Will this be the year you write your book? The year to write your memoir? Write your family history? Publish your manuscript? Save the stories of your loved one? Many try, but few complete. If you’re wanting to complete your project, let’s look at some practical New Year’s Resolutions. Two important resolutions for writers are: 1.) I will write every day; and 2.) I will share my writing. There are many more resolutions, but most writers can use these two.
Write every day, even if it’s just a few minutes. It will feel more natural and you will come to enjoy and look forward to that time. If you are experiencing writer’s block, just change the subject or format and have some fun. You will be refreshed and a better writer when you return to your project.
Share your writing. That can mean submit an article to an online “zine” today; attach a poem in an email to a friend, read to your writing group, comment or compose a blog, or work on getting that publishing deal. There are many ways to share. Communicate your thoughts. Isn’t that why you are writing?
Here are some more great resolutions for writers, expressed in the affirmative:
- I will end an old project: revise, finish, or shred it, making room for a new one.
- I will learn by observing and practicing a new technique.
- I will seek constructive criticism and listen.
- I will try writing in some new styles, experimenting in order to further develop my own style.
- I will publish the writing that readers want to read.
- I will organize my writing area so that it attracts me and offers easy access to tools.
- I will decorate my writing area with visual reminders of success.
- I will happily tell others about my writing and listen to their experiences.
- I will mentor and encourage others.
- I will be ready for a mentor to find, teach, and encourage me.
c. 2017 Wilbrink no permissions for reuse.
This year is just beginning, but already I am encountering writers who are fulfilling their New Years’ Resolutions. Writers are looking for ways to improve their general writing skills, clearly a step in the “write” direction! Some are looking for a writing group, people who are willing to share the journey of authoring. Some writers are looking for professional help – editors, graphic designers, publishers. (SUBSCRIBE to Memoir Cafe free for monthly writing tips.) It’s a good time of year for book editing services, ghostwriters, and personal historians. It’s a great time of year to make one or two resolutions that will affect your personal legacy.
Many people wish for success in the New Year. At Perfect Memoirs, success means helping others to save memories in a form that can be well understood, entertains, and conveys worthwhile life lessons. Every memoir writer can do this. Enjoy writing your memoir, family history book, or other creative work, and Happy New Year!
And all I have to do on a new book is finish it. A lot of people want to read it and my part is not brain surgery. I just have to finish arranging several thousand words until they look nice, and boil the fat out of paragraphs.
Tommy Womack, FaceBook Blog “What It is” February 16, 2015
Deborah Wilbrink
