Lara Tupper: Swift Ink Stories

OLD AND NEW
 

I usually spend New Year's Eve at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in a room packed with fellow writers. We consider the past, present and future, stirring up all the ghosts we can muster and then bidding them farewell. This year I'll write in my living room. I'll consider the year's highlights (a new novel, eight new chickens, generosity and kindness from friends, family and neighbors) and the lowlights. (Where to start? So much global suffering. So much inequality to recognize and push against. Plus, the minor stuff: cancelled book events, gigs, classes.)

It continues to surprise me, the act of getting it all down. I continue to surprise myself this way. A forgotten detail. A memory I haven't considered in decades. When I let myself slow down and notice, it's all still there. This is a gift I can give to myself at any time, even when the details are hard to look at.

NEW YEAR WRITING PROMPT: What was a highlight of the past year for you? And what was your greatest challe…