My nemesis and I…

~ Annalisa Crawford

January! Argh! Can anyone think of a worse month? It’s dull, boring, dreary, and so dark in the mornings. It taunts me, it hates me. And somehow, those 31 days seem to blossom into 64!

But, recently, I’ve been thinking about it more objectively. How many times have you wished you had more hours in a day, more days in a week or a month…? I actually have those extra days, this month. I have 64 of them.

So instead of wishing the month over, I’m going to embrace it. My plans for this year are:

  1. Writing a short story for an anthology
  2. Writing a second draft of a novel
  3. Re-writing a novella and stripping it back to the story I really want to tell.

I should be able to do all that, now that I have an extra month, surely?

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When outside looks like this, I really should be inside with a hot chocolate and all the left-over Christmas goodies.

What’s your favourite and worst thing about January?

18 thoughts on “My nemesis and I…”

  1. Hi Annalisa – easy for me … my birthday the 13th – St Hilary’s Day … so honestly it has to be good – yet “paraskevidekatriaphobia” apparently there’s a special word for Friday 13th ‘horrors’!

    I’ll stick with the positives … we’re into longer days … taking lingering to new lengths to get longer yes … but as we age gently … time rushes by … good luck with your embrace – I can feel it up here … now I must get on too … let’s go and have a good January … mind you – by the 13th it’s going to be very cold, windy and perhaps wet or the white stuff?!! I am a cheery sort?!

    It will improve and that view will be lush green soon, the gorse will appear shining yellow and the Tamar’s mists will have vapourised away … enjoy and good luck .. cheers Hilary

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    1. My birthday is a 13th too (April), so I think it’s a great day to celebrate, Friday or otherwise! I think the years I noticed January being particularly awful, I was in my previous job, without much time to write. Let’s hope it’s not too wet, especially on your birthday!

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  2. The days can be dreary, but we have snow right now, so it’s beautiful outside. We’ve passed the shortest day, so they are getting longer now, which is good.

    I like January because it’s a fresh beginning and a month I don’t have a ton of things scheduled. I can get more done.

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    1. The days here should be getting longer, but we don’t see the evidence for a while yet – I was dog-walking before work the other day and it was dark 😦 I’d be happier if I had a snowy vista to look out on – it would brighten things up a lot!

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  3. I embrace January because it is generally dreary and “colder” in Texas. For once I don’t have to feel guilty about not being outdoors doing projects. January is a slog however due to starting fresh on the new work year – “what have you done for me lately” thinking is annoying. Any month is what you make of it. Type away with a cup of hot chocolate nearby.

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    1. After so many years working in education – even though I don’t now – I still see September as the start of the year. So January is that yucky bit in the middle, for me 🙂 I shall stock up on hot chocolate, get my head down, and work through my list. If I can get this short done and be half way through my novel by Easter, I’ll be very happy.

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  5. January isn’t too awful for me, but it’s pretty nice here in the Sonoran desert, so I still get to spend a lot of time outside. I actually quite miss drizzly and dreary days, but if I had nothing but for 64 days of January I might feel differently. I hope your month goes quickly, and focusing on using your time for positive things is a great idea. Good luck with all of those extra days! 😉

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  6. January is a good time for getting all that work done on the computer. I hope I can catch up this month. Though it is incredibly difficult to keep the kid entertained when we can’t go outside and we’re trying to be frugal.

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  7. January here is usually crisp, cool – today it’s actually cold! But the sun is shining and I know it will warm up later in the week. It’s all good! 🙂

    Hang in there and good luck with those goals!

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    1. It’s warmer here today, I just walked outside with my coat unzipped! But they give a lot of rain on Thursday. My new tactic is to be outside as much as possible when it’s nice!

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  9. Happy New Year, Annalisa! Loving the new look 🙂 The best thing about January is the excuse to overload on hot chocolate and stay indoors. The worst thing is the excessive weight gain from drinking too much hot chocolate and staying indoors 🙂 wishing you lots of success with your new writing endeavours! Can’t wait to read more of your work.

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