One of the things I love most about our Women Who Submit community is the way we celebrate. We clap-up every submission and query at our parties and acknowledge our passes and publications in our virtual spaces. So during this season of celebration, let’s think about all of the ways we can close out the year celebrating our work and our risks and all the choices we make that move our creative work into the world. Here are five ways we can celebrate our writing lives this holiday season.
- Celebrate the words. Maybe it’s a line in a draft of a poem, or a nice holiday note. Maybe it’s a turn in a story, or maybe even a whole paragraph or chapter that works exactly the way we want. In those small, sacred moments when we feel like we actually get the words right, let’s celebrate them, even if we are the only ones reading them (so far).
- Celebrate brilliance in the works we read. Look at all of the amazing final drafts in the world! I am sometimes overwhelmed when I first walk into a bookstore or library. There are so many books, and I wonder where my own voice fits within all of the noise. Instead of hanging my head, I’m thankful for all of the books, and all of the poetry and essay collections I’ve read this year. These books have so much to teach if I read and learn from them. Instead of concerning myself with where my voice fits, I can celebrate books and know I am working to make space for more voices.
- Celebrate gifts of words. This holiday season, like most others, I gift favorite books that I’ve read in the past year and hope to talk with loved ones about them. Maybe it’s a personalized note or card aiming to thank or communicate an important thought. The written word allows us to connect with friends and family beyond the social media share or text message. Talking about ideas and stories allows for a different level of connection, the kind I strive for but struggle to create with even my dearest family and friends.
- Celebrate the accomplishments and write them down. All of the submissions, readings, conferences, residencies, late nights, early mornings, time at drafting, revising, editing, researching, responding, and risk-taking. It all takes so much, and most of us do this work while working and caretaking and living full and busy lives. So celebrate all of those ways we put our work and our words out there. For every reading or lecture we attended, for every opportunity or conversation we said yes to, or all of those times when we supported other writers and then grew as writers ourselves, cheers to all of that.
- Celebrate growth across time. It’s the end of a year and of a decade. There are best-of-lists for all things artistic and creative all around us, and it’s easy to get lost making sense of everyone else’s reflections. But this looking back doesn’t need to be public, it doesn’t need to be shared or written about, but it is worthwhile. You will see just how much work you have done over the past months and over the years. Celebrate it. Celebrate you and your artistry, and then let’s look forward to all you are becoming in 2020 and into this next decade.
Happy holidays to you all. I look forward to celebrating with you all in the new year and decade.
Noriko Nakada writes, blogs, tweets, parents, and teaches middle school in Los Angeles. She is committed to writing thought-provoking creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. Publications include: Through Eyes Like Mine (2010), Overdue Apologies (2012), and I Tried (2019). Excerpts, essays, and poetry have appeared in Catapult, Meridian, Kartika, Hippocampus, Compose, Linden Avenue and elsewhere.