New Year Resolutions Writer Style

Welcome to the second day of the New Year. Hopefully, the hangover has worn off by now and you're staring at the list of resolutions you scribbled whilst judgment impaired by the adult beverage of your choice. Yeah, I don't (can't) drink, either, but work with me. I need an excuse for looking askance today at the unreasonable promises I made yesterday. The first item on my list: Move to Hawaii. Lovely thought. It misses a really vital step: Win the lottery. Because that is the only way I'd be able to afford a move to the islands. The second item on the list: Learn to love the cold is just laughable. A couple of years in Iceland when I was a kid cured me of cold forever. All I do is whine. Is it too much to ask to live someplace where making contact with the toilet seat isn't akin to planting my tender butt on a block of ice? It's 21 degrees outside and one of the radiators died a cowardly death. It has yet to be replaced because who wants to go outside in this nonsense? Which brings me to my next resolution: Go cold turkey on complaining. Yeah. Banner start to the resolutions.

Kidding. Don't do resolutions. I prefer goals. Minor difference of semantics, maybe, but resolutions seem so absolute. Goals get broken down into actionable steps. And when we talk about how my writing will change over the coming year, I can talk about how I aim for deeper POV, characters who follow you around your house for days after you read their stories, and maybe even a little angst, they're goals I really can't measure or control - they're a learning process that will take whatever time they're going to take. What I can control are these:

1. Finish what I start. No. You don't understand. This is a serious thing for me. I started five things this year. I finished two. Wait. No. I started eight things this year. Finished two. Sure. Those two things were novels. But seriously. That start/finish ratio? MUST get better. (The measureable goal: The equivalent of three novels this year. I'm asking myself for 300,000 finished words this year - first drafts accepted.)
2.z <-- This was the cat's input. One thing I can safely say won't change? Feline editorial input.
MY #2: Genres. More of 'em. We've got yer scifi, yer urban fantasy, yer sword and sorcery, and coming soon to a venue near you, contemporary romance and possibly historical fantasy. Already underway. Assuming proposals don't get kicked back in my face accompanied by the music of mocking laughter.
3. Finishing that which was started many long years ago. I started with scifi. I got stalled in the middle of a series. That series wants to be finished. Book three is half done. It's rattling its chains in my dreams at night. So it looks like this year will be a form of old home week. All year long. (The measurable on this one is a completed book three. It will count as one of my three novels for the year IF I get it done the way I want.)

Do you set goals for the new year, writing or otherwise? Why or why not? What helps you stay on track? That's, you know, legal.

Resolution Resistance

Ah, resolutions. Useless bits of crystallized resolve set onto a page so the universe at large has something to shoot at and down.

Not that I'm bitter.

Would you believe me if I said that has no bearing on my resistance to making resolutions? Fact is, I the daughter of an engineer. Do you know how many times I've had it explained to me that the concept of 'New Year' is 100% arbitrary and meaningless? I mean it doesn't even mark a celestial event like perihelion or aphelion or a solstice or equinox - things that can be measured and marked down to the second. The science rants. They began early in my childhood. You may correctly assume that the engineer wasn't big on resolutions. They just weren't a thing in my family. Still aren't.

Which isn't to say that some of us don't want to enact change. I'm still working on producing more material in a shorter time frame. But it's not something that started on January 1. Nor will it ever end. It's an ongoing effort of testing what works versus what doesn't and tweaking my methodology. However, if we want to talk about what I'm working on? That I can do.

1. Experiment with shortening the story production cycle by sussing out where my time sinks occur. Once I find 'em, plug them. How I go this may be it's own blog post at some point. Because there are steps and some rinse, repeating. I'm pretty sure I know where in my process I can look to shave weeks off a story schedule.

2. Step outside my comfort zone. Something about what I write should scare me at least a little. The current UF story set scares me because of some of the emotional lines my heroine is crossing. It's too easy to slip into comfort and for comfort to become a rut. So I want to do something (like learning to rappel) or write something that shoves at least one foot firmly outside of 'I'm okay with this', but still remains within the confines of 'reasonably safe and sane-ish'. You aren't likely to find me wanting to jump out of airplanes, if only because I'm not going to go up in one on a lark in the first place.

3. Play. It came to my attention that in recent years, I've limited my creative expression to one format. Writing. Something that's become a job - lucky me! But seriously, there're pressures on that mode of expression that weren't present before I was published. It's still creative. It's still fun, I still love it. But it's not PLAY. Play is where you go to laugh and make mistakes and laugh some more. This feeds the creative critters that we are. So I'll carry my camera and take stupid, blurry photos of things I think are a good time. I'll get out my sketch book and pencils out and see if I still remember how to draw. Badly. Not because I think I'll suddenly turn into Picasso, but because it might be fun. It's possible some reading will happen in there, too.

Were you hoping I'd give up pseudo-science and conspiracy theories? Sorry. That's Lent you're thinking of. And the wrong religion. :D

...and the Resolutions Begin...

by Allison Pang

In general, I tend not to do the resolution thing - writerly or otherwise. I think it's because most people tend to set these super high and somewhat unrealistic goals - "I'm going to write 5000 words a day!" It's easy to get discouraged and then quit - sort of a self-destroying cycle, really.

I mean, when was the last time you resolved to eat more ice cream? Or sleep in every morning? (On the other hand, if resolutions were easy, we'd all do them. For the word count thing, it's probably better to resolve to write an extra 200 words a day on top of whatever the normal word count is, and build up to a daily max. And the writing more resolution is always there for me, so I'm not even going to list it.)

I believe in small steps, so my top three writerly resolutions are:

1) Read more. Sounds lame, but I barely read anything in 2013 and that is sad. I used to read two or three books a week, easy...but these days, not so much. I've gone ahead and pre-loaded my Kindle - with both new books and those I've been trying to get around to reading and if I can swing a book a week, I'll be a happy camper.

2) Take better physical care. 2013 was rough in many ways, but if I'm honest, I was letting myself slide quite a bit over the last few years anyway. Between the back issues and the meds and the fact that I tend to stress eat like no-one's business, the scale has been creeping up in a way I really don't like. Now that I've got a metal spine and physical therapy is nearly over, it's time to brush off that treadmill and start moving again - blood flow is good for the muse and anything that helps the muse is helpful to ME. (I am going to try to eat better/less, too, but again - I dislike the "I'm going to lose X pounds in Y time." Much better to say "I'm going to pay attention to what I'm eating. And if I can't quite resolve to stop drinking soda, I can certainly resolve to drink more water.")

3) Write more. Did I say I wasn't going to mention this? Well I am anyway. And actually, what I really mean is to get better organized when it comes to the various projects I'm working on. I can be a hard core procrastinator, particularly when it feels like I have a mountain of things on my plate - this can put me in a sort of "blocked" mode. And then nothing gets done. And then I feel lousy. And then I'm less inclined to do anything. Rinse and repeat. So I've started keeping a list - and if's not quite as fancy as Jeffe's spreadsheets, it is something I can cross out as I go. Progress can be its own reward, I think and for me, just knowing I'm putting a small dent in the workload makes me *want* to do more.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

If you rang in the new year like partying was your hard-core job, I will at this point suggest you go find some hair of the dog (or whatever remedy you prefer) and then come back. If you've already done that, or if you wisely avoided the annual hangover, by all means proceed without caution....

This is an unusual January first. Why? Because if you look up into the night sky and expect to see a moon, you won’t.

This phase of the Moon is called the New Moon and in case you don’t understand moon phases, this is where the moon is dark, resetting the cycle. It moves into a waxing crescent, advancing to Full Moon, then begins waning, and goes dark again. It’s been nearly two decades since the last time a New Year started on a New Moon. Since the New Moon is a time to reset you, too, this is prime resolution time. More oomph in your resolve, so to speak.

My 3-Fold Writerly Resolution:

PUSH MYSELF

No one else will.

Admittedly, my agent does a good job of motivating me, but in the end, it’s my butt in the writer’s seat, “my-best-book-yet” to write, and if I don’t do it I’m going to be wickedly pissed off and, well, nobody wants me wickedly pissed off at them. Not even me.

1.)    ELIMINATE ALL EXCUSES and DISCONNECT ALL DISTRACTIONS

There’s a time and a place for fun, but work time is not “check facebook” time, it’s not “just one more game of Spider Solitare or Ruzzle” time. {Insert commanding megaphone voice here.} “Put down the iPhone, ma’am, and slowly back away.”

I'm human. I have human tendencies like everyone else. In order to be more focused on what I DO want to accomplish, both on the page and in my career overall, I have to be more disciplined. I have to accept required work habits may not be as flexible as I have lazily let them become.

2.)    NEVER STOP LEARNING/HONING MY CRAFT

AKA: Respect the Gift I’ve Been Given. 

(Being published was a dream come true. Please don’t wake me.)

Analyze the constructive criticism and feedback that I’ve been given and apply what I learn from this. Discover some new (not-time-intensive) internet marketing skills. Be better than before. Then be better than that. 

3.)    DARE AGGRESSIVELY ON EVERY PAGE.

Every page. Every day.

2014 Resolutions: New & Improved...ish

Happy New Year's Eve!  Cheers to fountains of bubbly and choruses of noise-makers!

My Writerly Resolutions for 2014? Well, I'll take one from Jeffe and one from James then ...

1. Read More & More Broadly -- I resolve to read at least one entire book a week. Entire. No matter the number of books I chuck by page 50, I will find and finish at least one book a week.  The genres of the books I read will be more diverse. I will read books newly published and long since forgotten.
2. Take Control of My Career -- Since I believe in the rich opportunities afforded a Hybrid Author, I will self-publish at least two novels and shop two others to traditional publishers. I will step up to the plate for marketing and sales.
3. Finish the Damn Books -- While 2014 promises to be a year of editing (see #2 above) I will finish, publish-ready finish, two novels. This means I will better manage my time and my distractions. I will accept there is no such thing as the Perfect Story and cease obsessive tweaking.

I may be reaching a little far or not far enough.  I've no idea. I can assure you that self-publishing anything is intimidating. My analytical brain is having fits over ROI while my creative half is terrified of formatting fuckups. As for the stories themselves ... well, it doesn't matter which publishing route one takes, the reviews will be what they will be.

So, there you have it, dear readers. Once I sober up from a highly carbonated evening, I shall have to put my ass in gear and do something new. What about you, dear reader? What is something new you resolve to do in 2014?

Jeffe's Three Things to Try in the New Year

I'm in Salt Lake City this morning, sitting at a Paradise Bakery to eat breakfast and post to the blog before heading still farther north.

We've been away from home for a week now, having left last Monday for Christmas with family in Tucson. Today we head up to Montana for my stepson's wedding on New Year's Eve. All this time, I've done my best to keep up with laying down word count on the book due in January.

One thing I did while in Tucson was head to Starbucks in the morning and sit there for three hours to get the writing done. The family accommodated this surprisingly well. The only day I missed was Christmas itself. It worked so well, in fact - and I felt so good, getting that concentrated writing time and then feeling free for the rest of the day - that I'm considering trying it when I get back home.

Which dovetails nicely with this week's topic: 3 New Writerly Things to Try in 2014

I think I'll try that, much as I love writing on my treadmill desk - going to the local coffee shop or bakery for concentrated writing time.

 I also want to work on being less stressed about getting the word count in. I've increased my productivity, but I still worry about staying on my too-tight schedule. I did it to myself and now I need to learn to deal. As of yesterday, I'd written almost 57,000 words in December, which is my all-time record. I've also written just over 492,000 words in 2013. With only a few days left in the year, I doubt I'll make an even 500K. It's tempting to go for the round number, but I'll resist. Pressure I don't need.

Finally, I want to read more and spend less aimless time on the interwebs. I read 71 books in 2013, more than one a week, which was my goal. I'll like to get up to 100 in 2014. But Jeffe, you might say, that's not really a writerly thing! Yes, my friends, it absolutely is. Having time to read over this holiday break and road trip has been lovely, also helping to feed the word count.

So there's my three.

Any other writerly resolutions out there?

Finding In-Person Ways to Interact with Readers

I do most of my promo online.

Cause that's how I roll. I live out in the country, remote from my neighbors. I work from home for both the day job and for the writing. I love my online community - both for the interconnectedness that it provides, that I wouldn't otherwise have, and for the ability it affords me to walk away when I'm tired of it.

For an introvert - even a reasonably social one like me - this is a great thing.

This weekend, though, I'm reminded of the larger world of in-person interaction. My guy is graduating from acupuncture college today and my stepdaughter and grandkids (above) have been here since Friday. Lots of other family arrived yesterday. We're in a social whirlwind.

So, I'm sitting here thinking about this week's theme of "Promotion Resolutions: What I Don't Do Now that I Should Be Doing." And, though I go to conferences, I'm realizing I don't do as much in person as I could.

Now, I'm a big fan of doing exactly the kind of promo you like to do - or it comes off wrong. If someone tells me they hate Twitter, then I say, fine, don't do it. The only thing worse than not doing Twitter is doing it badly. Twitter works for me. Facebook less so, but I definitely like my profile page better than my author page - and I'm sure it shows. I do Goodreads, in a low-key way, and I blog - here and on the personal site (http://jeffekennedy.com/category/blog/).

It's difficult, with primarily digital books, to set up real life events. Bookstores want to to sell books. They can't really sell eBooks. So the whole thing piffles right there. But, back when I had a physical book to sell, the bookstore signings were never terribly well-attended.

On the other hand, the numbers show that the sci fi/fantasy crowd are slow to adopt eBooks, so meeting with them physically is likely the way to go.

So, that's my resolution - finding new and different ways to interact in person with readers. More than just conferences, different than the staid book signings of the past.

All ideas welcome!