My New Year's Resolutions 2011

Okay, this post probably should have been written on the 1st January...sorry about that. I've been neglecting my blog and instead focusing on the important things in life: using up leftover Christmas chocolate, catching up on all the Christmas specials of my fave TV shows on BBCiplayer and building a cosy little den out of chocolate wrappers, balled up paper and odd socks. And when I haven't been hiding in there I've been cashing in some overtime at work. But I'm finally ready to emerge from my fortress of dishevellment and emerge, glowing, from my winter cocoon.



There will be cleaning, there will be organising and there will be exercise. Yes sir. But I'm not going to bore you with a full list of my resolutions as they are probably much the same as yours: spend less money, lose weight, yadda yadda. The area that I'm focusing on today is my inner life, my creative life. And here are the resolutions that I feel I need to committ to if I want to improve it:

1) I will write something everyday, whether this is part of a novel, short story, poem, article, a diary entry, a random scene or simply a list of things about myself or my life. This way I am practising my writing everyday and hopefully keeping my skills honed.

2) Similarly I will also read something everyday, whether this is a magazine article, a blog, a poem, a  few chapters of a novel or even a list of funny anecdotes on a website. The more material you read, the more you learn about writing.

3) I will do something for myself everyday. This can just be somthing simple like having a soak in a hot bath, going for a walk by myself or having a thirty minute lay in while I daydream in bed. I need some time everyday to think and reflect and when I don't get that I get a bit cranky!

4) I will nurture all my creative interests. If I've got writer's block I will do something else creative instead like painting, singing, dancing, photography, digital art or even soapmaking. Time spent being creative is never wasted.

5) I will stop worrying about whether my writing is any good and just concentrate on enjoying it. If I'm overly critical with myself before I even begin I won't even get anything on the page so I just need to let go and write what I enjoy.

6) I will put more time and effort into my blog. I've realised blogging is a great tool to practice my writing, get my work out there, meet like-minded people who can give great advice and see some great examples to aspire to. So I'm going to make a real comittment to posting more often, about three times a week.

Wish me luck! And I hope that you all have a creative and fulfilling 2011 too!

Peace and love x