My Writing New Year’s Resolutions for 2020

Sharing my new year’s resolution and why I chose it.

Dear Sister,

Welcome to the 20s! How is that possible? Can we get some flapper dresses and cloche hats, please? We’re due a decade of style with some class.

I took a nice long break over the holidays, but I’m excited to be back.

New Years are always exciting times. The possibilities. Will I get published this year? Will I meet someone special? Will I find a ridiculously cheap house I can afford on a teacher’s salary? 

THINK ABOUT YOUR GOALS

Some people don’t bother with New Year’s Resolutions because they assume they’ll fail. I don’t think that’s a good reason not to do them. Believe me I’ve felt that. Maybe your not setting resolutions in line with your goals. Who do you want to be at the end of the year? A homeowner? An artist? Healthy? Productive? Think carefully about what you care for. Then pick a resolution that will help you get there.

MY RESOLUTION

I know I am happiest when I spend time creatively. I love writing. This November was so refreshing. If you’ve been following me, here and on Instagram, you know I won NaNoWriMo. Which is a fancy way of saying I wrote 50,000 words in the month of November. I spent time nearly every day writing the first part of a rough draft. 

I want to work towards publication. I believe I will get there, but it takes hard work. My writing is a second job. So this year, I want to do the hard work of finishing my rough draft and revising, revising, revising, and oh, a little more revising. By the end of the year, it would be great if I am at a place where I’ve begun querying the manuscript to agents. What better new year’s resolution than one that works toward my passion?

Resolution: Finish my current WIP (work in progress).

Beyond setting a resolution, I need to impose some timeframes so I know if I’m on track. Obviously, it won’t happen exactly like this, but roughly it will help me know when I need to buckle down and focus.

January: Finish rough draft. Estimated 20,000 -30,000 more words.

February & March: First revision, check for plot holes, slow passages, world-building issues. Send to critique partner(s).

From this point on, revise, get feedback, repeat until the manuscript is squeaky clean. Write a synopsis and query letter. Finally, begin querying! Hopefully, this can all happen before next November. I’d love to write a new book for NaNoWriMo again!

Next week, I’ll talk more about my Goals and Resolutions for this space. I’m excited at my blog’s focus for 2020 and hope you will be, too!

Cheers,

Mallary XOXO