The close of one year and the beginning of another. Time to start thinking resolutions.
Do you make them? Do you keep them?
How about writing resolutions?
Here are five I think every writer should make in 2020 (and hopefully stick to)-
Don’t Be Hard On Yourself
Promise to send the inner critic on its way. Sometimes we don’t get started or abandon a story because we’re too hard on ourselves. Just because the opening to a story isn’t as great was you thought, is no reason to throw in the towel. We all write terrible prose at times but that doesn’t mean it can’t be worked on or polished to shine.
Write Every Day
They say it takes 30 days to form a habit so promise yourself you’ll write every day for a month. See what happens. I’m guessing, you’ll sit down and write without having to think about it. Good thing is that once a habit is formed, it’s hard to break.
Submit Something
Lots of my students tell me they’re too scared about submitting their work. What if I’m rejected, what if they hate my story…Writing for your own eyes or satisfaction is fine if that’s all you want to do but I think most people want to share their prose with the world. You can’t do that unless you take a chance. Remember the saying about every journey beginning with the first footstep. Every writer’s journey begins with sending out their work. If you’ve been hesitant to send something to an editor, make sure that 2020 is the year you do it.
Go Searching for Stories
Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, get yourself a notebook and go looking for stories. See how many you can find in a day. Sometimes when you have more stories than you think you can write is when the muse goes into top gear. Beautiful stories are born.
Find a Critique Partner
I searched for years to find a critique partner. I’d find one and then they’d disappear but then I found two. It’s great having someone you can trust look at your work and give their feedback or point out something you hadn’t even considered to be an issue in your story. For me, without one of my critique partners, my Perfect Pairings series wouldn’t exist.
They’re worth their weight in gold, so go look for one. You’ll be glad you did.