Happy New Year!
Posted on Monday, January 3rd, 2011Happy 2011!
That’s right, 2010 has passed and 2011 is here! This year is going to be a good one, if only because I make it so. I think today we need to talk about a few things… loosely connected with the new year. First off, looking back. How/Where have I improved in the past year, any truly intelligent lasting wisdom I’ve gained, that sort of stuff. I feel that before I can truly make any lasting resolutions for the coming year, I first need to understand where I’ve been. So, what has happened in the last year?
Well, on the topic of writing, I started up my website earlier this year. In fact my first blog post was on May 29th. I defined myself as a Dark Fantasy Writer, which was a very large step for me. While most of my writing is Dark Fantasy, I’m still working at understanding myself as a writer and I’m certainly not above trying my hand at other genres. So I’ve learned that I am still finding myself as a writer and that it’s okay to still be settling into my place.
I’ve learned that while I may call myself a writer, I cannot do it, unless I write. A writer is someone who writes, payment or not. This year, I have allowed too many excuses to stop me from writing. My lesson from this? That my most dangerous enemy to my dream of being a writer is me. It’s a harsh lesson, to realize that you could be so much further ahead in your dream, if only you would stop fighting yourself at every turn.
I’ve learned that I am truly self conscious about my work. Yes, I post short stories and chapters up on my site, but you should see the amount of editing I do to those. I don’t even like my husband reading my work until I’ve done what I like to call a “First Edit” where I go through my work, edit and then let him read it. Then I’ll do more editing as it comes up. I need to get over some of my fear of showing my work to other people. I’m always saying I have self confidence… Maybe I should start proving it.
I’ve learned that I really need help with editing. As a child, I learned to edit as I write, correcting things as I go. Usually, I would have a sheet of schoolwork, with 2 -3 words crossed out here, two sentences changed and otherwise my writing was the same. Line editing is less of an issue for me, but editing for content is. I have to learn more about editing and how to do it without destroying my work or my voice in the work.
I’ve learned that I enjoy the challenge of working with/against other people. To clarify, the idea that I’m competing makes me push that little bit harder to make sure I write every day and write more. I also work very well with rewards that I can’t control. The website 750 words for example. I can’t cheat my way to 200 days on it… or rather I could, but I’d know that I had cheated and that out there, people were doing it without cheating. So, I should be signing up for writing groups, so that I always have to have something to turn in. There is something terrifying to me about the line “We’re not angry, we’re just disappointed” (Thank you, Ivan Coyote). Don’t you agree?
I can be healthy even if it is really hard and that doing so actually helps me to feel better and more confident about myself. I must admit, I still look at my weight for the real prize, but I am learning that being healthy is something different than denying myself anything I want.
So, now that I’ve looked at what I’ve learned, I need to discuss what I want to do to continue to grow this year.
1. I know that if I want to call myself a writer then I must write. So, I am setting myself a word goal this year. 750 words a day, except in November when 50,000 for the month is in effect. The total comes out to 301,250 words. I think I’m going to cut that down to 300,000 words for the year, because it makes for easier math. However, it’s not just a yearly goal. What is important is that I write every day, instead of just waiting for the weekends or for when I have “time” to do so.
2. I know that I eventually want to be a published author. So, my plan to help me achieve this goal is to finish my novel and start sending it out to publishers by the end of the year. Which does mean that I need to start reading and writing on it again. I will take 2-3 days and figure out where I was and where I was going and then I will move on to writing the story again. My goal is to finish writing the story before the end of January, so that I can let it sit and then I can start doing general line edits in February. After I have finished with just line edits, then I’ll take a look at content and ways to fix it.
3. I need to stop being afraid to show people my work. I will overcome that fear by posting shorter stories more often, even if they don’t actually connect to any of my other writing. Expect a lot of 750 – 1000 word short stories on a variety of topics here folks, as well as my other writings.
4. I want to lose weight, get into exercising more regularly and start eating healthier. To do this, my husband and I have invested in a personal gym. We now have an elliptical, an Olympic grade weight set, various free weights, a toning machine (think BowFlex type of machine).
5. I will continue to network and try to meet other writers. I will do this by continuing to attend writers conferences and making friends within the writing community.
6. I will continue to improve on my craft of writing. I will do this with my writing more often, by listening to podcasts like Writing Excuses, by attending writing conferences like SiWC and by taking some university courses on writing.
So, there you have it, my list of what I learned in 2010 and what I hope to learn and how I’ll learn it in 2011. What do you think of my resolutions and even more importantly, what are yours?
Tags: 2011, 750 Words, Blog, Ivan Coyote, motivation, New Year's Resolutions, Novels, SIWC, Writing, Writing Excuses
Posted in Blogs by B.A. Matthews | 2 Comments »