Writing, Learning, and Giving Thanks

Oh!

In the blink of an eye, it's already December!
Compounded by my medical condition of having a "hazy memory,"
I am truly surprised at how quickly every day passes.

I had thought, "I'll take it easy in November!"
but
it was busy with this and that!

Looking back on the year,
I think that this year, I was writing!
Everyone in my family,

in their own way, was "writing."

Writing every single day. That kind of year.

On Twitter,
I happened to see a tweet that said,
"I'm in trouble because I can't find a writer who can write about specialized content,"
and I suggested to my husband that he might be able to write it.
Just as I thought, he was able to write the text smoothly in a field he is knowledgeable about, and he had sparkling eyes as he said, "I was able to realize that there are still things I don't know even in a field I'm familiar with."
The person who posted the request is a good person,
and he says they have been very kind, with no revisions needed for his articles.
My husband, who had no knowledge of being a writer, is now writing articles efficiently.
With the new joy of writing as a writer added for my husband,
I'm grateful, and he continues to write articles.
I find myself looking at the word "writer" with admiration and respect.

In the summer, I heard about a "playwriting course" on the radio.
"That sounds nice! It sounds interesting!"
But I am not in a physical state where I can sit and listen to lectures.
(If I sit, my medical condition causes severe pain in my head and other areas.)
So I recommended it to my husband and daughter.
The two of them said they wanted to learn and immediately contacted the course organizers,
and my husband and daughter ended up participating in the playwriting course.
They write assignments,
discuss their work with everyone in the class, and receive guidance from the instructor; they seem to enjoy it every month.
As representatives of the lecture participants,
my husband and daughter were interviewed by a newspaper reporter, and the article from that time even appeared briefly in the newspaper.
I was happy to hear from my husband that the playwriting teacher told my daughter,
"You should apply for a playwriting award! It's amazing that you can write a work like this at 14!"
and that she is being praised so much.
When I am occasionally shown the plays and novels my daughter has written, I am surprised by the level of dynamism that makes me want to flip over, and I feel my own decline.
(Give me some of your youth!)

"Plays are different from novels. They are harder than novels."
After my daughter taught me about plays,
I wanted to try writing one too.

As for me,
my book is being published!
I am excited about the work every day.
I received the first galley proofs from the editor,
and with my hair all messy,
I struggled, thinking,
"Is this sentence okay?"
"Huh? What is this?" (criticizing myself).

At the stage before making it into a book,
I wrote an enormous amount of text,
and then did the work of cutting it down.
Just like when writing a novel,
I wrote it all out until I had nothing left to give!!
and then reduced it to about a quarter of that amount.
Writing and cutting,
being asked questions by the editor and their supervisor, and asking them questions myself.
Every day I am immersed in the work of writing the manuscript, forgetting the time because it is so fun.
But with my sick body,
there were times when it didn't progress as I thought it would, and I felt frustrated.
Even though I'm a greenhorn newcomer,

I passionately poured my feelings out to the editor.
Since the editor and I share the same feeling of wanting to create a good book,
they accepted my intense feelings,
and I am always truly full of gratitude.
I had heard rumors that with commercial publishing, you can't write what you want to write, so I was nervous,
but that wasn't the case at all;

keeping the publisher's needs firmly in my heart,
I was able to write what I wanted to write.
As a newcomer to the writing profession,
I faced it with all my might and wrote.
I realized that any job is made possible not just by yourself,

but by the people who run alongside you.
Using the spare time between writing the book manuscript,
I wrote novels to submit to literary awards,
and my mind was constantly full of stories and sentences.
There was another writing project, separate from the book manuscript,
that was also exciting and thrilling,
and when I was writing it with great enthusiasm,

my feelings became
quite excited,
and there were days when my condition worsened and I couldn't open my eyes.
But,
for me, who wanted to make writing my job,
I had nothing but gratitude and thankfulness.

The happiness of being able to write. I want to cherish that feeling.
I believe that everything, including the sadness and pain of getting sick, becoming bedridden,
and being unable to work, was not in vain.
I strongly believe that I made important connections that I could only have met because of who I am now.
The work of writing is done silently and alone,
but I received energy by remembering the people I met.
Thank you so much.

Regarding the publication of the book,
if things go well, I should be able to announce it within this month.
(Whoa!!)
I would be extremely happy if you could support me
when the book is published.

Even when we say "writing,"
there are many different kinds of writing,
and I am grateful that I can still learn like this.
When I think that surely many people are writing sentences with many different thoughts in mind,
I want to read them with care!

For myself,
it was a year full of the feeling that I wanted to do this and that,
and much more,
but it is also a year that I want to praise myself for,
saying I did a great job (even though I feel like this year is already over).

There are so many things I want to write on note,
but
because I was busy with various things or collapsed,
I couldn't write,
and I feel lonely, thinking "oh well."

But,
when I open note or Twitter,
the dear people I have met
are still there,
and that makes me very happy and is a source of energy for me.
I am grateful. Thank you.

This month too,
I want to proceed step by step,
while enjoying what I want to do,
at my own pace and with full concentration.

It has become cold,
so please take care of your health.

Thank you for reading until the end.
Thank you.
With heartfelt gratitude.