Typically, I don’t make resolutions. I feel like resolutions have become a joke for many people, haven’t they? Making resolutions only to break them. Resolutions only last a couple weeks, a month at most. I see it at certain places I go to for fitness/wellness. It’s packed in January, but by February, attendance gets back to regular numbers. Maybe a few people stick with it longer than a month, maybe some of those keep going after that, but most don’t.
It’s been YEARS since I made an actual resolution.
Instead of resolutions, I’d rather reflect. What has happened in the past year and how will I move forward?
This year, I’m combining reflections with something I love: WRITING PROMPTS! I found myself thinking about one I did years ago from Sarah Selecky. I had taken one of her courses and followed her blog. A prompt/post she gave was “Writing, Inventory, Intention, and Reminders for the New Year” with questions that followed. Let’s answer a few and see what reflections from the previous year I find.
LAST YEAR
Pitfalls:
A hidden danger or difficulty. Something unexpected that happened that derailed my writing life.
2024 had extra self-doubt. In my “real life”, I dealt with an unexpected and stressful situation. It left me with low energy almost daily. An inability to focus on one task or concentrate on a particular story persists now. I’m working past it, working on myself and making sure this situation and others like it don’t affect me as much.
Success:
I finished both my gothic novel and a sci-fi novella. I’m almost ready to query the novel. After some research, I’ve (re)discovered that getting a novella published is not easy. However, if I take publishing out of the equation, I’ve completed two stories that I love and am proud of.
The next question asks what I’m proud of, which I stated in my successes. Are the prompts asking for a publishing related success? If the above is actually what I’m proud of, then what is my success? I’ve kept this newsletter up. I publish at least once a month. I aim for twice a month, but I wonder if people need more newsletters/emails? When I started, I wanted to write the newsletter weekly. That’s not realistic. Maybe I’m proud that this newsletter is still alive, and it’s a success because it gets read.
NEXT YEAR
Are these prompts to create resolutions? No! I don’t want to!
I’ll answer the questions anyway.
Next year, I’ll stop:
Doubting myself so much. That’s what I’ve been seriously working on the past few months.
Next year, I’ll start:
THIS is the resolution part. What will I start doing next year? I’ll start putting less pressure on myself? Yikes! Is that a resolution?
I want more of:
Time. We all want more time. How do I get that? No idea.
I want less of:
Self-doubt, as mentioned above.
I am totally done with:
The BS I’m dealing with in my daily life. I’m done with the things that cause me to doubt myself. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s done with me, though.
I am ready for:
My writing life to move forward. I feel like I’ve been stuck in the same place for ages.
I expect:
Nothing. I don’t know what the future holds. In my family life, I expect my children to continue to grow and learn. I expect my husband and I to be exhausted by the end of the day.
I believe:
That I tell a good story.
I desire:
To publish a novel or novella. That hasn’t changed and I imagine it won’t, even if (when) it happens. I think I’ll always want to get the next thing out there.
REMINDERS
What?! I have to remember stuff. Reminding myself of things (like you’re a decent parent OR you can write a good sentence) is so HARD.
What inspires me, without fail?
A writing prompt.
What grounds me, always?
My children or husband.
There were more, but I skipped them. Most of what I have to remember is in the “Next Year” section anyway. Maybe I should look at editing this or making a little reflection questionnaire of my own for next year.
Are there any resolutions in there? Less self-doubt? I’m not looking to lose weight or quit carbs or get a bikini body. I just want to be a good person, doing good things for my family, friends, and myself. And I want to write and read as much as I can.
I’m interested in hearing about others’ resolutions, reflections or reminders. What are your intentions for 2025?
What I’ve Been Reading: (A lot of Christmas stories)
Under the Mistletoe Collection, by Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey, Alexandria Bellefleur, Olivia Dade and Alexis Daria
Two Christmases, by Suleena Bibra
The Mistletoe Motive, by Chloe Liese
Batman - Santa Claus: Silent Knight, by Jeff Parker, et al.
The Wood at Mid-Winter, by Susanna Clarke
What I’ve Been Watching:
Hot Frosty on Netflix
Crushing It with Fortune Feimster on Netflix
Love to Hate it with Ronny Chieng on Netflix
Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+
Star Trek: The Next Generation on Paramount+ and Netflix
Is It Cake?: Holiday on Netflix
The Noel Diary on Netflix
What I’ve Been Listening To:
ALL THE CHRISTMAS MUSIC
Cowboy Carter & Renaissance, by Beyoncé
Y2K, by Ice Spice
Learn about the land on which we reside:
Ah... the new year.
I always have such impossibly high goals to reach for. The one that's always on my list that I never seem to leave time for? Book marketing!
One of my writing groups encourages setting writing goals at our January meeting. What would you like to achieve with your writing this year. No resolutions, just one or more things to try to focus on... and we attempt to keep each other accountable (lol). It's funny, one of the goals I've set for myself is to be more mindful of having time for myself to write and create, and to focus on "my" needs instead of everyone else's. Is that selfish? Maybe. I also think it's healthy. My anxiety grows with the pressure I place on myself, and the more writing clients I take on, the more pressure I have to deal with. The more pro-bono work I do, the less time there always seems to be for... me.
It's incredibly difficult to put myself first. I love the people I work with. My writing peers bolster me on. I just need to concentrate on finding my balance. This is something I've been actively working on for a couple of years now, but I always seem to slip back into giving too much of myself, because I don't want to let people down.
I think, it's time I didn't let myself down ;)
And... I'd like to write the first couple of books in a new series/genre I'm starting, as well as publish at least one of my MG fiction adventure chapter books that I wrote when I was in middle grade! There are always ravenous 11-year-old readers who are attracted to my YA covers, but the material really isn't suitable for them. This is a market I can tap into. Hmm... is that me looking at book marketing too? Gah! I might be onto something ;)