2013 - Year of the Writer

I'm declaring it for all of us

For my Insecure Writer's Support Group post, I'm taking my insecurities and creating myself a resolution list from them. So for 2013 I intend to:

• Edit - I've signed up for Year of the Edit, a course offered by the Queensland Writer's Centre. Editing can seem seem like an overwhelming task, fixing a story, the structure, character motivations... it always scares me a little when I begin. But to be honest, once I get started, rewrites are my favourite part of writing a novel because that's when I find my themes, motifs and hidden plot lines. I have at least four novels to edit this year.
• Improve my writing - This is always on my list, but this year I'm focusing on grammar to strengthen my writing. I'm working through workbooks and have a great friend who's very clever when it comes to grammar.
• Create Classroom resources - I do this anyway when I go to schools and run creative writing workshops or discuss my book. I'd like to make free classroom resources relating to my novels available by creating professional PDFs and putting a link to them up on my website. 
• Increase income/reduce expenditure - I've got a few big goals I'll need to save for. One of my goals is to have a weekender shack somewhere (beachside or national park area) that can double as my writer's retreat. 
• Read more indie novels and more Australian authors - I have so many friends that are indie authors, I'm ashamed I'm not reading more of these releases. I'm aiming to make every second book I read either Australian or indie. That should help me get through lots more without missing out on any mainstream traditionally published foreign books I may just be dying to read (like the next Spellman's book). I'm also going to submit a lot more Amazon reviews of the books I like.

In our family we also make a wish for the new year. It can be as big or wild as you want, and usually is something we couldn't possibly achieve in the one year, but it's nice to have high goals. Mine is for us to buy a property, but I do think it'll take more than a year of saving. Still, it'll help me stay focused on my saving resolution. What would your wild wish for 2013 be?

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Writing 2012

2012 - it's arrived, but I won't have time for the end of the world, I'll be too busy with changes to my world.

I'm proud of my productivity in 2011, got quite a bit of writing done and learned a lot about the craft. This year my focus shifts to publication. I'll need to:

Edit - Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. I've a few manuscripts that need polishing. I need to prioritise my manuscripts and work through them one at a time.

Submit - Time to circulate finished manuscripts. I had a taste of this when I had a meeting with a representative from a popular children's publishing house for MY ZOMBIE DOG. The main thing I came to learn? Putting your work out there does not have to be scary, this is a very supportive industry.

Connect - I'll be attending writer's workshops and events in Brisbane and I'll focus on growing my blog and online groups.

Read - In 2011 I read 102 books. My plan is to lower that goal this year and pay more attention to what I'm reading. I'd like to read and implement 5 good guides on writing/publishing and learn from the fiction I read. It's also time to delve back into reading blogs, I gain so much from those and promise to share links to the best ones with you.

Write - But of course! My optimistic goal is to finish WARRACKNABEAL KIDS and THE PIRATE GIRL. I flunked NaNoWriMo in 2011, but will aim to write one new novel this year in November. My other favourite type of writing? Lists. I'll be making lists for each of these resolutions with ideas and steps to achieve them.

Those are my writing goals for this exciting year - the year of possibilities. My whole world is not just writing, I've started going to the gym and want to get super-fit, I'll be renovating my new home in Brisbane and plan to add a library. As a family we are aiming to reduce waste and excess. Packing up a house really brings to light how much stuff (i.e. crap) you accumulate. 

2012 - BRING IT ON!

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A Writer's Year

Been quite a gap since my last post (I'm giving you my sheepish look, it's really very adorable). Time melted away from me, but I did wind up my school year and managed to sell our Yass home.

With only a few days until I make my New Year To-Do List, I thought I'd reflect on the past year to see what achievements I've made with writing and how I may be able to improve my productivity over the next year. New Year's resolutions are common this time of year, we all think about how this will be the opportunity for us to pursue forgotten dreams, shed our bad habits and connect more with those we neglect. But it's also a good time for reflection. What were your resolutions, goals, ambitions at the beginning of 2011? Did you make any progress? What worked well, and what did you neglect to address?

I'm pretty happy with 2011, Not only did I finish MY ZOMBIE DOG, but I had an interview with an editor from a children's publishing house. Like most years, my productivity was condensed at the beginning of the year and tapered off the last two months to almost non-existence.

What was your best achievement this year? What do you need to work on? 

Now to celebrate my return to blogworld, I'm gonna go visiting my favourite blogs!

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