Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Resolutions for Writers #IWSG

Resolutions often feel like messages to self, sealed in a bottle and tossed into a wide blue ocean. Sometimes they make it back to shore, but mostly they don’t. They have a tendency to sink, no matter how much fluff and hot air we put in those bottles.

Does this mean resolutions are a waste of time? Absolutely not! Resolutions are an opportunity to restart, reshape and renew our hopes and dreams. But it does help to make make both long term and short term goals with a clear direction toward achieving them. Below is my list of resolutions for 2013.

  • I will not let my doubts become a black cloud over my writing. Instead I will make a habit of listening to both the story and my heart, and I will write anyway despite the fears.
  • The blank page will no longer intimidate me. Instead I will pour out my words and know it’s okay to make a mess. Besides, every mess can be cleaned up with a little work and determination.
  • I will no longer allow my muse to rule me. She doesn’t have the power. I do. Therefore I will re-establish my writing schedule so I'll write whether or not I’m in the mood.
  • I will not fall for the lie that writing is more important than reading. Instead I will dedicate a portion of every day to reading and I will read ten more books than I did last year.
  • I will balance my social media time so that it doesn’t take over my day. That means setting a limited time per day for blogging, Twitter, Facebook and all the others.
  • I won’t stop dreaming big, but I will add measureable, reachable goals to steer me towards those dreams. As my hubby often says, ‘Hope is not a strategy’.
  • I will not let my doubts stop me from putting my work out there. Not everyone will love my stories, but that doesn’t matter.
  • Perfection is unachievable. I will remind myself of that, work until I get close to perfection, then I will let go. Otherwise no work will ever get finished.
  • I will not allow myself to get distracted from my goals… unless that distraction comes in the form of a golden ticket, or Johnny Depp.
  • I will stop worrying about the things I can't control. Life is too short for silly things that will only age me faster and stunt my dreams.
  • If I fail any of these resolutions, I will not call myself a failure and give up. Rather than tossing my messages in the bottle, I will hold onto them, read them and remember what I want.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

This post was writing for Alex J Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writers’ Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.


A Special thank you to Jarmila V. Del Boccio of Making the Write Connections  and Daisy Lancaster of Fresh as a Daisy Soap.

On Jarm’s fabulous blog I won a gift: a handmade soap from Daisy’s collection. I even got to pick from her vast collection! I picked the Avocado Rosemary Moisturizing Facial Soap  and it is amazing!! I love it. As a bonus, Daisy also sent me three wonderful samples: Lavendar Oatmeal, Luscious Lemon, and a Sweet Orange solid lotion bar. I highly recommend these. They are sheer luxury at an affordable price. Thank you Jarm and Daisy!

68 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Those are perfect, Lynda! We can't achieve perfection - we just have to shoot for excellence.

Jeff Hargett said...

"Hope is not a strategy" - Love it!

Denise Covey said...

Hey Lynda, Happy New Year! Now I love your resolution about reading -- I know I read too much -- over 100 books a year, but I find reading is great for writing!! And you keep your hands of Johnny Depp!!

I don't believe in making resolutions, only to break them, but one thing I will be working towards is finally getting a novel actually FINISHED, SUBBED and PUBLISHED would be nice! And you may be able to help me on my post today, Ms Writer of Fantasy!!

Denise

Denise Covey said...

Me typish too fahst!! Keep your hands 'off' Johnny Depp would be better!! (In case those who consider me the editing/grammar guru should come by and gasp!!

Luanne G. Smith said...

Great resolutions for any writer. But I'll second the exclusion clause for Johnny Depp. :))

Anonymous said...

Love the resolutions! I especially love not letting your muse rule you and not getting distracted. This year I forced my muse to make the resolution to take in the world, shut up every now and then, and align her sleep schedule to mine. ;) Happy New Year!

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

All the best in 2013 Lynda!

I never wait until the new year to make resolutions, though I do have goals which are updated and adjusted regularly.

Cynthia said...

Happy New Year, Lynda. These are very thoughtful resolutions to make. How true it is that we just need to let go of things in life we can't control. May 2013 bring good things to you, and maybe Johnny Depp too!

Trisha said...

These are great resolutions! You always sound so confident and determined to me :)

Tonja said...

That's wonderful! I love the first one especially.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I forgive everything in comments. They don't count when it comes to typos ;)

P.S. Johnny is all MINE!!! muwhahahahaha!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I haven't mastered aligning my muse's sleep patterns yet. You must share the secret.

Michael Di Gesu said...

HI, Lynda,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! First let me wish you all the best for 2013! You left 2012 on fire with your anthology, so it's only the beginning for this year.

Your resolutions spoke to me. They are so real and honest. WE all have a tendency to stress too much. But your resolutions are so sensible. I hope I can mirror them and accomplish them. However, like you stated, if we fall short, we are NOT failures. WELL SAID!

Thanks Lynda for this very inspiring post!

Charmaine Clancy said...

Happy 2013! Year of the Writer! ('cause I say so).

I fully agree perfection is impossible :)

Mel Chesley said...

Nothing is ever perfect. As for resolutions, I refused to make any this year other than to publish book two!

Kyra Lennon said...

Great list of goals! I tend not to make resolutions that are set in stone because I usually get halfway there and think of something better lol! But I do know that working hard is top of my "things to do" in 2013!

DWei said...

I can help with #5. If you use Chrome, there's a handy add-on called "Stay-focused". Basically, you allot yourself a set amount of time that you can spend on other sites. And if you reach the limit, Stayfocused blocks those sites for the rest of the day.

Works fairly well. :)

Old Kitty said...

Love that you are taking total writerly control!! Take that muse and evil blank page!! Hah!! Yay for you!!

Have a most amazing 2013, gorgeous Lynda!! And yay for these soaps!! Take care
x

Murees Dupè said...

Those are some fantastic resolutions. I might just steal a few of yours. Best wishes for the rest of 2013.

DEZMOND said...

we do like anything with lemons and oranges

Heather Musk said...

Great post, I think I could join you for each and every one of your resolutions.
I especially like 'Hope is not a strategy'. I may have to stick that up somewhere.
Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

Great resolutions. Happy New Year!

Miranda Hardy said...

Those are great resolutions, and reminders to others to not focus on the wrong activity.

J.L. Campbell said...

Congrats on your win. Sounds like some good stuff.

I find that having measurable goals works a lot better than just writing down stuff without being able to track them. Wishing you success with your goals.

Jarm Del Boccio said...

You are welcome, Lynda...glad you are enjoying them! These are good resolutions. I, too, am trying to cut down on the social media stuff so I can write more. It's always a struggle. I will be working on focusing my writing life into just a few areas...not easy. Happy New Year to you!

Melissa said...

Excellent list!
Best wishes for 2013. :)

#137 until Alex culls the list again.

Unknown said...

Wow, those are awesome! I agree with all of them and I hope to change to meet some of those goals myself.

Rachna Chhabria said...

Love this post, Lynda. "Hope is not a strategy," I completely agree with it and also with the fact that not everyone will love our stories. I finally joined IWSG.

cleemckenzie said...

That's an impressive list, Lynda! Here's to seeing all those resolutions through to the end. Happy 2013!

Anonymous said...

Excellent resolutions and inspiring, too! I'd like to fulfill my ROW80 goals this year. Happy New Year.

Unknown said...

I did a similar list today! (Great minds or fatigued minds? lol) Loved: "Perfection is unachievable. I will remind myself of that, work until I get close to perfection, then I will let go. Otherwise no work will ever get finished."

Something I really struggle with at times. Here's to great things in 2013! :-)

Callie Leuck said...

What a lovely list! This one particularly struck a chord with me:

"I will not fall for the lie that writing is more important than reading. Instead I will dedicate a portion of every day to reading and I will read ten more books than I did last year."

I added reading to my writing goals list this year as well. I always knew intellectually that reading great books improves me as a writer, but I still feel guilty when I'm reading as though it's taking away from what I should be doing. That's a feeling I need to shake.

M Pax said...

I have to do better with the business side of writing and I resolved to quit reading my reviews.

Misha Gerrick said...

I think you already saw my goals for the year.

Love yours, though. I know you can manage to bring about those changes to your benefit.

Southpaw said...

Ooo, well thought out goals. I think my first goal this year will be to set my goals. (I haven't doe that yet.)

Irene said...

Happy 2013! These goals are lovely and probably useful guidelines for a lot of writers. I agree with your husband that hope is not a strategy, and you're also right, it is a powerful force for achieving dreams.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Thank you so much. Wishing you the very best for 2013, Michael.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

2013, Year of the Writer. I like that!!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Ha!! That sounds nifty!! I may have to look into that ;)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Citrus is so refreshing

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Again, thank you, Jarm. Wishing you the best with your focus on writing this year.
Hugs,
Lyn

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

yay!! Welcome to IWSG!!!!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I'll go with fatigued minds ;)
Happy New Year, EJ

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yep, I think that feeling of guilt is a common one because reading is so enjoyable.

Anonymous said...

Happy new year!!! Love your resolutions
I've decided to read less this year... So I can write more :)

Elsie Amata said...

I will stop worrying about the things I can't control

That's my favorite, Lynda. The art of letting go!

Happy New Year!!

Jess said...

Excellent resolutions! Mine are to finish 2 new MG projects, not stress about the little things, and enjoy the new addition to my family~ she'll be arriving any day now :)

Blue Grumpster said...

I like your positive attitude, Lynda. Never call yourself a failure. Yes, perfection is unattainable unless we redefine the term.

May your wishes come true. :)

Anonymous said...

These are amazing Lynda. Especially the one about reminding yourself that if you don't accomplish your goals your not a failure. I need to remember that one. Good luck with 2013.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Congratulations, Jess!!
Not stressing is important.

Theresa Milstein said...

Positive list. I thinks it's all achievable. If you feel low, refer back to your list. Good luck!

I never made resolutions, but I decided to change that this year. I did start my online support group after getting the idea from someone else's near year's post. But this year, I'm making a greater effort to say I have specific resolutions.

stu said...

I'm trying to avoid resolutions, but I suspect one reason why they frequently fail is a lack of either specificity or measureability. I suppose the key thing to ask is how you will know when you have achieved these?

dolorah said...

My resolutions are more about attitude (a positive one) than actual writing. Perhaps that will help me set small, attainable goals and then achieve them :)

.......dhhole

Golden Eagle said...

Those are excellent resolutions!

Reading more is on my list, too. I didn't do much of it last year (or at least not near as much as I'd wanted to) and would like to bump up my pace.

Christine Rains said...

Fantastic resolutions! One of my big ones is to stop stressing over the things I can't control. It's hard, but I'll be happier in the long run if I can learn to do so.

Ciara said...

I can see how Johnny Depp could be distracting. Great resolutions!

Unknown said...

You know...I read this earlier today, and thought I had commented. But I was sitting here thinking, "Did I make a comment at Lyn's?" and realized that I didn't. Or at least I thought I didn't (I was right).

I'm getting all confused. Starting to lose it. So many great blogs, so little time.

Oh...and good article, by the way. :o)

Mel Kinnel (@TizMellyMel) said...

Can I steal these? :)

The main that I need to work is coming to grips that not everyone is going to like what I write. They're just not. It is an ego buster but I can't let it psych me out.

Carol Riggs said...

I love these! I think they're great for ANY writer. :) My main resolution is to finish my WIP, because I mostly only edited novels last year and didn't write enough new stuff. :)

Yeesi7 said...

Happy New Year Lynda.
I had the same exact thought about new year resolutions. I didn't wanted to make any resolutions because I didn't wanted to face the failure.
But now, I made one. NO DRINKING.
In btw, Loved your list of resolutions. So inspiring for any writers.

Kern Windwraith said...

These are resolutions to live by. I particularly love the ones about not letting doubts stop you, and the one about reading, and I'm very fond of that tip from your husband about hope not being a strategy. All very handy reminders for me!

I'm so glad we connected in 2012, Lynda, and I look forward to getting to know you even better in 2013. Your blog posts always make great reading. Wishing a very happy and productive year ahead!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yeah, I do that all the time, lol!!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Yes! That's a great way of going about it.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Sure thing ;)

I recently had a mini revelation about that particular point: Everyone has an audience; you just have to find yours.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

While it's great to help othrs, it's easy to get caught up in it and let your own work slide. I've already turned down one editing job so far. Wasn't easy, but I need to focus this year.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Best of luck with your resolution :)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Thank you so much, Kern.
Wishing you a fantastic 2013 too.

Tyrean Martinson said...

These are excellent goals!!! Best wishes for 2013!