For many people, New Year’s Eve is a time to gather with friends and loved ones, usually at small parties or amongst festive crowds, to celebrate the passing of one year with the beginning of another. And while I outwardly enjoy the social interactions of this holiday, the introverted part of me is always looking for an opportunity to slip away from the masses so that I can be alone with my thoughts in quiet contemplation. For me, the New Year is one of those life-milestones where I stop to measure and evaluate myself at each particular stage of my life. It’s a time where I celebrate my accomplishments and acknowledge my failures, so that I can bring what I’ve learned forward into my future. It’s a time where I rekindle those deep-rooted dreams and aspirations; those life-goals that must be accomplished if I’m to have a fulfilled life that is free from regret. It’s a time where I strive to reach my full potential, to live an impactful life, and to become the best-version of my true-self. And with each passing life-milestone, one year into the next, the time I have left in which to actualize these life-goals becomes more and more dear to me. And so, as I’ve done each year at this time, I retreat within myself so that I may reflect on my past and commit to my future.
Most of my resolutions focus on improving my body, spirit, and mind. Here, in my writer’s blog, I'll be focusing on my writing goals and my aspirations to become a prolific author. I will be referring to these goals throughout the year and will break each goal down into actionable steps in future blog posts. For now, these are my simplified writing goals for 2016:
- I resolve to write everyday, whether I’m inspired or not.
- I resolve to finish that manuscript that I started last year.
- I resolve to finish every story that I start from this moment forward.
- I resolve to participate in every ROW80 this year and to document my progress.
- I resolve to hold myself accountable by posting to this blog twice a week.
- I resolve to help other writers as we journey along similar paths.
- I resolve to read at least one genre fiction book each month.
- I resolve to improve my knowledge by reading novel-crafting books.
- I resolve to write, revise, edit and publish my first short-story this year.
- I resolve to design a few book covers for my novels.
- I resolve to create an official author website.
- I resolve to write a business plan for my author / entrepreneur career.
Remember that a resolution is a determined decision to solve to a problem. By definition, to “resolve” is to "solve again," so there is no failure as long as you’re trying to find a solution. If you would like to create your own writer's resolution, I recommend reading JA Konrath’s annual article on
New Year’s Resolutions for Writers.
The next round of "
A Round of Words in 80 Days" starts on January, 4th 2016. If anyone is interested in participating in this quarterly writing challenge, sign-up now. All writers are welcome. Even if you've gotten a late start, you can jump into the round at any time. I'll be posting a more in-depth account of my ROW80 (Round 1) goals on Monday.
Keep the Fire Burning!
Please visit the other writers in the
ROW80 Community…
