This post is the second in a three-part series. In case you missed it, here is Part One and here is Part Three. 

​My DIY Writing & Strategic Planning Retreat was great success!

More on that in a moment, but first I want to share a little bit more about what inspired me to not only write but also strategic plan during this retreat.

In last week's post, I described the ways in which previous writing retreats I've attended and the retreats featured in Poets & Writers inspired my desire to create my own writing retreat.

At the same time, I knew I wanted to do more than write and revise.

I wanted to plan. I needed to plan.

This nerdy excitement over planning surprises no one who knew me in college.

Back then, I'd spend a whole day at the start of the semester meticulously transferring my assignments from syllabi into planner, using intricate color-coded systems.

That love only deepened at my first job after college at The Steppingstone Foundation, an education non-profit in Boston. At Steppingstone, I not only worked with some of the most amazing students and families, I also learned the ins and outs of strategic planning.

Calendar planning in particular was at the heart of managing the work flows for our complex teams and their overlapping projects. And, it's important to note, we did ALL this planning before fancy electronic calendar apps--five years before the first iPhone was even released to be exact.

I’ll never forget those big paper calendars covered in a rainbow of stickies (heaven!). 

That is all to say, my long-term planning impulse is deeply engrained.

(Side note: I'm pretty sure my planning habit helped me "speed" through my PhD program (first one to graduate in my class--only 9(!) years after starting the MA. I concede that 9 years is "speedy" only in Academia)).

¡2017 Writing Highlights!
​
One of the lovely things about having a FB author page is that I can scroll through and quickly find my writing related wins! I wholeheartedly believe in celebrating all the big and small success we achieve along the way, so I wanted to share my 2017 highlights with my FB community in the hopes that you will join me in raising a virtual glass as we say goodbye to this year and hello to the fortunes ahead in 2018! ¡Salud! ?

I also hope this post inspires you to take some time to reflect on your year and celebrate all the wins — big or small — that came your way. What are you most proud of accomplishing in 2017? Comment below

Celebrating *Words or Water* with family & friends yesterday filled me with deep joy!

Thank you to the amazing women who read beside me: Tisha, Amanda, Jessica, and Xochitl-Julisa!

Thank you to Connie & the SoCal ACLU!

Thank you to the staff at Work Evolution Laboratories!

Thank you to my husband Michael & mother-in-law Laura for all the extra help!

Shout out to Baby M who rocked his ACLU "Free Speech" onesie!

And THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who came out to support me and this book. Love you, fam ❤️

Please send and/or tag me in any pics you have of the event (even ones I'm not in). I want these memories forever & ever.

Here's to the first of many book celebrations! ????✒️?

#WoWBookParty #WordsOrWater