On a year of writing

I get by with a little help from my friends

One year ago, I started writing this column with the sole goal of forcing myself to write something every week. I’m pleased to say I have hit the mark, and today completes a full year of writing on Substack.

Even though there have been times when I didn’t think I could come up with anything at all to say every week, I somehow managed to stay consistent. And then someone would send me a private message to tell me that my words moved them.

I have a steady loyal following of readers (you folks reading this right now) who click open my column every Saturday (or Sunday or Monday) and then leave a message, or a heart, or pass it along in Facebook or to friends in email.

I couldn’t be more grateful for all of you.

This next writing year, my goal is to grow my mailing list to 1,000. This probably means I’ll need to be on Twitter. It also means I need to ask my friends to share my column more. I’m now adding this big green button to the bottom of my posts on the website. Please share to your social platforms often!

A special thank you to my spouse and editor Janyce Sarmaniote. She stays in the background on this, but her words are in every column.

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As a way of marking my one-year celebration, I want to give a special shout out to a few of the writers and artists who read my column every week.

Ellen Bennett
Self published author of two books on Amazon
Ellen has a wonderful ear for dialogue.

Sara Orozco
Author and storyteller
Right now she’s publishing her very first book.

Bill Doran
Web designer and ceramic artist
We talk every week about doing creative work.

Lisa McKenna
Graphic designer
Check out these book covers designed by her (and the books are written by her husband Rich).

David Valdes
Writer of several books and columns
And he is the hottest playwright around.

Bob Babbitt
Nature photographer
Check out those food photos, too.

Liz Schott
Painter and art teacher
(far left in the top photo with her thesis show in the background)

Shun Liang
Boston Photographer
He is always saying to me, “Kris, you have to see this film!”

Jacquie Gardner
Boudoir photography
One day I may get brave enough for a photo shoot.

Roger Mulford
Painter and retired art teacher
He sends me the best little gems he found on the internet.

Kristen Grant
She makes daily living one big art project. Check out this fully designed and constructed raw edge writing desk she made for their rustic cabin in Maine.

Pat Guay
My mom is a watercolor painter. I see boxed notecards in her future.