New Year Focus

Although I haven’t been blogging much, or writing much come to that, I have been doing a lot of thinking.

At the end of one year and the beginning of another most people reflect on the past and the future but I think writers do so even more. And I suppose because we are not just saying goodbye to a year but a whole decade reflection is even more poignant.

In my personal life, the last ten years seen the greatest change to my circumstances. I was married in 2000 and now have two sons aged 8 and 6. I also moved house and now live in a village on the outskirts of a city, where the sense of community gives me a wonderful sense of belonging. So yes, on that score my achievements have been great.

Not so great on the writing front, although it’s not for want of trying. I have written plenty over the last ten years but have only had one small success in that a short story of my was published last year. After years and years of trying that one success though had me dancing on the ceiling and it did take me a while to come down. I’ve also written the first draft of two novels and half of another one.

What are my goals for 2010? Well I suppose consolidation is the key. My writing efforts have always been a bit sporadic. I’ll get into a routine and then life gets in the way and that’s it for a while. This year I’ve set myself a goal of doing something writing orientated for at least 1 hour a day. So far I’m managed this, but as I’m doing quite a bit of historical research for my latest effort, most of this has been reading rather than actually making any written progress. I think I need to break this down a bit, so that at least at the end of each week I’m seeing some more words on the page.

Also this year I want to finish the first draft of the novel I started for NaNoWriMo, complete a first edit of my previous novel, and try and write some more short stories. And I want to master the art of blogging. At the moment all I can do is post a blog. I don’t know how to do links, or add photos, or add anything else to my blog so any tips will be much appreciated. Or does anyone know of an idiot’s guide book to blogging - and I do mean one which does what it says on the tin, and is self-explanatory for a complete novice like myself?

Just quite how I’m going to achieve all that I’ve set myself I haven’t quite worked out yet. But I’ll get there. In the end. Hopefully.