Summer Writing
by
Nicole Criona
As of July 1st,
the year is half over! July 1st is the Wednesday of the annual calendar,
it's an annual hump day (stop giggling!), and we'll be on the downslide,
smoothly sailing toward the end of the year. Summer will have just
begun. The first day of summer arrives on June 21st and lasts until
September 22nd.
As children,
summer was long, lazy, and school-less. It meant watching TV for hours,
swimming, running though sprinklers, and time for exploration. Remember
when you were a kid and just a walk around outside led to discovery? A
hidden ant colony, a cool-shaped branch that made a great wand, a great
rock that perfectly fit the curvature of your body?
Agriculturally, summer
is the time between planting and harvesting. It was a time of growth for
the seeds planted in spring. The agricultural cycle works like this:
Spring is for planting seeds.
Summer is for growth and maintenance.
Autumn is the harvest, time to reap the rewards of what you have sown.
Winter is a time of death and regeneration. Plants die and await
spring again.
I posed a question to
all of you at the beginning of the year:
What are your 2005 writing goals? Many of you posted your answers to
our discussion board, committing your intentions both to yourself and the
[cyber]world. I invite you now, at the tail end of spring, the time
to plant seeds, to revisit your 2005 writing goals. What have you
accomplished and stayed with? What haven't you done? Re-post an update.
Recommit yourself during this springtime, this time for planting seeds.
Set concrete goals for the summer. How will you grow and maintain your
craft this summer? What rewards do you want to reap in autumn?