For the new year, I have a new monthly column to share, over at NicoleDieker.com!

I wasn’t going to write about goals this month, because it’s January and everyone is already tired of hearing about those. In fact, what was on my mind when I sat down to draft this piece was that frenetic child of Work-Worship and Productivity Culture: a fizzy frenemy I refer to as The Scatter. But when I started to think about The Scatter in writing, I circled straight back to its relationship to those other things on my mind: my 2020 goals. So you get both: Goals and The Scatter: Cultivating a New Year of Creativity.

My column will appear on or about the 15th of each month.

In between, there’s a ton of good stuff going on at ND dot com, and you can sign up to follow along if you’re so inclined. Nicole (also a dear friend) is a freelance writer, novelist, and teacher who writes a smart, fun blog about the art and finances of creative life. Check her out on The Nature of Magic; Abstinence, Sense Memory, and Writing; smart career advice for freelancers; and Killing Your Favorite Ideas.

She hosts other guest writers, too. Here’s my running (get it?) favorite, by Georgia Heath.

My own past contributions include: How to Look for Owls: on Writing, Ritual, and Intuition, and Projects as a Structure (or Possibly a Soul) of Creative Practice. They make an interesting read (in order) next to this latest. Also, they remind me to laugh at myself, because apparently I can’t title an essay in fewer than ten words.