Practice what we preach: Write!

So, what is it that The Room to Write preaches? Write.

When in doubt: Write.

When you have a moment: Write.

If you want change: Write.

Don't say you don't know how or you're no good at it or you don't know what to: Write.

When you want to express yourself creatively, think comprehensively, share knowledge, create healthy dialogue, connect with others: Write.

As Founder and Director of The Room to Write, I have found myself pushing my own personal and professional writing projects to the back of the ever-growing list of "things to do." Finding that work/life balance is difficult for all of us. Making time for yourself when you have a family is a challenge. And saying, "No" doesn't always come easily. The list of responsibilities grows while the number of hours in a day remain the same. Still just the 24.

So, we must sit and focus. Decide what we want 2024 to look like for each of us.

I have my own website for my own writing and I'd like to share it because I am like you--struggling to make time to write, wanting to connect through my writing, and not just wanting to write into a void.

Ally Houghton Photography

Sometimes when our work and our passions are so closely related it's easy to substitute one for the other. But, we must turn off the phone, the television, and the voices of people around us and take a moment to sit at the close of one year and look to the beginning of the next as an opportunity to make a change. Sure, New Year resolutions can seem cliche, but I can't help but love a clean slate. With four young kids, anything clean is very appealing. Clean slates help me pick myself up, take a deep breath, and start again renewed.

So, in order to practice what we at TRtW preach, I will bashfully encourage you to take a look at the writer side of me. My writer website is ctkavanagh.com. My maiden name is Kavanagh (with a "k" and no "u":) and so that's my "pen" name. I am hoping to make more time for my own writing in the new year. Maybe if I share this goal with all of you, then you'll help hold me accountable for it! 

Ally Houghton Photography

We also have a very talented Coordinator for Senior & Veteran Programming who often finds herself in the same predicament. Linda Malcolm's writing can be found on her website lindamalcolm.com. Hold her accountable, too! 

If you don't already have her collection of essays, Cornfields to Codfish, you can get yourself a copy. Thanks to the generosity of The Savings Bank, we were able to make several free copies available at the Senior Centers in Wakefield and Stoneham. 

And, while we're taking time out to shine a light on all these creative professionals, you may have noticed that the headshots of Linda and me were taken by Ally Houghton who works at The Savings Bank by day but lets her creativity shine through her photography side. Click either photo to access her website.

I just drafted a newsletter from c.t.kavanagh to encourage people to visit my blog. It will be the first time I've sent a newsletter from my website in nearly three years. Wow! Time flies. Feel free to visit my blog here: https://www.ctkavanagh.com/deardiary 

Speaking of blogs, The Room to Write is very excited to enable writers in our community to have access to a platform where they can make their writing available to the public. It is so important to give writers in the north of Boston region an opportunity to publish their writing without the worry of technological barriers, financial barriers, or the need for a long pedigree in order to have access to a certain publication. No agents or query letters needed.

Let's hope that 2024 is a year within which we are each able to find the time, space, and community to express ourselves in writing for creative, professional or educational purposes. 

Visit the North of Boston Writers Network blog by clicking HERE! 

Happy 2024:)