What's On Your Plate In October?

When I turned the page on my calendars on Wednesday morning, I wondered where in the world September had gone. It came and left in a flash. Or so it seemed. Will October be the same?

I have a few things happening in October. Maybe you do, too.

1. Next weekend, I'm attending the Kansas Authors Convention in Hutchinson, KS. I'll be teaching two workshops that Saturday titled The Basics of Writing. They're geared to the newer writer but also a good review for more experienced writers. While there, I plan to purchase a few books in the Book Room that writer friends from Kansas have recently published. I'd also be happy to pick up an award or two when the annual state poetry and prose contest winners are announced the final day.

2. Ken and I are planning a ten day trip out to North and South Carolina to visit one of my brothers and also two writing friends who live ten minutes away from one another. We'll be driving so hope to see much of the fall color across the mid-section of the country. Should be inspiration for some poetry, or even prose. Maybe an essay. We'll see. While Ken drives, my mind is free to explore many paths--which is the reason I keep a pad and pen handy in the car.

3. I'm going to revise a couple of stories and a poem so that I can submit them somewhere. The stories might suit one of the themed books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology series. It's good to take some time to review your files and read your old stories, poems, essays and articles. If they've never been published, you can revise and edit until you're ready to submit somewhere. If they have been published previously, you can still rework and submit to a publication that accepts reprints. Just be sure to state that it is a previously published piece.

4. I'm promising myself to start assembling a Family Stories booklet for each of my three brothers. It's been on my  To-Do List for too long. I'm determined to get the project underway this month.

Toss in the usual bridge groups, Bible Study group, lunches with friends and more that happen every month, and it's suddenly clear to me why this month, too, will fly by like a Halloween witch on her way to a party on October 31st.

So what's on your plate in October 2014?