Five New Year’s Resolutions for the Writer That Can Actually be Kept All Year

How many New Year’s resolutions have you made over the years?  How many have you actually kept until the following December?  Yeah, me neither.  Making the resolutions is easy (especially after a glass or two of bubbly), but keeping them can be hard.

Writing is hard work and it takes a lot of time, but you can help yourself out by making (and maintaining) a few easy goals.  Here are five things I plan to do for the new year.

1) Write every day.

This bit of advice is a chestnut among writers, but it’s true.  The best way to become a writer is to write every day.  Instead of measuring your success or setting your goals by word count, however, set it by time.  Maybe you only have a half an hour a day to sit at the computer.  That’s fine!  Just make sure that you spend that thirty minutes working on your book.

2) Read every day.

This is so important, yet we tend to brush it off.  Reading is not only fun, it also helps you to learn your markets and your audiences.  Most importantly,  you need to read other writers in order to discover how they do what they do.  If they’ve created a character that’s stuck with you, study their words for clues as to how it was done.  If a scene strikes you, read and re-read it until you understand how the magic was made.

3) Spend time networking.

Places like GoodReads and Booklikes aren’t just a waste of time.  They’re valuable ways to connect with readers.  Even if you don’t have a book on the shelf (yet!), networking is key.  Find out what others are reading and what authors they follow.  Build relationships with readers before marketing your book.  Read reviews to find out what critical readers love (or hate) about a particular book.

4) Narrow your vision.

It’s all too easy to set unrealistic goals for yourself, and if you set the standards too high, you may become defeated and give up.  Also, set goals that you’ll have control over.  Instead of telling yourself you’ll get an agent,  tell yourself that you’ll send out a query letter a week.  You’ll feel a greater sense of accomplishment if you can meet your realistic goals than you will if you can’t meet the impossible ones.

5) Have fun!

Writing should be fun!  If you aren’t enjoying it then something is wrong.  Sure, it can be a lot of work, and the editing gets old really fast, but you should be able to face each new day with a desire to tell a story.  If, on the other hand, writing is pure drudgery every single day, then maybe you’re telling the wrong story.  Try a different plot or a different genre until you find one that’s right for you.

Making little changes like these can help you be manage your writing goals.  Have a terrific 2014 everyone!