2015 Writing Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I’m happy because I’m looking over my 2014 Writing Resolutions I wrote and posted a year ago, and all of them have been accomplished!! Yay!! Okay, a couple of them were accomplished in a slightly different way than I anticipated, but I can still check them off. Ticking off each from my list of resolutions, I…

·      Finished that YA novel and sent it out on submission. Still waiting to hear from a couple of publishers.

·      Completed the edits for the debut novel, set up promotions, and had a successful release. Yay!!! Lifelong dream accomplished—CHECK!

·      Did some major rewriting on the prequel for the debut, finished it, submitted it to my publisher, signed a contract for it, and have a Spring release date to prepare for.

·      Started working on a new YA novel, though it is not the book of my heart, as I said in my resolutions—it’s a new one that snuck up on me and said, “ME, ME, ME, write ME first!” I should be finished with it by now, but for one reason and another I have a ways to go yet. So, yes, I feel like I can check off ‘start new YA novel’—it just isn’t the one I thought it would be.

·      Have a lovely website, up and working and looking very official. This one was only accomplished due to the hard work of my talented techie friend, but hey, it is done, so CHECK!

·      Had moderate success with the personal stuff that supports my writing: time management, exercise, relationships, and reading. This is the one that was the hardest, and will continue to be a focus in 2015. Time management: I sucked—Really need to work on this. Exercise: Did well but not showing much for it. Relationships: A passing grade, but still a focus. Need more time with friends. Reading: A+++ I read so many wonderful books this year! Looking over this report card, it looks an awful lot like the ones I got in grade school! Haha!

So now it’s time to turn to 2015 and ask myself what I want from my writing life this coming year. Last year my list was nine resolutions long, and it looked and felt very daunting after I wrote it. This year’s feels even more overwhelming—not sure what I’m thinking.  But here goes.

I will:

·      Have a successful release of the prequel novella, Miss Austen’s Vampire, with the right promotions all in place prior to publication.

·      Finish the current YA WIP. This means finish the first draft, rewrite, polish and prepare for submissions. This time I may try the agent route.

·      Begin the YA novel of my heart. Really. This year.

·      Try to concurrently write an adult romance while writing the YA. I have two paragraphs of the romance written at this moment. It’s a story I’ve been wanting to write for at least three years. Might as well give it a try now.

·      Dabble in writing short stories. This is an area I know nothing about, but I think learning to write short would be good for my overall writing. I have one story in mind, and would like to try my hand at it.

·      Keep up with this blog, as well as the YA blog my critique partners and I write. (YA Triple Scoop—Reading, Writing, andReviewing YA Fiction)

·      Focus, focus, focus on time management. The only way all of the above will ever be accomplished is to manage my time much better than I have this past year. Writing time must be a priority, and I must organize myself in such a way that it really is a priority.

·      Keep up the other things that support my writing: exercise, relationships, and reading.

In addition to this ridiculous list, I will continue to attend workshops and conferences, as I’ve done each year since I started writing. Also, I’ll continue my active memberships in two national writing organizations, and one local one. Plus there will always be a craft book with a bookmark in it, waiting for me to read a bit before I put fingers to keyboard each day.

Phew. That’s a lot, so I’d better get to work now.

P.S. I’d love to hear some of your writing resolutions! Please add a comment to share with readers—it may be something we all need to work on. :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY WRITING!!