Every new year I set writing goals. They aren’t lofty, but I take a moment to recommit to writing. Making an official resolution makes me feel more dedicated.
This year, I have set a goal of writing daily.
Now when I say daily, I mean every business day. I’ve always wondered when other authors say they write daily, if they mean 365 days a year. This seems a bit ambitious and overeager to me. I know I would burn out if I tried to maintain that schedule. I need those down days to let ideas percolate and feed my imagination. The only exception is journaling, which feeds me too.
Writing is my career. I treat it as such and write every weekday. Now in the past, not all of those days meant writing fiction. I would focus on the project at hand (script, speech, article, blog, etc.) and finish those before moving on to my novel. This year is going to be different. I am setting aside specific time each day to write (or in this case: rewrite) my novel. It is getting priority treatment, as it should have been all along.
It is easy to push back personal work with client deadlines. Too easy. There is something comforting about writing a commissioned piece. It has a pressure and a paycheck pushing it along. Fiction has no such thing. The deadlines are self-proscribed and self-motivated, which for me is always tougher.
This year, I resolve to make my work a priority.
In addition to working on my novel, I have set aside time to write this blog on a regular basis. Weekly for now, but possible bi-weekly by summer. It depends on all of you.
I also am setting up an account at Goodreads to post books, reviews and join a few established book clubs. This will be a good place to find me if you want to talk about books.
Pinterest is another place I will be adding to my social media list. Look for pins about writing (with links to this blog), as well as fun things for readers and writers.
Both Goodreads and Pinterest will be up and running by February under the name FigmentsFables, which is also my Twitter handle. Now I have to admit that I am not great at Twitter. As a hermit, it is not a comfortable place for me. It also takes a lot of time, which I don’t have. I am still on the fence on what I will do with that account. If anyone has advice, please share it.
Also share your writing goals. I would love to hear what you have in store for 2016.
My year promises to be full of writing, research, clients and a completed novel. What about you?