Ringing in the New Year – Shutting Out the Noise

I usually end the year with a post about what I’ve accomplished in the outgoing year, and what I hope to accomplish in the year to come. This year I really haven’t blogged much. I shared in shorter bursts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, outlets that don’t require a lot of writing or deep thought, and saved what little writing time I had for my book, stealing moments here and there throughout the year.

I miss blogging very much.

Many things came between me and my writing this year. I should say, I allowed many things to come in between me and my writing. I was feeling down about it for a while, but have since come to the conclusion that this was a phase I had to go through. There were things that I wanted to do this year, and they took a lot of my time and energy.

I wanted to buy a house and establish a foundation.

I wanted to produce a successful event for work that people would remember.

I wanted to go to Israel, where I was born, where my mother is buried, where I have family and friends whom I haven’t seen in many years.

I toyed with the idea of adopting a second dog, and then did so on a whim during the busiest period of the year. I’ll post more about Gracie later. In the meantime, here she is (on left) with Ruby about four weeks after I adopted her.

I wanted to see a lot of art.

(Pictured are works by Louise Bourgeois, Ad Reinhardt, Ruth Asawa, and Kenny Scharf)

All these things I did, plus lots of hiking.

It was a productive year but not a writing year. In my free time, I mostly watched television, went out with friends or traveled, all good things to do but not conducive to writing.

The time has come to once and for all make writing a priority. I still have two part-time jobs, two dogs, many friends and responsibilities. But I’m changing how I approach life, how I see myself, and what I do in my free time. Starting with this weekend.

I signed off of social media and, after I publish this blog post, will be completely offline for the next three days. I’ll log in again on Tuesday morning. Save for one meeting at my house tomorrow morning, I have cleared my schedule for the entire weekend. I have no plans to go out New Years Eve. I will hike, but that’s how I clear my mind and get the dogs to sleep all afternoon.

I am sequestering myself not only to write, but also to think and get centered without the constant noise of life. There’s a coffee shop/bar just down the street, in case I get lonely. But I don’t think I will.  I am craving quiet, alone time. Zero obligations and distractions. Minimal time in my car, on the phone, watching television. As a writer, this is how I get my head straight.

I’ll report back next week. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year, as well as a safe New Years Eve. See you on the other side. xoxo

 

Looking Back / Looking Forward

It’s been a crazy busy fall/winter, partly because of Ruby’s injury and the fundraising effort for her surgery (thank you to those of you who donated!!). So, I’m a little late with this traditional end-of-year post, but better late than never.

Looking back… 2015 was a difficult year, but also a rewarding one. It was my first full year living in New York, and my first year working full-time as a freelance writer. Then, at the end of the year, I found myself facing several large expenses, including Ruby’s surgery and getting my car repaired after colliding with a deer in October. But I managed to overcome.

In 2015, I…

– Survived winter! No small feat after living 19 years in Los Angeles.

– Met a lot of people by being outgoing and getting a part-time job at a popular farm-to-table cafe, something I wrote about in this post. I feel very fortunate to have made a few solid friends here.

– Was invited back to Los Angeles as a guest panelist on Death and Loss:  Women Writing Out Loud workshop at BinderCon, a symposium for women writers.

– Was interviewed about my experience as a newlywed widow by Nancy Redd on HuffPost Live.

– Made over 50% of my income from freelance writing and editing.

– Applied and was accepted to several professional groups: The American Society of Journalists and Authors, Gotham Ghostwriters, The Director’s List, and Film Fatales (two groups for women directors).

– Took a writing workshop with Linda Schreyer called Slipper Camp that prompted me to write several essays (highly recommend to anyone wanting to jumpstart their writing).

– Saw my name in print four times in Upstate House Magazine.

– Founded WriteUP New York, a collective of freelance writers living in upstate New York (email me or find us on Facebook if you’re interested in joining!).

– Took a Branded Content writing workshop with the incredible David Hochman and wrote four branded content articles that will publish on Huffington Post in 2016.

– Reported my first same-day story, about a local town that just overturned its ban on alcohol. What a thrill to report, write, file and get published within 24 hours!

– Learned how to use a power drill and built my first do-it-yourself project (I’ve since built two more things!).

– Enhanced my photography skills, my other new hobby.

– Raised over $2500 for my dog’s surgery.

– Became one with my motorcycle with over 1000 miles of riding through gorgeous upstate New York.

But the really big news is that at the end of 2015, I got a new part-time job.

I am the new Visual Arts Director of Greene County Council on the Arts (more on that later). In this job, I’m responsible for the visual arts program and gallery at the arts council, which is located in Catskill, across the river from Hudson, NY. It’s a great opportunity for me to use all of my skills in one place, as well as to meet more people in the community, especially creative people. It’s also a steady source of income that will be very helpful as I continue to build my freelance career.

In anticipation of how busy I’m about to be, I decided to cut my hair into a style that requires zero maintenance. 🙂

Looking forward, in 2016, I plan to:

– Kick ass in my new job.

– Renew my passport and travel abroad again, even if it’s to Canada (only a six hour-drive away).

– Get fit and strong with a daily yoga practice.

– Get published in more, and more higher-paying, publications.

– Write a screenplay.

Happy New Year!! Let’s ROCK 2016!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking Back / Looking Forward

When I think of everything that happened in 2014, I’m a little speechless. It was huge for me. In the tradition of my posts Looking Back and Looking Forward in 2012, here’s a list of this past year’s accomplishments, and a few goals for 2015.

In 2014, I…

– Bought a motorcycle.

– Got Ruby registered as a Canine Good Citizen.

– Attended a writing workshop and met folks who have since become my most trusted colleagues and friends.

– Started freelance writing, a new career.

– Published a couple of personal essays, including Saying I Do, Saying Farewell.

– Got a book agent in New York City to represent me as an author.

– Quit my day job as a legal assistant.

– Became a contributing editor at Modern Loss.

– Left my apartment and Los Angeles, and drove 4500 miles in three weeks by myself.

– Moved to a rural area in upstate New York, a completely new environment and lifestyle.

– Wrote a first draft of book proposal for my memoir (working on second draft now).

– Adopted a new schedule, including getting up before sunrise to write (aka the Plath Hours).

– Developed my personal website www.nivadorellsmith.com (still working out the kinks, but it’s a start).

– Sent holiday cards to almost 75 people (more work than it sounds!).

– Signed up for a dating website (no dates yet).

– Started cooking again.

I don’t do resolutions, but I do write down a few big goals for the new year. I’ve accomplished many of my past goals, including starting a blog, adopting a dog, learning how to ride, getting paid to write, getting published, and living somewhere with more space.

In 2015, I want to…

– Sell my book.

– Get published in a major print magazine or newspaper.

– Start a video blog.

– Sell and/or produce a movie script or television series.

– Travel abroad.

I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on my writing career lately, but not as much on my film career. I see the next year or two as a period where the two will become one. My goal is to be a filmmaker who also writes books and articles.

Still up in the air is whether or not I will meet someone in the near future. In May, it will be four years since Kaz died. I haven’t been quite ready to let go yet, but I can picture it happening more now than I used to. Time will tell.

What did you accomplish in 2014? What are your goals for 2015?

Happy New Year, folks!

– Niva

 

Another View of Resolutions (from one of my favorite blogs)

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/01/01/on-the-subject-of-time-and-self-and-cynicism-or-how-i-view-resolutions/

Looking Forward

Like I said in previous post, I don’t do “resolutions” anymore. Resolutions are promises I used to make, usually to better myself in some way. This was a common one: “I’m going to go on a diet and lose 20lbs this year.” Twelve months later, I was the same weight or heavier and would make the same resolution, “but this time I really mean it!”

Other resolutions I would make: “I’m going to read more books.” “I’m going to volunteer.” “I’m going to be a nicer, more thoughtful person.” “I’m going to respond to emails in a more timely fashion.” All fine sentiments but c’mon. We are who we are and we rarely change our personalities and habits due to our own volition. It’s not impossible, but I think more often, we change because of life events that cause us to change, or sometimes because we are inspired/affected by someone else’s life event.

One of my favorite quotes from Paulo Coelho’s THE ALCHEMIST: “When something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well.”

I am a different woman now than I was when my husband was alive, less because I set out to be this way, more because the experience of loving, caregiving, losing and grieving him has caused me to learn, grow and mature.

Do I want to lose weight, read more, be a nicer, more thoughtful person and faster on email? Hell yes! But those are lifelong issues, in the background to everything else, not the focus.

All that to say… I do think of the year as a clean slate of sorts in terms of goals, and I do believe there is power in writing them down.

Last year I wrote down (among other things):
“Learn how to ride a motorcycle”
“Baby and/or dog”
“Blog”

I did those things, opting for dog instead of baby (for now).

This year I’m writing down the following:
“Get paid to write”
“Get published”
“More space” (meaning more physical space to live and work in)

And that’s it.

I hope to report back next year and say, “I did those things too.”

What’s on your list?