In 2018, I traveled with my daughter and husband, whose musical journey took us to wine country and then to England. As I celebrated his successes that year, I think about the experiences along the way that made this trip memorable, the awe-inspiring walk around Stonehenge, the local pizzeria in Notting Hill (Yes, we did eat pizza in England!), and the resonating performance of my husband and his band in the halls of the Barbican.
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While I was there, I received a bit of good news from the SCBWI (Society of Children's Books, Writers, and Illustrators). They honored my manuscript as runner-up for the Sue Alexander Grant, a prestigious award given by the organization. But there were other achievements and failures that year - all worthwhile. 


These included: 

A mentorship that I did not get, but I gained practice in writing cover letters. 

A course with the Lyrical Language Lab, a rhyming class that helped me with rhythm in my prose writing.

Reaching out to people I didn't even know for extra critiques and made new friends in the writing community.

And writing a new chapter book turned graphic novel, which has gone nowhere except to hone my character-building skills. 
I can't discern which of these stepping stones that year made the biggest impact on my overall goal of getting traditionally published, but I do know, collectively, they all mattered.


In the moments I felt low, I asked myself this question and tried to put my thoughts into this perspective.

If I were published, what would I be doing right now? 
The answer. "The same thing I am doing right now--
writing!


TAKE AWAY:
Failure: def. Disguised success.
Set goals, big and small.
Enjoy the journey. 


What goals have you set for yourself this week? Did you have any disguised successes? (Personal goals accepted! ❤)
Please share a comment, and celebrate!


Click here to read past posts.

This might be the shortest post ever, but 2017 was packed full of life experiences,  marrying my now husband and moving my mom more than a thousand miles across states, into my home, right after my honeymoon! Yes, I do have a husband with a big heart! There was some writing sprinkled in there too, but I had my priorities in order! 

Fun fact: My mom later inspired my book, The Star Festival!