How is your progress on your 2022 writing goals? I began the year filled with excitement, determination, and hopeful expectation for great things to happen, and then they didn’t. While I write every day, my word count is lackluster and falls far beneath my expectations. Everything I had hoped to accomplish resembles pie in the sky dreaming, but l might have an explanation for what happened.

The holidays were a very productive time, filled with hustle, bustle, and a slew of items checked off my To-Do list. One thing I didn’t finish was my fall seed planting. A few plants I want to nurture this year require stratification.

In horticulture, mother nature’s natural winter conditions provide the cold exposure many seed species must experience before germination occurs. These seeds require an embryonic dormancy phase and will not sprout until they break their dormancy. A gardener can pre-treat seeds by placing them in a dark container in a refrigerator. The simulated winter helps “break dormancy” and allows it to germinate. The time required in cold storage depends on the variety, but 4-6 weeks is sufficient for most seeds.

Last week, words started creeping into my daily routine. The conditions my seeds needed are similar to what my creative brain seems to have wanted. Who knew writers also required stratification?

Did you write yesterday? Are you writing today?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer