Setting Intentions for 2019
By Cynthia Price, Professional Development Chair

F-words were abundant during a recent VPC networking event.

Don’t be alarmed, though. Members weren’t resorting to foul language. Instead they were sharing their words of the year that would inspire them.

Michele Cook’s f-word is focus. “I get bored very quickly.” She plans to focus on finishing her book and finding an agent, as well as completing the marketing and branding for her farm.

Patty Kruszewski’s f-phrase is follow through, which she said is similar to focus. “I need to finish what I start,” she said, and that, too, includes completing a book—or two.

Pam Stallsmith’s word is flow. She said she wants her energy to flow in a positive direction.

Martha Steger’s word is fiction. She is tired of writing non-fiction but finds it easy to grab the low-hanging fruit, which for her is writing more non-fiction. This year she is going to focus on fiction.

Not all words started with the letter “F.”

Julie Campbell, who recently retired from Washington & Lee, said her word is reinvention. “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” She recently moved back to Richmond and is working to define the next chapter of her life.

Sunni Brown’s word is embrace. “I don’t always need to chase the next shiny thing,” she said. “I want to embrace what I know and dig deeper.”

Gwen Woolf is focused on stretch, which has multiple meanings, including stretching for exercise and stretching to find new writing opportunities.

Nancy Beasley’s word is abstinence. She said she is going to abstain from being critical. “I’m also going to abstain from people who make me uncomfortable, and that includes family!”

What’s your word of the year?