It’s time to sharpen our pencils and start the next chapter…

For me, that means moving from writing about my divorce journey & post divorce life to expanding into fiction and poetry. Don’t worry, I won’t be moving completely away from divorce survival and my current book, Becoming Unmarried. It just means rediscovering (or unburying) my inner writer and letting her shine.

I’ve always been a writer, just not one anyone beyond my inner circle knew about! My family and close friends were great beta readers for my poetry and short fiction starting when I was in my teens. My ex-husband? Nah. He was not interested in my writing, not in the least. I chalk it up to him not reading anything beyond newspapers and history books, but whatever.

My “little hobby” he called it. A hobby he didn’t want me wasting time on. He also didn’t support taking my poetry and short stories to the next level – submitting them to publishers. You see, in order to be a published author, you do need to pony up some cash to make it happen. And, according to my ex, no money would be spent on my hobby.

Yeah, it stings a little that his hobbies, some of which were rather expensive (like hockey, golf and the gym) always took priority over what I wanted to do. However, I never pushed the issue, and continued to be my own ghost writer for the duration of our marriage. So, that’s on me.

But no longer!

I’m now a published author – and starting in a couple of days, I will be an active member of a poetry group with the goal of becoming a published poet sometime this summer.

I’ll continue on the road to my second memoir. This one covering the rebuilding process of life beyond divorce.

And, once I learn how to write in third person, I’ll work on some fiction stories that have been kicking around in my brain since college.

Even though I’m becoming more comfortable with my writing, I still second guess my abilities. Because I was in a situation where I didn’t get any support to pursue my dream of being a writer, I hesitate to move forward unless I have several people saying, “Don’t worry, this is good stuff.” I hope my new writing group will help me get over that.

You may be in a similar situation, not having confidence to pursue your dreams in your new, post-divorce life. Don’t worry! You can do it! You’re no longer tied to the opinion of someone who doesn’t understand what your passions mean to you. Go for it. Pursue those bold, new adventures. Reconnect with the “hobbies” that make you happy and focus your time and energy on making them your new reality. It’s time to write your next chapter.

I am a writer – and soon I will also be a poet.

Dreams finally realized… and even better – I have all of you to help me celebrate!