October is my favorite month. There’s just something so magical and anticipatory about it. The weather starts cooling down, the days get shorter, and of course, you’ve got Halloween to look forward to.

And I’m glad to have September done with. I have nothing against it as a whole, but somehow it always ends up being super chaotic and stressful.

My 15 year old cat, Patsy, scared me with a near-death experience – he had a pancreatic infection – so my mind blew up with anxious thoughts and my sleep cycle went out the window. Luckily he’s fine now, taking medications and eating a special diet. But when your best animal friend’s life is in danger, you can hardly think of anything else.

I also was rehearsing for a play, The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice. As fun and hilarious as it was, I just couldn’t seem to remember my lines. I had two major scenes, and by the week of the premiere I was still calling “line!”. My brain wouldn’t wrap around the words like it usually does, and I found myself completely jumbled up on stage. The first night I and my scene partner screwed it up but luckily we got it back on track and the audience didn’t notice. It’s frightening though, and that uncertainty added to my anxiety.

September is also a busy month work-wise. I don’t know why that happens. I work for a children’s education company as a Copywriting Manager, and you wouldn’t believe how much writing HAS to get done during this month. It’s insane. I come in the morning and before I’ve even filled my coffee cup, I’ve got 15 tasks due that afternoon. So even though I’m part-time I was pulling extra hours and coming in on my days off, which meant my book-writing designated days were goners.

In all fairness, October is going to be just as busy. But somehow it annoys me less now. I don’t mind chilling out at home watching a movie after a long day, making lots of tea, and cleaning the apartment on a rainy day. I feel accomplished. I feel more optimistic. I feel that excitement of the year drawing to a close, to the approach of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas.

At the moment I have this insatiable need to adorn my apartment in colorful gourds and bake cinnamon-flavored everything. I also feel like doing big home projects like trying to make my kitchen counter tops look like real granite just with some paint and a sponge.

No matter what odd jobs I take on, though, the main goal is to finish my book by the end of December.

I need to hold myself accountable to my deadline. I have to have the book done, edited, and ready for the eyes of an agent. There’s no going back now.

To start me off and get me motivated, I received a nice welcome into October with a new publication. One of my poems appears in Rogue Agent this month, a journal that I’ve been into for quite some time. It’s one of those journals that holds nothing back and explores all dimensions of what and who we are.

You can read my poem, Quicksilver, here.

So, from this little musing, I just want to say, Writers, go forth and do what you love most. Write! Believe in yourself. Sometimes it’s important to hear someone say, “You got this” and know that yes, you really do. It’s in your hands. Every word is one step closer to victory. Don’t get dragged down by other obligations. Stick out your tongue at all the stress that pops up day to day. Say, “Glad you’ve stopped by, but I’ve got more important things to deal with.”

You’ve also got NaNoWriMo coming up! I won’t be participating (most likely) as I’ve mentioned in a previous post it tends to do more harm than good for me, but I still get extra kicks knowing that writers around the world are feeling as crazed as I am about finishing a piece and having something to work with.

Ok, that’s all for now. I wish you all a nice first week of October!