December, Madrid and La Gomera

The term ended in a flurry of hard work, and winter break has now opened up before us. Instead of going home this year, we have traveled to Spain, first to Madrid to visit friends of my husband’s, then on to the Canary Islands off the southern coast of Morocco. In this post I will share some pictures, but it is also the final post of this calendar year, and so I want to reflect once more about the writing goals I set for this year, about where they have brought me, and what I’m thinking for next year.

Madrid was bustling. For December, it was warm, we were told, and people spent the afternoon boating on the lake in the Parque de El Retiro. The second picture is the exterior of the National Library of Spain. Wandering the streets then in the evenings, it was amazing to see the bustle. Although the requirement to wear a facemask in the streets has now been lifted, most people still are wearing them, and we could see why–the squares were packed with people enjoying the Christmas lights and markets. After rural Norway, what an exciting change!

It is good to be away, but the truth is it has been difficult to find writing time, which is the thing I most want. Or maybe what I want is for the writing to be going better than it is. I have felt stuck. I’ve been receiving many rejection letters, which get easier with repetition, then get harder again the more they pile up.

I set three writing goals for the year: for each month, I would write at least 7,000 words and send out 16 submissions or queries. Some months I have barely squeaked through these goals, but each time I have managed. For December, I still have quite a lot to do. I thought December, being on break, it would be easy. Instead, I’ll be rushing and seeing what words I can count.

My third goal was publications. I aimed for three for the year, as I had achieved last year in 2020 before I was setting writing goals. I got one publication for this year. This was the goal that I knew back in December 2020 was a gamble, was only partially in my control. So it goes.

On La Gomera. The landscape is spectacular, and we are loving the plant life we are seeing. Succulents growing in the wild, thick forests with hanging mosses, and flowers in December. It isn’t hot, but it is very comfortable. The forest is of a special type: laurel trees, they are called, a term that I still don’t quite understand. I gather that they are evergreens, of particular species. It is a type of forest that flourished around the Mediterranean millions of years ago, but after the pressures first of the ice ages and then the desertification of the Sahara, it is now confined to these islands.

For the coming year, I feel undecided. I have liked the word count and submissions goals, although they have been imperfect, have sometimes felt artificial or like they have kept me from other writing work, such as revising. On the other hand, there is no doubt that they have kept me productive. I’ve sent out far more submissions than I did the previous year. I think I’ve written more words, although this is more difficult to quantify, because I did not use to measure.

Something I’m considering is trying to increase my daily writing time. Currently I commit to 55 minutes per day, but perhaps I can find a way to increase this. Another idea I have had is to set a goal for completed pieces of writing. I am sure that this would encourage me to write shorter things. Perhaps it would help me avoid perfectionism, but it also might lend itself to poorer work. I’ll have to see.

The island is vertical, and the steep valleys and mountains create microclimates of cloud forest at the top center of the island, scrubland at mid-altitudes and in the north, and arid land to the south. In the second and third pictures in this set, you can see the incredible Roque de Agando, once in mist, the next on a clearer day. This “volcanic needle” was formed when lava solidified inside of a volcanic chimney. Thereafter, millions of years of erosion stripped away the surrounding softer rock, leaving the dome of frozen lava behind.

My parents are coming over to join us here in just a few days. We will celebrate Christmas together. It will be so good to see them and spend the holiday together in a new place. There is much to be thankful for.

With love and best wishes for the start of 2022,
Jimmy

My husband with the little tapas dinner we put together the other night. It’s good to do a little simple cooking away from home.

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