“When at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” — Frederick Maryat
In 2018, I resolved to read one book each month, but I came up short reading only nine. I accomplished my second resolution of entering a writing contest. I didn’t win, but it was worth the effort to prove I could complete a story by the deadline.
My most ambitious resolution of writing a minimum of 5,000 words each week for three months to complete my 65,000-word manuscript also came up short. I wasn’t even close. I realized my problem is that I tend to edit as I go. This prevents me from getting my rough draft completed.
This year I’m writing a To Do List instead of a List of Resolutions.
1) Read a minimum of one book a month.
2) Write 600 words a day without editing.
3) Organize my clothes closet by the second week of January.
4) Organize my linen closet by the end of January.
5) Organize the pictures on my computer and delete the unwanted ones.
What is your New Year’s list of things you wish to accomplish?
Have you every wondered why it was so hard to do something that you want to do, but seem to avoid doing it? For example, wanting to write for an hour to get started on that story–suddenly the dishes need hand washing, the trash cans need clearing out, and the dogs need walking. While completing these chores, the plan to write is still present, but never happens.
I listened to a scientist on NPR talk about how the brain builds connections that solidify the habits we engage in. The brain wires and rewires, in part, based on what we focus on doing. Spend lots of time doing the same things in the same way, and the brain records those practices. This might explain why habits are so difficult to change.
There is hope. The brain is adaptable. We just need to plan reasonably and patiently what is to be accomplished, or what new habits to create. Using the above example, writing for an hour in a day might not be where the person’s can find success. Start with 5-10 minutes of dedicated writing. This goal is easier to accomplish than the hour. If you write longer once, celebrate the moment with a fist pump. Then get back to it. At some point, in a week or month, add 5-10 minutes. Again, keep it “easy”–writing is never easy 😉 This repeated practice can lead to the brain recording new habits.
Keep the rules and boundaries simple and limited. Less is more. It’s not important that you write in the morning, use a specific journal or word-processor, or sit at a certain cafe table because that is most conducive to your writing. Those restrictions can be obstacles to the important outcome: Just write. When those conditions are available–great–just do not allow them to get in the way.
Failure is not an end, it’s a growth opportunity. If I write everyday and then I miss two days, stopping is not an option. Reflect on what caused the lost practice. What it just chance or some obstacle that needs to be addressed. Next: Jump back in.
As you create your writing resolutions, what are you willing to do that is already in your habits? What will take some brain growth over time? Be intentional and reasonable so that success will come.
Here are some writing commitments shared:
Wendi Knape
Dive deep into A NEW LIFE, book 1 in my vampire series, and see what needs to be done so it’s ready to be published.
Write on a schedule instead of when I feel like an idea is brewing.
“I don’t think anything is unrealistic if you believe you can do it.” – Richard L. Evans
“If at first you don’t succeed, call it version 1.0.” – Author Unknown
Check your 2017 to-do list. Were you able to clean out your over crowded closet? Did you drop the weight you wanted to lose? Did you complete the first draft of the story you promised to complete this year? Have you accomplished any or all of your goals?
Congratulations to those of you who have. For the rest, don’t despair. You still have a few weeks left if you’re in the “trying-to-finish” stage. Of course, there’s always next year to make a new list of goals or re-address the ones you couldn’t finish in 2017. But why wait until January first? Will the New Year’s Resolutions gods swoop down with an unspeakable punishment because you don’t reveal your list on the first day of 2018?
A new beginning can start at any time you choose. Why not do it now? Make a new list of goals. This time make them realistic for your personality, interests, and lifestyle. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, and relevant to your long-term goals.
My goals for now are:
Read one book per month in 2018. Two non-fiction books will be about writing, the rest will be fiction.
Enter the Writers Weekly short story contest in January 2018.
Write a minimum of 5,000 words per week for three months for a total of 60,000 words. This will bring my manuscript to a total of 75,000 words.
Check your 2017 to-do list. What are your new goals? Are they specific? Are they measurable? Are they realistic? Please share your new goals.
When the hygienist said it would be a few minutes, I reached into my bag for a book or story packed for such an occasion—a few stolen moments of reading. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout mingled there in my oversized and heavy purse with my Nook, spare change and crumpled receipts. My short story group selected the book to examine short stories compiled into a novel.
A World Literature Illiterate
The dentist’s usual routine—rush in, smile, check teeth, smile, rush out—stopped at the sight of my book. He asked, “What are you reading?”
I told him about the short story group.
“If you want to read the best short stories, you should read Russian authors,” my Russian dentist said.
“Our study group reads mostly American authors,” I said, embarrassed at my limited knowledge. I hadn’t read many of the American writers until I joined the group several years ago. My discovery of authors like John Cheever, Tobias Wolf, Antonya Nelson, George Saunders and Jhumpta Lahiri was still new and fresh.
I remembered a few foreign authors. “We read James Joyce—Irish.” Dubliners, of course, duh. “And Gabriel Garcia Marquez—South American.”
The dentist sighed and examined me through his ultra-magnified glasses zooming into the tiniest imperfections in my teeth, pores in my skin and crevices of my soul. “If you want to read a real story, read Chekov, the greatest short story writer.”
Required Reading
A few months later, I visited the dentist again. Study guide in hand and prepared to redeem my reputation, I announced, “We’re studying Chekov this month. And this one.” I point to the page. “He’s Russian too?”
“Nabokov. Yes, he’s Russian.” The dentist, his eyes downcast, said nothing more.
“Have you read ‘The Woman with the Dog’ by Chekov?”
“Yes, yes, of course. At my home in Russia, we had a library of more than three hundred books. First edition books. Valuable, but all stolen.”
I imagined his family living in Russia during the cold war years and wondered what forced them to leave. “Do you want to read our lesson? We’re studying stories retold or written in homage to another work. The Chekov story is recast by the author Joyce Carol Oates. And Lorrie Moore writes ‘Referential’ based on Nabokov’s story. Have you read ‘Signs and Symbols’ by Nabokov?”
He looked at me again through those magnifying lenses attached to his glasses, piercing through my ignorant American inquiry. “I read it in eighth grade.”
I tried to remember what I read in eighth grade, on those late nights sitting in my bean bag chair next to a pole lamp I rescued from the trash. My middle school friends swapped vampire novels and other contraband. My college-aged brother left behind his anti-war books like Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun.
But what did I read in school? Did I read in school? Overall, my eighth grade literature was entirely forgettable compared to what I read at home after my parents went to sleep. My dentist’s superior schooling trumped the American mandates for my entirely forgettable eighth grade year.
Biased To Domestic
My dentist politely declined my outline and expressed no interest in the other writers. Instead, he tore a scrap of paper from my file, unfortunately not the part with the amount I owed him, and wrote Bulgakov and his novel shown in the photo above. “This is the best. Read this.”
The conversation haunted me for several weeks until I studied an article about Americans bias to invest domestically when greater returns existed elsewhere. I wondered if greater reading returns came from abroad also. There was only one way to know.
The idea of reading the best of Russian writers piqued my curiosity and is one of my New Year’s resolutions. About Chekov and Nabokov, my dentist later confessed that he wanted the literature in Russian and not translated into English. I sympathized, hoping he can read some English, because I was trusting this guy with my teeth.
As of this post, 2016 launches a time of reflection, renewal and growth. Last year I posted Writing Commitments for 2015: What’s yours?. These were not resolutions of possibilities or “maybes.” The post was to lay out the end in mind that I could work towards, and to invite other writers to do the same.
So how did I do?
I will read at least 10 books across genres that I like to write about: Education, Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult. I’ll write a review onGoodreads or Amazon or onthis blog. I did read over 10 books in these genres that I like. BUT, I did not post them all.
I will learn writing techniques from the writing styles of at least 3 authors from reading their work, which I’ll share during the Deadwood Writers’ study sessions.
There were some interesting tips and tools for author’s craft that I’ve explored. 1) Using narrative or conversational voice in nonfiction Numerous articles on Edutopia modeled rich voices for making instructional topics inviting. 2) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and Heroes Die by Matthew Stover illustrated to me the importance of a strong start. I enjoyed immensely both novels only because I pushed through the opening chapters. How many readers give up early because of the slow start of each of these stories? It’s a stark reminder for writing of all lengths. 3) Character development is critical. Several authors like Bernard Cornwell and Jim Butcher create amazing stories that I remember because of the characters. A good cast of characters can make for a compelling story.
3. I will create a detailed outline and chapters for an Education book on Differentiated Instruction for the 21st + Century — to be shared with 3 writer colleagues for feedback.
With hard work and some luck, I have secured a book contract! I’m in the process of writing So All Can Learn: A Practical Guide to Differentiationfor Rowan & Littlefield. My deadline is later this year. I hope to see it in print either by the end of 2016 or the start of 2017. Stay tuned.
***
Here are my three commitments, plus those shared by other Deadwood Writers, for 2016.
Complete the book So All Can Learn: A Practical Guide to Differentiation in 2016, for publication by the end of this year or the beginning of 2017.
Write articles for three major education publications, which will be linked to here.
Read at least 10 books across genres that I like to write about: Education, Fantasy, Horror, Young Adult.
***
Wendi Knape
Define parameters and implement plan for self-publishing A New Life, my paranormal romance. My goal is the end of 2016.
Continue to develop and write the Hot Blacktop series.
Balance all the above with my new job and family.
***
Sue Remisiewicz
I will build my inventory of stories that are ready to submit to contests or for publication.
I will regularly bring installments of my “Road Rally” story to the group for feedback.
I will work to complete my Murder in Sight book.
***
Cassandra
Participate in the group either online or in person when possible.
Write at least one article a month for bulletin and/or blog.
Submit at least two stories for publication.
***
Barbara Pattee
I will read three books on the Civil War to facilitate the research for my historical novel.
I will write for a minimum of five hours per week.
I will present three more chapters of my historical fiction to Dead Wood Writers for comments.
***
Karen Kittrell
Attend writers’ conference. Sign up to pitch manuscripts collecting dust on shelf.
Finish editing for publication at least one manuscript.
Write monthly article for the Deadwood Writers Voices blog.
Write three 500 word flash fiction, one 1500 word story and one 3000 word story.
Submit to at least six journals or contests.
Outline non-fiction.
Read six craft books and six works of distinction.
Continue monthly study of short stories.
***
Kelly Bixby
I will devote at least one day a week to no other writing than my work in progress.
At the end of every quarter, I will share my work product with another writer for feedback.
I will study at least one book in the same genre as mine.
***
Jeanette
I will finish my story, Tangled Web.
I will read a book on blog writing.
I will set aside more time for writing and stop procrastinating.
***
How did you do with your commitments?
For 2016 commitments, what are 1 to 3 concrete steps that you will take to improve yourself as a writer. Be specific and concrete–something you can track or measure.
Please post in the comments below either your responses or link to your responses.
