The Lure of School Supplies

Most of our children will be back in school this week if they aren't already.  My kids are long past the school age stage.  My youngest graduated from college last year and I think if he has to write another paper or read another book, he'd scream.  I myself get a little surge of glee when I see the new school supplies come out in the stores.  Just the feel of a new notebook or unblemished folder make my fingers yearn for a colorful pen between my thumb and pointer finger.

It's not the only thing that gets my heart to pumping.  The start of the school year always meant a new start for me with new projects.  Although my kids sometimes drove me crazy all summer, it was never about having the house to myself for a few hours.  No, for me it was more about a new start and new goals to accomplish.

Even though I don't have school supplies to buy for my kids, I still buy them.  It's the best time for sales and as a writer I need paper, pens, and such.  Maybe it's an excuse, but it works for me.  I normally write out my story in a notebook first.  A shiny colorful notebook tells me there is a story to be told.

Labor Day weekend also is a sign for me to get organized.  When kids start school, a schedule is needed for both your child's sanity and your own.  I vow every year to organize everything from the house to my writing.  Nothing bugs me more than wasted time trying to locate something in my home.  Then the holidays hit and everything goes out the window.  Still, this Labor Day I promised myself I will get organized before the end of the year.  This will be the year to do it.  Ask me come November how it's going for me.

The projects I plan to accomplish are getting my second book edited for my Love In Surplus series with Desert Breeze Publishing and turn it in before the deadline.  I will start the third and organize my thoughts for a new novel that has been buzzing around in my head.  I'll master the social media field and give back to my fellow writers.  This fall I'll reap my rewards from my finished projects instead of not finishing them.

Does back to school time give you a new lease on life?  Do you plan for a fresh start?  What new projects do you have on the horizon?