North Star Word, by Barbara Kyle
At the start of each new
year my daughter Sara chooses a word to embody how she wants to navigate the
upcoming year. One word to be her “North Star” for her business and her life.
Painting: North Star by Gretchen Kelley
For example, one year
she chose the word “bold” – which I thought was boldly marvelous.
So I, too, have chosen a
word to be my North Star for this shiny new year. The word is “true.”
As a writer, it means
being true to the characters in the new book I’m creating. As a writing mentor, it
means guiding each writer to be true to the soul of their story.
I loved
many wonderful books during the year we just left behind, and it struck me how
wildly varied they are, yet all deeply true. Especially the following three.
The gloriously entertaining Harlem Shuffle by
genius author Colson Whitehead:
The nail-biting real-life thriller Tunnel 29 by Helena Merriman:
The vivid, exquisitely
written profile of a 19th century Japanese woman, Stranger in the Shogun’s City, by Amy Stanley:
Books all utterly different, but all utterly true to their stories’ unique worlds.
“True” will be my bright
North Star. For writing my new book. For helping the writers I mentor find the best
truth in theirs. For living wide in the world.
How about you? Do you
have a guiding word for this new year?
________________________________________________
Barbara Kyle is the author of the bestselling
Thornleigh Saga series of historical novels and of
acclaimed thrillers. Her latest novel of suspense is The Man from Spirit Creek. Over half a million
copies of her books have been sold. Barbara has taught
hundreds of writers in her online masterclasses and many have become
award-winning authors. Visit Barbara at https://www.barbarakyle.com/
Beautiful, Barbara! I have to give this some thought, but "true" is a great place to start.
Thanks, Shari. Enjoy finding your word!
Lovely, Barbara. My daughter-in-law located her childrens' stars in the solar system and framed them for posterity. The solar system is truly amazing and sailors have used it as a beacon for centuries. You and your daughter are on to something.
What a cool thing for your daughter-in-law to do!
I love the concept of having a North Star word–it's brilliant! Now to think of a single word worthy of a year's focus….
Actually, Saralyn, I did consider "focus" as my word – lol!