubting self as I move forward with these tales of *hope.* Needless to say, I'm facing a lot of *editing* this year, but I proved in 2021 that I'm up for that challenge. Lastly, to do all this, on a personal and writing level, is going to require *growth* on my part.

    So, yes, Balance. Thank you all!

    1. Good analysis, Christina. Balance is another word many of us could use. I know I could. May the scales of 2022 tip each way a little bit and ultimately be balanced in a way that is healthy and productive for you!

    1. Boy, Pamela! Your word struck a chord with me! LOL. I hope 2022 at leasts moves the needle toward prosperity for you. Better yet, may it swing past simple prosperity toward riches. Good luck.

  4. My word is "persistence." Just a plain old heads-down, bulldozer approach to getting things done. It seems to be the only thing that's working for me right now, so I'm embracing it and pushing forward in the new year.

  5. Thank you for today's post. It's perfect at the close of the year, with the new one drawing near. I shared it with my writer's group this morning.

    My word is "focus." Focus during a writing session, on the novel in progress, and on the series in progress. I've moved from writing fantasy and science fiction to writing mystery in the past year, but still spent time working on a new SF project, as well as producing an urban fantasy novella, which did get published in an anthology, but also took me away from mystery over the summer. So, focus it is for me in 2022. Happy New Year!

  6. My phrase for 2022 is Believe and have Courage because I am struggling to believe in myself enough to have the courage to try something new.

    1. Marsha, I am so proud of you. It is HARD to "Believe and have Courage." And if you start to lose your courage, just do one little baby thing. It doesn't have to be large - a sentence, and outline, a chapter. And then do another baby thing, and another. You will get there. I believe!

    2. Hi Marsha,

      I'm a little late to this comments party, but I love the honesty in your comment about courage. It takes courage to move forward and to be willing to try all the messy parts of writing, craft, and getting your work out into the world. Here is to a year of baby steps and grand leaps moving ahead in your writing!

  7. These are all great words and I can relate to each one. After recently being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s I chose the word ‘remember.’ Remember my life. Remember to live, love, and to enjoy each moment until I can remember no more. Remember to write, edit, and to advertise. Most of all I need to remember to keep learning.

    1. That's a tough diagnosis for anyone, Ruthie. And I applaud you for focusing on learning and knowledge. I hope you write down your story, and many more stories besides.

  8. Patience resonates with me. I started guitar in February, as a grandmother, and I had no idea of the patience required, or the patience I was capable of. It has spilled over into other areas of my life, for which I (and no doubt others who know me) am most grateful. It will and already does affect my writing. Patience is required for a lot of the other 'one words' above to be realized.

    1. I love this story, Julia! It's so hard to be patient. The more things we're good at, the harder it is to be patient with ourselves when we try something new. I don't know why that is, but it's totally true. 🙂

  9. Organize: I keep making and breaking deadlines because of distractions, scattered thoughts, and new ideas. While the latter might be a good thing, they can also confuse the goal. However, if I organize my distraction piles by priority (<--- maybe my second word should be prioritize) I'll be more productive. 🙂

    1. Hello Elise,
      I'm usually a little obsessed with having a structure to my writing process - because I need it! It makes me more productive and satisfied with my work.

      I can say that it is a delicate balance between sticking to a schedule and allowing flexibility for my creativity to take the random twists and turns that make writing fun.

      The important thing is to keep getting words on the page. Best of luck in your organization in 2022.

      Warmly,
      Kris

  10. Love everyone's words. High five to Jenny: BELIEVE! I'm my worst enemy, critic and saboteur of my own stories. I will stop messing with my book and start querying!

    1. Hi Barb,
      How exciting that you can begin to show off your book and get it out into the world! Here's to new ventures in 2022. Cheers!

  11. Celebrate! My goal is to celebrate the small steps of the writing process. As I track my annual goals, I want to celebrate each stage -- completion of a first draft, completion of each round of revision, completing the copyright form correctly (UGH!), and learning something new that helps marketing. I hope you will all celebrate your successes along the way.

    1. Hi, Jacquolyn. Celebrate is an excellent word. Celebrating is so important to a writer's mental health and motivation. I hope 2022 brings you as many small steps to celebrate as the big ones.

  12. Thanks Lynette for your good wishes. I will pay heed!
    And to Ruthie - Remember! And the powerful words you have used. Like the life, live, love, enjoy write edit; and Learning - these are a mantra for well-being. I hope you have the best quality of life possible for as long as you need, Ruthie. What a great way to complete another learning curve year. Why has it gone so exceedingly fast when I have been cocooned so much of the time??

  13. I have really enjoyed reading the words, all of them have a place in my head! I think for me, additionally I would say consistency. I find I can be a bit haphazard and slip out of routine, the routine of writing, journalling and sometimes reading so want to fix that in 2022.

  14. Love all your words! I most relate to Lisa with a lot of material that needs editing. But the word I've chosen is REBOOT. It's been a rough couple of years, and I like the idea of a reset, but not just that. When you reboot, the extraneous stuff goes away, but the core features remain. That's what I want for my life and my career. Here's to a great 2022!

Subscribe to WITS

Recent Posts

Search

WITS Team

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2024 Writers In The Storm - All Rights Reserved