~Written by Danielle N. Bilski ~

It’s the last day of 2010. With less than eight hours left of this year, I really want to reflect on the good, the not so good and everything in between otherwise known as the black, the white and the grey scale to speak in formatting terms. Looking back at the way the puzzle pieces of the last 12 months have organised themselves and seeing how much has been accomplished is humbling and makes all of the hard work worth every moment.

At the beginning of the year I was so determined to keep this project alive and inadvertently, my spirit alive during some difficult times that I have had to deal with inevitably this year, as I realise is how every story goes. Having MTWYcomau to find comfort and safety in has giving me purpose at times when I have doubted everything about myself and my life. My belief in MTWY novel and MTWYcomau has never wavered and in many ways has been my saviour.

This year has been an intense journey of self reflection and making a choice to use my emotions and creativity in positive way to tell an inspiring story that I cannot wait to share with everyone who will appreciate it.

Thank you for following my blog posts this year. Even if they went unread, none of them have been written in vain, as they are a reflection of all of the joy, pain, confusion and achievement that have made up the 2010 chapter of my life story.

I cannot thank you enough for your belief in me and appreciating my words. MTWYcomau makes me whole. Tomorrow will be 2011 and there are plenty more of the story to be told. I look forward to sharing much more time with you and hope you will choose to too.

In this somewhat uncertain world, I feel so lucky to have discovered one thing that I know for sure – the fragility of time and the maturity and level of awareness to appreciate every moment of it that I am given.

In difficult, dark moments all you can see is black while moments of happiness shine a white, angelic light. I am reminding myself to appreciate the understated grey scale moments in between it all.

Happy New Year and a toast to us,

My Time with You. ©2010 Danielle N. Bilski

~Written by Danielle N. Bilski ~

Somewhere nowhere can’t reach
Written by Danielle N. Bilski

Afraid of disappearing
Into an infinite oblivion
Where noone knows your name
Or the places you have seen and been
What once mattered
No longer is there a trace
Proof of unique existence
Only a silhouette of an ambiguous case
Grasping at fractured fragments
Scratching across the face of time
Movement sweeps them haphazardly
The brightest paths left only shine
Hold so tight to anything
With unwavering belief
To keep your memory alive
Hide it somewhere nowhere can’t reach.

As long as you are somewhere, doing something and being someone, nowhere can’t reach you and make you noone doing nothing.

Everyone wants to feel like they mean something and that time won’t forget them. Leave a path behind you that will shine when light falls and that successors will navigate with intrigue.

Holding on tightly to who I was, who I am and who I will be; somewhere you are you and I am me,

My Time with You.

©2010 Danielle N. Bilski

~Written by Danielle N. Bilski ~

There is what you see on the surface and then there are all of the things that are not reflected in the mirror, but are behind it waiting to be discovered. A reflection is easy to judge, however it only tells a small part of the story. The more intriguing details are often behind the mirror, only revealed to those who seek them.

I spent four days, between 7/12 and 10/12, looking behind the mirror at ‘My Time with You.’

In retrospect, it was a task that was inevitable and necessary, which strongly confirmed to me that everything is as it should be. Throughout those four days and as day four concluded, I felt extremely fulfilled and humbled by the way each piece of the puzzle fit together – not like a piece of fiction but a story that could not be done justice if told any other way.

7/12/10

Using the current plot outline graph for ‘My Time with You’, I began by handwriting a list of the major plot points that hold the story together. Then I started with the first major event and wrote a detailed explanation of why each plot point, in chronological order, is included in the story, the purpose it serves in moving the story forward or recollecting vital details from the past as well as explaining how it links to the other major events that occur in ‘My Time with You’.

8/12/10

Plot point 1 – 1 page
Plot point 2 – 1 and 1/2 pages
Plot point 3 – 2 pages
Plot point 4 – 2 pages
Plot point 5 – 1 page
Plot point 6 – 1 page
Plot point 7A – 1/4 page
Plot point 7B – 1 page
Plot point 8A – 1 page

9/12/10

Plot point 8B – 1 page
Plot point 8C – 1/3 page
Plot point 9A – 1/3 page
Plot point 9B – 1/2 page
Plot point 10 – 1/2 page

10/12/10

Plot point 11 – 1 page
Plot point 12 – 1 page
Plot point 13 – 1/2 page
Listed all of the characters in order of appearance and characters that are mentioned who are important to the story.

It is an amazing feeling to see the whole story coming together in this way and to have in my mind, not only what the major plot points are, the themes that are reflected but also everything that is behind the mirror that make the story so much more than simply a chain of isolated events.

I have always been the kind of person who asks questions and explores ideas and by looking behind the mirror it makes the whole experience even more exciting!

I am really looking forward to 2011 and continuing to put the story of ‘My Time with You’, my time with you and my own story into words.

Reflecting on what is behind every reflection,

My Time with You ©2010 Danielle N. Bilski

~ Written by Danielle N. Bilski ~

He was just as I remembered him and it was comforting to hear his voice again.

One thing I discovered is that I have decided to take a different approach to the way I am writing ‘My Time with You’, a change that the process now calls for. While the story is planned out in detail, from chapter to chapter, I feel it is now necessary to take a more concentrated and intense look at the past, literary present and potential future of our narrator and the other major and minor characters that are vital to the story he is telling, whether physically present within the narrative or not. The core story and plot outline remains the same, while the difference is beginning to appear through the past that has brought our narrator to where and who he is at the moment that we meet him, making him a unique, authentic character beyond the words he says to us and the way that we interpret him.

In addition, I personally feel different, even though I am still in the same place I have always been with myself. My own story currently seems as unpredictable as the fiction I am creating. I am finding more solace in ‘My Time with You’ than anything else at the moment and his story is giving me hope as I take one ‘real’ day at a time. Everything changes; change is inevitable. I guess the biggest issue for me right now is my expectation of myself and the comparison I am making between my story and those around me. Usually comfortable with my differences, I have recently become overwhelmingly aware of them and have become questioning their value. My vulnerability as human being is at its rawest right now. Thankfully, my writing gives me the opportunity to harness these emotions and apply those that are most relevant to this project in the hope of enriching it with the same feelings we all experience, consciously or not, throughout our own stories and the different ways we are affected and react.

Today I am still the same me I was yesterday and I have faith I will be tomorrow, thankful for the opportunity to dream through fiction and its possibilities while ensuring I make the most of the reality I’m living in the now with you.

Putting time into words and taking it one word at a time,

My Time with You ©2010 Danielle N. Bilski

~ Written by Danielle N. Bilski ~

This is his story. He tells it from behind the glass that has been specially customised to fit his eyes. His eyes become my eyes as I take a step out of myself and into a place where I can see from the other side of the glass with the most clarity possible when you are no longer yourself, but someone else. His story has already begun, his history is now mine to discover. Where it will take us, I have some naïve idea having spent the last two years preparing myself to take this journey in his shoes, waiting patiently for my feet to grow enough for the shoes to fit properly. The laces now tied securely, I am ready to trace some more consistent footprints that his existence has left in both my mind and my heart, to outline them with permanent marker and colour them in so delicately with the finer details. After, I am ashamed to admit even to myself, three months of an unintentional hiatus from his story, today I visit him and proudly place his glasses atop the bridge of my nose. Perhaps everything has changed or perhaps it is just me who has changed, we shall see. The most important thing is that I am spending my time with him and he is so generously trusting his time with me with not a single piece of glass in between.

My Time with You ©2010 Danielle N. Bilski

~ Written by Danielle N. Bilski ~

Wednesday 1st December, 2010; a day when the spirit of Christmas really begins to reveal itself in the form of good will, Christmas trees, ornaments, gift shopping and meters upon meters of lights and tinsel. People are more aware of one another’s significance and are eagerly anticipating the nation wide public holidays that are observed in the later days of the month; a much needed rest and some quality time with others and themselves.

Around this time every year there is a lull in my writing, which is evidenced from my not posting anything on MTWYcomau at all in December last year. The last few months I have been focused on my employment outside my literary projects and have made sure that even if I am not necessarily working on writing the novel, I still actively update MTWYcomau regularly. It’s a bit like ‘Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, You – MTWY.’

This post marks the special occasion of 50 posts on MTWYcomau since the very first one was written upon the website’s launch on 4th August, 2009.  Look how far we have come!

I am strongly aware of there being characters waiting for me to visit them and an important story waiting to be told. I must admit that I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed and am perhaps being a little bit too hard on myself, because I have been working so hard lately on finding and maintaining the ideal balance of everything in my life. That is why I try and make the most of every single moment I get to spend here and with ‘My Time with You’. It is something that I am so humbled by and has given me more eternal purpose than I have ever felt in my entire life. I am excited to see what the new year holds and determined to make even more time for the other projects that I am working on.

For those of you who have continued to follow MTWYcomau throughout the year, I hope I have inspired you to appreciate the quality time you spend with yourself and those who mean most to you as well as other people you have met – not just at this festive time of year, but all year, everyday and every precious moment in time. Somewhere between your every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday or perhaps Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday is more your convenience, make sure to make some time for you, their time with you and my time with you.

May this December, 2010 be a magical time of year for you and may even your wildest dreams come true!

‘My time with you’ was once my wildest dream and I am so grateful to now be sharing its reality with you all year through.

Stay safe and I sincerely wish you and your family lots of joy, love, happiness and serenity this Christmas and festive season, wherever in the world you may be and whatever faith you believe.

Wondering what the next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday holds , but faithfully counting by moments instead of the days and always coming back to you,

My Time with You ©2010 Danielle N. Bilski