Welcome to the 19th writing club update, and first update of the new year! Continuing with my numerical tie-ins that no one asked for and which I refuse to give up, XIX is the number of The Sun card in the tarot deck. It's currently a blistering winter here, so a kiss of sunshine sounds lovely.

Anyway, according to Wikipedia, this card is "often seen as a sign of achievement and authentic self-expression" which sounds great for writing, so whether you put any truck in tarot, you could do worse than to head into the rest of the year with that thought.

I hope you've all had a brilliant year so far, but even if you haven't (maybe especially so) I want to hear from you. That goes for any passersby: feel free to chime in with your thoughts or writerly projects.

My esteem is at an all time low. I'd set a goal to finish writing my thesis by the end of 2025. Here we are, two months later and I'm still struggling. On top of that my grant ended 3 months ago and I'm running low on savings (currently looking around for part time jobs). Nevertheless, I'm determined and certain I'm capable of finishing.

Ahh my friend, I'm sorry that this sort of stress has visited you. On top of it we're at a time of year that people are often shaking off the winter blues. Not to minimise, but I see it in myself and most of my friends.

I’m determined and certain I’m capable of finishing.

💪I love your grit. It's a kind of fact of life that nothing is more motivating than necessity. Are you going to change your approach, do you think, in this last stretch? Or just power through?

I'm reminded of this motivational comic: