My month of discovering my 2015 writing goals has come to an end… or has it? Yes, I have settled on one or two writing resolutions, but I have realized that writing like any other artistic expression goes through ebbs and flows. Whatever I decide today could no longer apply or be important to my writing career in three months. Therefore, I must build in opportunity for shifts in my writing outlook. So for my first writing resolution I will resolve to:
- Create monthly writing goals
As I stated in a previous post, I was a news staff writer who thrived on daily and weekly deadlines. Having a yearlong goal is a disadvantage to my writing success. This also will provoke me to write more often, which will give me a sense of regular accomplishment. Furthermore, this will help my writing have focus. For 30 days, at least, I will tackle writing assignments and complete them. In the past, I have started writing projects, become bored, started a separate writing project, and become frustrated. And of course, none of my writing made it to done. I anticipate having monthly writing goals will be highly beneficial.
Next, I will resolve to:
- Read more fiction books
Again, because of my background in journalism, I am drawn to real life, in other words, nonfiction reading material. However, I am starving for creative writing in my life. Not to say that reading nonfiction does not spark creativity, because there is such a genre as creative nonfiction, but I want to dive into literature that will stretch my imagination and break me out of the self-imposed box that I have been hiding in.
And to conclude this post, I will resolve to:
- Share moments of my writing
Writers often feel lonely or are alone in their writing process. Many famous writers have been quoted on the loneliness of writing–
“Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.” Ernest Hemingway
“Writing is a lonely job. Even if a writer socializes regularly, when he gets down to the real business of his life, it is he and his type writer or word processor. No one else is or can be involved in the matter.” Isaac Asimov
When I was news staff writer, the most anxious part of my day was right before I hit the send button on an article I had written. I knew once I clicked send that was it: My writing was out there before the public eye to be analyzed, examined, ignored, mocked, criticized, appreciated, loved, hated, shrugged. Scary stuff. Basically, my writing was out of my hands. I could not control the reactions of the readers. But the best part is when I did get feedback, even when it was painful and embarrassing. I learned about the reader. I learned about the subject of the article. I learned about myself as a writer. And I need that in my life again.
These three resolutions have kicked off of my 2015 writing year, and I am actually giddy about the tone I believe they set. Cheers to a year of writing!