My Word for 2026 - Intent

With the commencement of a new year and the optimism that often surrounds this fresh start, we have a chance for people to reset their goals and expectation. I like to choose a word that will encompass my personal ambition for the year. I don't want it to be a word that I choose lightly. There are several areas of my life that I want it to align to and how do you fit one word to cover everything?

A few years ago, while I was still working away I made several words and it was too much to keep a track of and it lasted around a month. The year before last it was around 3 months and last year a little longer. This year it is on the wall next to my Elizabeth Chaffin quote - 'The way to it is through it'. I am displaying it with pride and purpose.

Custom Stained Glass Created for an internal window

What Does Intent mean to me?

To me, 'Intent' is the means being conscious of my actions and doing things that I mean to do. We live is world full of distractions. I have so many hats that I need to wear on a day to day basis that I am sometimes worried that I will put the wrong one one in some situations. I am a Woman, Mother, Writer, Publisher, Podcaster and many other hair lackies (because they are smaller roles). So choosing intent for my word for the year means I want to be 100% present in my current role. Make sure that I get closer and more purposeful with my presence in different situations.

My family mean the world to me. My children are not longer dependent on hubby and I. I hope that I have raised them in a way that they are conscientious about the impact that they have in the world, but it is out of my control. You forget that as a mother sometimes. I am now in a support role that means stepping right back, but realising it is on a spring. The older the spring gets the less reactive to the calls. That doesn't mean you can't add tension to the spring in the future if necessary. The picture above is a custom piece we had made of the family symbol. We have an internal window for it to fit into in the near future.

At the end of last year I downloaded and app called Opal. It is an addition to your phone that blocks you from using all social media for the duration of blocks. These blocks are something that you set up for yourself and it does help with being intentional with your time usage. I would like to say that I don't need it, but I, like most people have been pulled down into the dreaded doom scroll loop before. I am not in a positions where I can delete social media as it is a way of communicating with potential customers, but this is perhaps a happy medium.

2026 Vision Board

I took the time to break my Goals into monthly targets.

Some of the Key Plans that I can tell you about are

1. Continuing the completion of the Otherworldly Emergence Series

2. Turning Page 1 into a self paced course

3. (January)Finding Elara Indie Author Bookfair Minisode Series

4. (February) Finding Elara Season 3 Starts

5. (April) Holiday in New Zealand!

6. (May) Inaugural Paradigm Catalyst Spec fic Competition

7. (May) SwanCon50 - I am hosting 2 panels at this event. One on Podcasting and one on Publishing.

8. (July) Opening the Otherworldly Origins Series

9. (August) Otherworldly Emergence Release

10. (October) Paradigm Catalyst winner Draw

11. (November) Indie Author Book Fair

12. (December) Festive release *more details later in the year*

Mindset and Accountability

As a part of the Author Support Platform we provide weekly Accountability meetings, that are short and sharp. Focussed on you current goals and objectives to compliment the Bushland Squires (creatives who had been accepted on to the publishing platform) and Creative Consultation clients. We help clients create effective goal setting tactics and learn what level of support is needed.

We also hold Mindset reset meetings once a week that expand on a monthly theme. These meetings are for the Bushland Squires and anyone in the Bushland Pages platform. The team at Bushland Castle Productions are focussed on helping people get to the next level on their creative journey. The Mindset meeting help people stay on track.

Write In sessions on discord are available for free for people who would like a write in buddy. Monday and Wednesday between 3-5pm, Tuesday and Thursday 10am-12noon. If people would like to write at different times with us then please reach put and we can see who is available.

We got this

I intend to make 2026 the best year BCP has had so far.