OK so I know its a bit late for resolutions but....
I decided this year I wasn't going to make any yearly resolutions because basically they would be the same as last year - get a novel out there, read more, declutter the house, create more time for writing etc etc. I have found that having a resolution with a time span of a whole year simply doesn't work for me because you think you have loads of time and then suddenly its December.
Towards the end of last year I started setting myself monthy writing targets. I found that this shorter space of time geared me up to work harder and while some months I set myself too many tasks, at least I had a list that I could tick off as I went. A ticked list gives me a huge sense of satisfaction (saddo that I am) and even a half ticked off list is better than none.
So this year my new year's resolution was to set myself monthly targets for both my writing and at home. Now, that January is nearly at a end I have some ticks and some not. One of the tasks I set myself for my writing took me alot longer than I had anticipated but I have worked really hard on it so I don't feel I should beat myself up too much over that.
One of my goals for January was to join the Romantic Novelists Association. I've wanted to join for a few years now but never managed to apply in time - applications for the New Writer's Scheme opens in January and usually get filled up quite quickly. But this year I was on the ball and am now officially a member.
This is something I'm really excited about, not only for the chance to meet other writers (if I manage to attend any of the events) but also for the opportunity to submit a completed script for an appraisal.
I have decided to work on the novel I started on for NaNoWriMo. I completed a very rough first draft of this at the end of December, so after a month of working on other projects, February will see me starting to whip this into shape (well attempting to anyway).
I am the kind of person who responds to deadlines and I realise that at the moment the only person who is going to set these for me is myself, and now with something concrete in mind I'm feeling really optimistic about the year ahead.
Hear's hoping I'm still feeling optimistic as August looms!
This is great! You are a now a member of the Romantic Novelists Association - how lovely does that sound?! Say it aloud every so often - it will strengthen your resolve. I think one of the things I have learned is that it's all down to me to make things happen, and once I realised that it was easier to just get on and do things. And if there is an event do try and go to it - I went to a couple of writers' conferences last year and the best thing is suddenly realising that you, as an unpublished aspiring author, are part of the same industry as folk on the book-shelves. We may not be there yet, but one day!
ReplyDeleteHi Jayne
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I am definitely going to try and go to some of the events - oh to rub shoulders with the published! I'm hoping some of it might rub off on me. I'm also glad that I've got an August deadline to submit a full manuscript. I keep dipping in and out of projects and this will give me some focus to produce something of readable quality.
What about you? Do you have any new projects planned for the year while your novel tries to make it's way in the outside world?