As another blogging year ends, this day is a good time for reflection on the year that’s been.

The first three months of my blogging year got off to a slow start. The highlight of January was an article I wrote on the question of integrity (10^th January) which created interest and controversy. Also in this month, although unrelated to this post, I changed the title of my blog to @Merlene Fawdry. In February I stepped back from blogging to concentrate on Haiku and preparing workshops for the year ahead, posting notes from some of those workshops and writing groups in general during March. April slid by without mention and May warmed up with more articles on writing. Participation in the Author Blog Challenge saw daily posts throughout June, and the impetus for July was the writing of Englyn, a form of Welsh poetry. August was a time for author interviews, which were informative, interesting and entertaining. September and October brought more articles on poetry and writing, limbering up for the big Nanowrimo in November, which brought completion to the first draft of Seth. My blogging took a vacation in December as I tied up loose ends from the year to clear the way for 2013.

Other writing related highlights from 2012 have been in running workshops for community groups and facilitating the series of longitudinal novel writing workshops from February to November. The many hours spent in research and preparation have been more than amply rewarded in seeing the growth in individual writers ready to take on the world and manuscripts ready to be transformed into books. Two writers you will hear more of in 2013 will be TerryL Probert and Christine Mackley. A huge chunk of my time this year has been producing an anthology of work for local writers – 130 pages of short stories and poetry by beginning and emerging writers. In between these tasks I have maintained my poetry output, concentrating mainly on longer poems or suites, and attending the local poetry group that is my muse. It never ceases to amaze me that here, in the small town where I live, there are so many great poets willing to share their time and talent. This year has seen an increase in providing editing services and mentoring of other writers, an aspect of writing I find most rewarding. And last, but by no means least, this year I have updated my skills in poetry, novel writing, editing and proofreading, to keep my knowledge and qualifications current and I undertook a digital photography course for good measure.  

And this segues neatly into 2013 when I’ll be beginning the year by participating in Photo a day January, taking pics to a daily prompt. Beyond then, WATCH THIS SPACE.