New Year's Resolutions for Writers

I think serious writers are FOREVER recommitting to writing more, finishing projects, trying new things, being kinder to themselves during the process, and all the other great resolutions you listed. I deal with many of these issues in my book WRITER’S FIRST AID and my blog by the same name. We’re all in this together! We move forward, inch by inch.

Time, time, time! I need to organize myself and better manage my time. I struggle with them both. I have been searching for and reading about solutions, but I have not found anything I think would succeed with me. Hopefully I will find something in 2008.

I would add one more resolution ~ be tougher on myself, don’t give up on a story because one unenlightened editor (or several) did not see the merit; but revise and resubmit to another.

And ever keep writing, for us it’s a visceral need.

The Writer Writes!

My New Year’s resolution is to totally rewrite the story I wrote for NaNoWriMo. Since I’ve acutally written a first draft, I really believe I can do it again and make it even better!

Wish me luck!

My resolution is never to submit a story to a journal that won’t accept submissions by web or email. I can find no justification, except cussedness or laziness, for such an editorial policy.

I spent an enjoyable afternoon last week developing some goals for 2010. My fondest are to get an agent for my completed novel (one is considering it now) and start a new novel. For some reason, it has been especially difficult to get into a new novel, but I’ve been working on it the last couple of days, so I am hopeful.

I am finishing my second novel, but I still don’t have anything to go into bio section of my query letter. That is my goal: to fill out the missing part of my query. To do that I am going to write short, something I have never tried, and submit, submit, submit. I want to be published in a magazine and win a contest; I want an article on a respected website (okay, it doesn’t have to be that well respected) and to be included in an anthology. I want the world. I will write and I will submit until my keyboard gives out. This year I will have something for my bio.

Please wish me luck.

My 2010 goal are to complete my 2009 Nanowrimo draft and to write my career novel geared towards young professionals. I will have my Nanowrimo draft converted into a book by May 2010 and should have my career book done before Thanksgiving.

As someone who also draws/paints, sews, knits, does ceramics, and makes paper and soaps, in addition to writing, I would love to hear more about how your friend integrates all her interests and about her time management techniques. :} I find that there aren’t enough hours in a day, or enough days in a year, to get done all that I want to do.

In response to TeresaR and any others that have a number of active interests, I do too. I spent 30 plus years learning to draw and paint watercolors, but I have written on and off through the years. I’m rretired now, so I concentrate much more on the writing.

So what I do is give priority to my writing (I’m 7 chapters from the finish of a novel, first draft), and do my sketching in ink and watercolor as a fun activity when I nead a break from the writing. But I try to write everyday.

You won’t believe this, but my New Year’s resolution is to go back to writing by hand. I couldn’t use the computer much last month after having a minor operation on my foot, so I sat on the bed propped up by pillows and wrote by hand. You wouldn’t believe how much I did! (Of course, it helped not being able to do all the household stuff I normally have to do.)
Sitting on the bed, writing by hand, I don’t have all the distractions which are always available when you use the computer. Even if I want to look up a fact, it means getting off the comfortable bed and going into the other room, so I’m less likely to do it unless it’s really necessary.
Also, writing by hand I go more slowly – but that’s an advantage if you need to really think about the words you use. I often have to copy my text out from the beginning when it gets too messy with corrections, and that’s the occasion for starting to edit. It forces you to stop and look at the text word by word, to see where it needs expanding or cutting down.
I try to write each new section out quickly, using freewriting, and then to start editing when I copy it out.

Nice list

My new years resolution is to begin writing my second novel as soon as possible, and to make sure I write it a lot faster than my first.

But I really do like the entire list you have there and will just have to add those to my resolutions

My plan for the coming year is more time for my love one’s and get a part time job to help us in financial status. I hope so..and Do some stuff that will make me busy and forget those stressful things.:)

I agree Anna, writing by hand in the freewriting mode is more productive for me. I keep a journal beside me to jot down ideas and find most times I will keep running with the idea until it has played out. I find that I too am less distracted by other options available on the computer while trying to write.
Having newly come back to writing after a number of years, I plan to write as much as time permits entering my stories into selected short story contests until I am ready to start a novel in the near future.

I will be working on learning more about the craft of magic so I can translate that in a greater way into novels and short stories, while never forgetting the human being behind the actions. We remain people no matter what we do. And also, counting to 20, try to develop patience in the publication of my first novel.

I actually trying to start something new and interesting for this yr 2010. And i do believe that each individual person have some hidden talents. Someone told me, when i went to psychic astrologer for the third consecutive time- said that i have a hidden talents such as writing. She even told me to go and do some creative writing lesson. I need some advice from someone out there, am sure i can write some stuff – but how to begin? cheers!

I will try to keep you posted as I see how my friend integrates her various creative activities. To a certain extent, she’s already been doing this by incorporating language into her visual art. (So she’ll make a tapestry in which words and phrases figure highly, for instance.) I’ll be curious to see what her output looks like in the coming year.

I’m not sure about her time management techniques, apart from breaking her goals into small steps and then setting aside time on her calendar to complete them. Cheryl Richardson’s Make Time for Your Life helped me when I first started thinking about how to find more time for the things that matter to me. (I think many of her tips are common time management tips, but this is how I came by them, and I like the tone of her book.)

Good luck. Sounds like you have a very creative life: I envy people who have so many talents!

I do wish you luck! With this kind of determination, I’m sure you’ll have something this time next year.