New Beginnings with J.Q. Rose

Happy New Year from J.Q. Rose!

Photo by Carson Arias on Unsplash

 

Hello Friends,

Welcome to Focus on Story! Happy 2026!

January 1, 2026, opens a new year, new beginnings. 

It also opens a new chapter in my writing career. After 13 years of blogging on Blogger, I am closing JQRose.com and moving my stories and articles on writing and publishing to Substack.com, JQ's Substack. 

http://jqrose.substack.com

As always, changes are bittersweet. I have enjoyed writing on Blogger and meeting you through the posts here. I have enjoyed writing on Blogger, but it is time for a change. I enjoy featuring authors and their books, and sharing the wisdom I have gathered through 13 years of storytelling and teaching on Substack.

I post every Wednesday on Substack. After visiting my Substack, you will have the opportunity to explore all the amazing writers on Substack in fiction and non-fiction. Some will make you smile, weep, open broader horizons for you and more!

I appreciate the support you have given me all these years. I look forward to many more with you.

Thank you, thank you.

C ya' at JQ's Substack!

Please come and share this next chapter with me.

Connect online with JQ Rose:

Email: jqrose02 @ gmail dot com

Facebook

Instagram

Substack

Where Did the Time Go? Happy New Year 2023! #time #newyear

Image of a clock welcoming in the New Year.

Hello and welcome to the Focus on Story Blog!

Where did the time go? How did it get to be Wednesday morning already? I apologize for missing my usual blog posting time on Tuesday evening. I have been creating my Winter edition of the Rose Courier this week and should have been focusing on my blog post. 

Odd that my topic for this second week in the new year is about "time" and I lost track of time!

January 1 is a wake-up call for me. Another year gone so quickly. Now a new beginning. I wish I could capture time and say, wait a minute, I want to enjoy more time with my children growing up or I want to enjoy this wonderful day with my grandkids longer than this. But that is impossible. We all get 24 hours and that's it!

I think that's why we are so obsessed with time. We are helpless to change the rules of time. Look at these phrases or cliches we use all the time. Note--there's one at the beginning of my post! LOL

• Time is of the essence.
• Time of my life
• Time in a bottle
• Time is money
• Time and tide wait for no man--Tip of the hat to Mr. Chaucer for this. According to dictionary.com, "this proverbial phrase, alluding to the fact that human events or concerns cannot stop the passage of time or the movement of the tides, first appeared about 1395 in Chaucer's Prologue to the Clerk's Tale."

These are just a sampling of phrases and quotes about time. Please leave one for us below in the comment or just say hello. Thank you.

I discovered this poem written to Father Time by Lucy Larcom. There are only twelve months in a year and we need to appreciate and celebrate each one.

I wish you joy in 2023 with celebrations aplenty!

Happy New Year 2023!

“In Time’s Swing” by Lucy Larcom

A girl swinging
Image by Anja from Pixabay 

Father Time, your footsteps go

Lightly as the falling snow.

In your swing I’m sitting, see!

Push me softly; one, two; three,

Twelve times only. Like a sheet,

Spread the snow beneath my feet.

Singing merrily, let me swing

Out of winter into spring.

Swing me out, and swing me in!

Trees are bare, but birds begin

Twittering to the peeping leaves,

On the bough beneath the eaves.

Wait,—one lilac bud I saw.

Icy hillsides feel the thaw.

April chased off March to-day;

Now I catch a glimpse of May.

Oh, the smell of sprouting grass!

In a blur the violets pass.

Whispering from the wildwood come

Mayflower’s breath and insect’s hum.

Roses carpeting the ground;

Thrushes, orioles, warbling sound:—

Swing me low, and swing me high,

To the warm clouds of July.

Slower now, for at my side

White pond lilies open wide.

Underneath the pine’s tall spire

Cardinal blossoms burn like fire.

They are gone; the golden-rod

Flashes from the dark green sod.

Crickets in the grass I hear;

Asters light the fading year.

Slower still! October weaves

Rainbows of the forest leaves.

Gentians fringed, like eyes of blue,

Glimmer out of sleety dew.

Meadow green I sadly miss:

Winds through withered sedges hiss.

Oh, ‘t is snowing, swing me fast,

While December shivers past!

Frosty-bearded Father Time,

Stop your footfall on the rime!

Hard you push, your hand is rough;

You have swung me long enough.

“Nay, no stopping,” say you? Well,

Some of your best stories tell,

While you swing me—gently, do!—

From the Old Year to the New.

Thank you to mindessential.net for this poem and more poems on Time 

Thank you for visiting. 

If you would like to read more of my thoughts on time, it's not too late to subscribe to the Winter edition of my newsletter.

If you want to stay up-to-date with JQ, the Rose Courier is delivered quarterly to your inbox. Filled with articles, freebies, photos and fun! 

Click here to get your copy of the Winter edition this Friday!

Click here to be notified when a new article is posted on this blog.

 

IWSG Blog Hop: What's Your Word for 2023? #IWSGbloghop #newyear

 

Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop

#IWSGbloghop

Happy New Year 2023!

Video by Yashwant Bairwa from Pixabay 

Happy IWSG Day!!

Hello and Welcome to the IWSG Blog Hop!!

What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group?

Founded by author Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writer’s Support Group offers support for writers and authors alike. It provides an online database, articles and tips, a monthly blog posting, a Facebook and Instagram group, Twitter, and a monthly newsletter. To find out more, click this link:  Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The purpose of the group is 

* to share and encourage. 

* Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. 

* Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. 

*It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 

You're invited to become a member of this supportive group. 

Click here to sign-up and/or to visit the bloggers this week.

THANK YOU to our awesome co-hosts for the January 4 posting of the IWSG--Jemima Pett, Debs Carey, Kim Lajevardi, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and T. Powell Coltrin!

❓❓❓❓❓

January 4 question 

Do you have a word of the year? Is there one word that sums up what you need to work on or change in the coming year? 

For instance, in 2021 my word of the year was Finish. I was determined to finish my first draft by the end of the year. In 2022, my word of the year is Ease. I want to get my process, systems, finances, and routines where life flows with ease and less chaos. What is your word for 2023? Why?

JOY!
Image by Paul Stachowiak from Pixabay

Joy is my word of the year for 2023. I don't usually pick a word of the year, but this is one I discovered during the holiday season. Since you asked the question, I will claim joy.

Joy and happiness are not the same feelings. People can see happiness in you through your expressions and body language. But joy is inside you, the core of your being. According to compassion.com," joy endures hardship and trials and connects with meaning and purpose."

I want to carry joy in my heart and in my writing this year even when the book project seems unmanageable or overwhelming. I read through the pages and shake my head. I can only sit back and ask " why did I ever think I could create this book?" Have you experienced the feeling of absolute frustration and helplessness with your writing?

This year, I will happily put the ms away for a while! Then I will joyfully attack it and figure out the solution with meaning and purpose.

Wishing you a successful year in your writing journey 

and in finding joy within your pages!

The Rose Courier

If you want to stay up-to-date with JQ, the Rose Courier is delivered quarterly to your inbox. Filled with articles, freebies, photos and fun! 

Click here to get your copy of the Winter edition in January.

Click here to be notified when a new article is posted on this blog.

I am interested in discovering the words chosen by the IWSG bloggers.

Click here to visit the participants in the IWSG Blog Hop this week 

so you can find them too.

If you have a word for 2023, please share it with us in the comment section. 

Thank you!

Happy New Year from J.Q. Rose