For our first feature article of 2014, Spellbinders asked some of our author friends what their writing resolutions are for the upcoming year. Check these out. You may find a few you want to adopt for yourself.
Shirley Raye Redmond
www.shirleyrayeredmond.com
S is for Social Media—I will make use of Amazon’s Author Central, Good Reads author page and Facebook, although this is just not my sort of thing. I’d rather be writing!
M is for Marketing—I will spend at least 30 minutes each day actively marketing my titles by contacting libraries, bloggers, bookstores and appropriate museum gift shops, etc. I’m even considering contacting photography shops about carrying my FAIRIES: A TRUE STORY (Random House) as it is about a photographic hoax.
A is for Achievable—I have set a realistic goal of writing at least 1000 polished words per day.
R is for Reading—I will make time to read books, blogs, and pertinent magazines.
T is for Time Sensitive—I will take all deadlines seriously, even my own self-imposed ones.
E is for Exercise—I will strive to take 10,000 steps a day (I wear a pedometer) so as not to come down with repetitive use injuries and other aches and pains caused by too much sitting.
R is for Revision--I will not resent it, but learn to relish it.
Betsy James
http://listeningatthegate.com
http://betsyjames.com
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I make resolutions about every three months, when I nuke yet again the piles of books and papers and swear that next time I won’t let the piles get overwhelming. As if. Recently I did make a resolution-like decision, though. I can’t print it here because there’s a curse word in it. It goes something like, “From 9 to 12 in the morning, drop everything, including &%$#, and write.” I suppose I could have printed that as e***l. It is the curse.
Judith Schiess Avila
www.JudithAvila.com
It was a huge relief seeing the ball drop on 2013. My 90-year-old father died in April, 2013, leaving our family deprived of his gruff strength and humor. My amazing little sister was diagnosed with breast cancer that same month. So was one of my best friends. My two wonderful, longtime dog companions both died. And I loaned my new truck to a friend who totaled it in a freak rain-related accident. So, plowing ahead in my old Subaru, I found comfort watching 2013 grow smaller and disappear in the rearview mirror.
Sometime during 2014, I hope to get my sanity back. Last year I wrote virtually nothing, using travels with my book Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII as an excuse. But I have learned that writing brings me happiness, focus, and (I hope) sanity.
This year I vow to be present in every minute. When a news item catches my eye, I will tell myself, Wow! This could be a story. What if… When my friends relate funny or touching incidents, I will examine them for story potential and again ask myself, What if… When I see an inspiring movie or read a fascinating book, I’ll take it further – great tale, but what if… Everything that passes the “what if” test by making my imagination soar will be captured in my computer journal. And when I am asked to write something, I will never say I’m too busy.
These few short paragraphs are a start.
Kersten Hamilton
Kersten's website
I'm giving up on social media for 2014. No Twitter, no Facebook, no blog. I'm going to take the time I would have spent on social media and spend it writing instead.
And here are two resolutions from the Spellbinders:
Caroline Starr Rose
www.carolinestarrrose.com
Keep plugging away! If I look at the big picture, I tend to freak out. Day by day, bird by bird makes it feel doable.
Carolee Dean
http://caroleedeanbooks.blogspot.com
I plan to be more active on social media - Twitter (@CaroleeJDean), Facebook, and my blog, so I can stay connected with readers. At the same time, I don't want it to become a huge time suck, so I plan to do a little something each Sunday and spend the rest of the week writing books. Its funny that this is exactly the opposite of Kersten's resolution above.
The bottom line is do something, shake it up, keep it fresh. That's what writing is all about.
Now go out there and make it a great 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment