Out with the old...

One year ago I posted my writing resolutions for 2014. I freely declare I have not hit those goals.

I celebrated my NaNoWriMo win
by designing my own book cover.
Now all I need is to finish the manuscript
and get it published!

In October, after submitting my final university assignment for the year, I checked in, re-examined those goals and set new ones. I had completed some, was on track for others, and had yet to start a few.

Of those goals, I have not: Submitted two finished PB MS to two or more publishers by the end of the year; written three more PB first drafts; entered one more competition for the year; updated this blog weekly; and only submitted one story to a magazine for publication, not two. I also didn’t print my goals or refer to them as the printer ran out of ink. Then I forgot. I also signed up for PiBoIdMo but didn’t write down a single idea.

So I could make excuses about not reaching these goals, and they’d run along the lines of two months in a neck brace and constant physio after surgery, illness, full-time university study, parenting, etc, but I’d rather take a more positive approach.

Writing is work, not a whim

Has anyone else ever given you 'that' look when you say you're a writer?

It's the look that simultaneously questions your grasp on reality while accusing you of harbouring caffeine and daytime television addictions.

Now think of someone doing his or her job. What is he doing? Making a product? Working in a business? She works regular hours. He might be studying at night to boost his qualifications. She might be attending a breakfast meeting, or an industry conference on the weekend. Are they working hard?

Back to 'real' life and ready to keep writing

Today – 1 December – is an auspicious day.

 

It’s when hundreds of thousands of novelists around the world blink their eyes against the sky’s blue brilliance after they stagger outside for the first time in a month, as they have done for the past 16 years.