“September: And so, the adventure begins.”   Sign at the Local, a café

Fall is my favorite season and so this sign jumped out at me on one of my daily walks. It made me think of all the beginnings that September marks — the beginning of school for kids, the beginning of cooler, crisper weather that will lead us to winter, and the beginning of a quickening pace as everyone begins to shake of the lazy, hazy days of summer.

As writers, for us September can also signal the start of projects that have been percolating for a while or a renewed commitment to completing one that’s been on the back burner or even the front burner, but which has been taking a while to cook. So let’s all pause for a few moments and think about how we’d like our fall toshape up and where we’d like to be by the time winter arrives and we  settle into its short, intense days.

Projects to launch: Is there something new that’s been simmering over the summer you’d like to turn up the heat on? Now is a great time to sit and gather together those wispy ideas that may have been floating on a summer breeze. Why not start a small journal or fresh digital document and begin getting them down on paper?

Projects to push forward: Is there something you’ve been working on over the summer or that you put aside for a while and are feeling the need to make progress on? Why not turn up the heat and make a commitment to invest more time and energy in it so you can move
forward at a brisker pace in synch with the season?

Projects to complete: Is there something you feel is on the cusp of completion? Do you have the sense that if you can just keep working consistently, you can push it down the home stretch? This is where I am with the revision of my children’s novel. After working on it
steadily over the summer, I can see the end in sight. But as so often happens, this can be the trickiest stage — the one where you can’t quite bring it all together. If you’re in the same place, then let’s ignite our passion for completion. Let’s keep going until we get where
we want to go.

Wherever you are in your writing life, the season’s brisker pace can help move you forward and that’s a gift to be grateful for. Write on!