Every year, millions set resolutions for the coming year. Months, weeks, days, and sometimes even hours, later those resolutions fail. There is something in our minds that rebel against change, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try forming new habits. In fact, it is that resistance that demands we keep trying.
It is vital to writers to stay engaged and disciplined (which is why the next few blogs will cover procrastination and discipline for writers). We need to form good habits because it’s up to us to face that blank page and create people and worlds where none were before. That takes discipline and a plan.
Here are my resolutions for writers. Take what makes sense for you and turn it into a habit.
SET GOALS
Be Realistic
Pick what you want to work on and commit to it. Don’t go too lofty or you will surely fail. But don’t be afraid to stretch beyond your comfort zone.
Set a Writing Goal
This could be a daily goal for pages, words or time spent writing. Pick one and stick to it. Use a habit tracker or create a chart to track your progress. Do you want to write for half an hour a day? Then put it in writing. Only want to work five days a week, that’s good too. Figure out what will work for you. For some, it’s easier to set word goals for the week and keep their writing time flexible. Others prefer a dedicated time to sit down and write until the timer sounds. Both are great. The key is to pick the one that works for you.
Make Your Reading List
Every writer should be a great reader. It’s how writers feed their imagination and connect with words. There is nothing quite as motivating as reading a book that reminds us why we write in the first place. Make a list of books to read this year and make it a wide list, encompassing a range of genres, styles and authors. Again, stretch yourself a bit, but don’t forget to add your favorite authors’ new books too.
CONNECT
Find Your Community
Writers helping writers is the best way to stay motivated and working. Look for communities that suit you and your work. Or find a new community so you can help form it from the ground up (perhaps the new Figments & Fables Patreon Community, for example).
Seek Inspiration
Make a list of places to visit to feed your imagination and inspire new stories. It could be a museum, a park or a foreign country. Or it could be a class or a commitment to being in nature at least once a day. The point is to make a list of places and things that will inspire new stories within you.
Pay Attention
Commit to being mindful of the world around you and to what you read, watch or observe. Writers need to pay attention. Practicing mindfulness helps us pay attention to the story ideas, settings and characters around us.
Support Other Writers
Get out of your head and help someone else with their story. You could do this through a variety of critique groups or by participating in a writer’s community. Or volunteer to help out with a school near you. There are always volunteer opportunities to help new English speakers and children write.
LEARN SOMETHING
Read More
Commit to reading more this year—more books, articles, blogs. The more we feed our minds, the more ideas we get. Instead of making a goal to read a specific number of books this year, commit to reading for at least half an hour a day. Use that time to expand your horizons and learn something new.
Keep Working on Craft
No matter how long you’ve been writing, you can still learn more about the craft. Pick up a book, read a blog, watch a video, take a class or workshop. If you know you are weak in a specific area, use this time to strengthen that skill. Learn.
Stay Open
Keep your mind open to inspiration and knowledge no matter where it arises. Knowledge, facts and experience are where ideas come from. Don’t close yourself off to those opportunities. Listen when you want to rebel. Decide to take in ideas without judgement. You can assess the ideas and veracity later. But first, listen. Be open to the possibility of a new idea.
BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Give Yourself Permission to Fail
It’s okay to get rejected. It happens, even to the best writers out there. You can’t make someone like you or your work, all you can do is put forward the best you can do and try, and accept what happens. If you fail, try again. Don’t beat yourself up. Just keep trying and learn from every failures.
Write Badly
Every first draft is bad, no matter the writer. That’s okay. It’s expected. Don’t worry if it happens to you. A bad first draft is what revision was made for. Editing is when the real writing happens. Tell your inner editor to wait. She will have her turn after you have a rough draft. Until then, keep writing.
Take a Break
A lot of writers will urge you to write every day. I am not one of those. No one can sustain that level of effort. You will burn out. Take breaks. It’s okay. You need to refill the well at some point. But choose when to take a break. I am not saying it’s okay to skip writing to sit on the couch and watch Netflix or Disney+ because you don’t feel like it that day. But I am saying it’s okay to take a week or two off in between projects to reset and re-energize. Pick your times. Be strategic. And, most of all, be kind to yourself.
Move
Writing is a sedentary affair, which is bad for your health. Take care of yourself. Move. Sleep more. Exercise more. Breathe more. You need your health to feed your brain. Set a timer when you work as a reminder to take breaks and move around. Build in activity so your body wakes back up. Your brain will thank you, so will your heart.
Stop Being so Negative
It is terribly easy to beat up on ourselves. Don’t. Look for the positive in the situation. Watch the language you speak out loud and inside your head. Negativity blocks progress. If you are struggling, look for another way to look at the situation. Maybe it’s time to try something new or to get help. Take a deep breath and assess why things aren’t working and then figure out what you need to do to fix them. Look at obstacles as challenges, not failures.
Have Fun
Writing should be fun. All parts of it. Okay, maybe not the middle slump or the rejection parts, but the process itself should be fun. Writing the first draft. Editing the manuscript. Fixing the issues. Making it better. Enjoy the journey. It’s not about having written. It’s about enjoying how you got there. That is the life of a writer—the work. If you aren’t having fun, ask yourself why you want to write. If you’re not having fun, it might not be the best career for you.
Stay Focused on You
Don’t compare yourself to other writers, especially published ones. It doesn’t help anything and isn’t fair to you. Chances are you are comparing a published work to a work in progress. A published book has gone through several rounds of edits with an agent and then an editor. It has been seen by proofreaders and other writing professionals. It has been polished and readied for readers. How can your manuscript compare to that? Why should it? Besides your voice should be yours, not someone else’s. Your story should be yours alone. It should not invite comparison. Stay focused on your work. Be inspired by others, but stop with the comparisons. They won’t help you.
Reframe Your Identity
If you are actively writing, you are a writer. Call yourself that. Own it. Make it part of your life. Stop feeling like a poser. A writer is one who writes. If that is you, then the term fits. If you spend more time talking about writing, then it’s time to pick up your pen and get to work. You need to earn this title, but earning it is easy—just write.
Act the Part
This means being professional. Writing is a career. Editors and agents are professionals. Treat them accordingly. Always use good business practices. Meet deadlines. Be polite. Stay in touch, but don’t stalk or hound. Accept criticism and respond respectfully, even when you disagree. Be easy to work with and you will get more projects and respect.
STRETCH YOURSELF
Dig Deep
Write what moves you, scares you—what matters. Don’t hide yourself behind fear or shame or embarrassment. Write about your deepest emotions without reservation or filters. Write what makes you uncomfortable, what makes you feel exposed. Tell the truth. Be honest with your readers and yourself. Tell your truth through story. It will add depth to your characters.
Loosen Up
Play. Explore story ideas, characters and situations. Play with words and ideas. Tap into your childlike nature and play with the world around you. You might be surprised what you unleash in your imagination.
Go Back
Explore your old journals, writer’s notebooks and files for ideas you’ve forgotten—it’s amazing what you can find. It could be a single line that inspires a new story.
Try Something New
Maybe a new form or genre. If you write mystery novels, try writing a poem or a romance. If you write chick lit, try writing a play. Who knows, you might find a new calling.
Build a World…
Even if you don’t think you need one. Working through the process of building a world might change your perspective on showing the one we inhabit already.
LEARN NEW SKILLS
Explore Available Tools for Writers
There are many tools out there for writers. Seek them out. Know your options. Pick the ones that make sense for you. Take up wiring by dictation. Try a productivity apps. Explore a new writing program. What will help you succeed?
Practice Your Public Speaking
Successful writer have to speak in public. Start preparing for that now. Join Toastmasters or take a class on writing and delivering speeches. Find opportunities to practice, both large and small.
Brush Up Your Marketing Skills
Authors need to market their books. Learn how to put your writing out in the world and gain attention along the way. Learn to self-promote you and your work.
Create an Author Website
Start early on this. Don’t wait until you have a book out to begin. Build an online presence so you have a community behind you when you succeed. It all starts with the author website.
Look for more Writer’s Resolutions in the next installment of Figments & Fables. Until then, post your favorite resolutions below.