Like much of the world, I’ll be laying low for the rest of the week.  So I thought I’d do one of those reflective-type posts before I sign off for a few days.  Here goes…!

Looking back at 2008, I think about how much I’ve learned about sustaining a life as a feministy writer. For me, it’s been about weathering ups and downs, and continuing to cultivate that ongoing sense of flexibility around the other things I do (talks, workshops, private coaching, consulting for orgs). And it’s also become, increasingly, about community.

It’s been just a few months since Girl w/ Pen went group, and already I’m thinking, how did this blog ever live without these ladies?!  Our bloggers have each selected their favorite post so far to highlight in the next e-blast, which will go out at the beginning of the new year.  (If you aren’t “subscribed,” you can do so at top right!)

As I recently told The Happiness Project, I don’t believe in resolutions that aren’t fun to keep. So on that note, I offer the writers among you a few to try on for 2009:

1. Write what moves you
2. Try a new genre
3. Let go of the “shoulds.”

And in this time of economic downturn, for those of us writing for pay it’s also probably helpful to manage expectations, keep it real, and continue to diversify revenue streams. But despair not. As GWP blogger and fulltime book editor Laura Mazer reminds us, crisis in the publishing industry can also mean opportunity. I’m with Laura in sending all the writers among us encouragement and hope. Your perspectives NEED to be heard.  Now, perhaps, more than ever…!

So “write on,” as they say.  Grab hold of that public voice and get it out there in 2009.  And in the meantime, Happy Holidays to the GWP community, of which I feel so honored to be a part.