A New Leaf

by Deren Hansen

Growing up I often heard that the beginning of a new year was the time to turn over a new leaf. And for an embarrassingly long time I assumed the leaf in question was one of the ones raked up a few months earlier (though I never figured out what retired shading had to do with new year's resolutions).

The allusion, of course, is to a leaf--a page--in the folio of your life. Like the view this time of year in the northern hemisphere, the new, unblemished page is a white field upon which any mark can be made.

One thing that sets writers apart from others is that we are not terrified by the formless emptiness of the blank page.

What will you write in the folio of your life about your writing this year?


Deren Hansen is the author of the Dunlith Hill Writers Guides. This article is from Sustainable Creativity: How to Enjoy a Committed, Long-term Relationship with your Muse. Learn more at dunlithhill.com.