New Year’s Writing Resolutions: Part Two

We asked some of our favorite authors to share their New Year’s Writing Resolutions with us! This is Part Two! 

Find Part One HERE

Kaira Rouda, USA Today Bestselling Author

I’m not good at New Year’s Resolutions per se, but since I am in the midst of my next work in progress, so for me, I’d like to kick off 2019 with a completed first draft. My agent would love that, too. This last quarter of 2018 has been an exhilarating, and busy time.

My husband ran for congress, and won. And trust me, when a family member runs for office, it becomes a family affair. I was happy to put my career on hold for the past few months to help his campaign, but now, it’s time to focus on mine! And that’s the advice I’d give to other authors, too. It’s ok when life gets in the way of your writing time. It happens. But it’s up to you to jump back in when you can, as soon as you can, and get writing. I’m telling myself this, as I type.

I wrote this on a piece of paper and keep it next to me bed to remind myself my characters are waiting, when I’m ready. “RELAX. IT’S YOUR STORY. YOU’VE GOT THIS.”

As we say hello to 2019, keep writing. Believe in your story. And remember, you’ve got this!

BEST DAY EVER out now
THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER out May 21st

Follow Kaira on Twitter @KairaRouda

KERRY LONSDALE, WSJ, Amazon Charts & #1 Amazon Kindle bestselling author

Stay focused. I’m on deadline for the next few years. As long as I get words on paper every weekday, or edit and revise on schedule, all is good.

Take on only what I can. I love to pay it forward within the publishing community, and I have a difficult time saying no. However, when I take on too much, my own writing time diminishes. I have to remember that it’s okay to put me first.

Which brings me to my next resolution:

Self-Care. Exercise six days/week and read for me (ie, a book of my choosing, not an endorsement or beta read) every day, even if it’s only a couple of page.

Follow Kerry on Twitter @kerrylonsdale

Hazel Gaynor, NYT bestselling author

The start of a new year is the perfect time to put everything behind you, open a new journal, and refocus on your hopes and goals for the twelve months ahead. 2019 will see the publication of my seventh novel, MEET ME IN MONACO – the second book I’ve co-written with Heather Webb – and I’m also working on my next solo historical novel, an ambitious project which is really going to challenge me, so I’m approaching 2019 with a mixture of excitement and trepidation (the emotional state of most writers most of the time, actually!)

My word for 2019 is ‘soar’ and I have a beautiful painting of a kingfisher on my desk as my inspiration. In 2019 I want to write for the pure happiness it brings me, and worry less about the parts of the job that are out of my control (hitting lists, winning awards, etc). I want to be better at turning off distractions and have a less cluttered mind when I sit down to write. I also want to be more physically active and fit in more exercise around my writing (when I say more, I mean some!). Above all, I really want to stretch my writing wings in 2019. The rest, as they say, will follow. (p.s. A movie adaptation of one of my books would also be exceptionally lovely!)

Follow Hazel on Twitter @HazelGaynor

Amy Impellizzeri, Reformed corporate litigator & award-winning author

My 2019 writing resolutions are all about love.

Kerry Anne King, Bestselling Author and Writing Coach

In all honesty, I avoid resolutions. Most of us have made them and broken them so many times that the word itself carries connotations of shame and falling short.  What I do, and what I encourage my clients to do, is to both dream freely and set steep but reachable goals. A dream is something you’d love to have happen but which might be beyond your control, like getting an agent or getting traditionally published or making the NYT bestseller list.

A goal is something definable and under your control like querying fifty agents this year, or completing your WIP or publishing your work independently. Life happens, though, so I’m also big on forgiving yourself if you think you’re falling short and revising goals in light of changing physical, emotional, or spiritual circumstances.

Follow Kerry on Twitter @Kerry_Anne_King

Crystal King, Bestselling author, Feast Of Sorrow & The Chef’s Secret (2019)

In 2019 my big resolution is essentially the same one I would recommend to all authors – put your derriere in the chair. Putting myself in front of the page is often the biggest challenge when I have so many other things going such as teaching and promoting my books.

So this year I’m aiming for consistency and a goal of at least 300 words a day, or 2100 words a week. I use an app, Word Keeper, to track my progress and seeing those numbers add up is intensely gratifying. 300 words is not a lot, but it’s enough to get me into the story. I find that when I sit down with the intention of writing 300 words, more often than not, it turns into 800 or sometimes 1200 words.

But the best part about that consistency is that the story lives and breathes in me more intensely. I find that I am thinking of my characters all the time and ideas come to me quickly and don’t get lost as they might when I’m writing more sporadically. So that’s the key to 2019 for me–consistency. Who’s in with me?

Follow Crystal on Twitter @crystallyn

Heather Christie, Novelist, What The Valley Knows (National Indie Excellence Awards winner)

January 25, 2018 my first book, What The Valley Knows, debuted. Since then, I’ve spent every free minute scheduling social media marketing, attending book club talks, working library events, and writing my second book. Time to reset.

In 2019, I’m going back to basics and creating a daily craft-centered practice. My 2019 Writing Resolution is to read/study ten craft-focused pages each weekday. That’s 258 days, times ten pages/day, which equals 2580 pages or roughly nine technique books. It is said, “Success will never be a big step in the future. Success is a small step taken just now.” Ten Pages. Every day.

Follow Heather on Twitter @hchristiebooks

 

Martha Conway, Author, The Underground River (New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice)

This may not sound like a writing resolution, but in 2019 I want to learn how to bake bread.

As I start on the last lap of my current work-in-progress, I find myself thinking more and more about the next novel I want to write. I already know much of the story: it features a French girl, Sidonie, who is trapped in Ireland during World War II. She is without funds or friends, and gets a job in the house of a wealthy Irish family (slightly down on their luck now) helping out in the kitchen. The cook teaches her how to make bread. There’s more, but I’ll stop there.

The story idea came to me when I was in Cork, Ireland, this autumn, at the wonderful Ballymaloe House, famous for its cuisine. Ireland has (in my opinion) the best bread, and the most variety of it, on the planet. Soda bread in particular is a wonderful metaphor for the creative process: Use fresh ingredients, Mix very gently, Set in the oven. As a writer I have a tendency to overthink plot and characters, to fuss and fuss. Often my later drafts include cutting out subplots and side issues. It takes a certain amount of confidence to keep things simple. Thus I would like, in 2019, to write the first draft of this new novel in a more gentle fashion. Patiently, and with care. One draft (or loaf) and then the next, as I perfect the recipe. That’s my resolution.

Follow Martha on Twitter @marthamconway

Holly Robinson, Author

After three years of struggling to write a novel with both a contemporary plot line and an historical plot line, I’ve decided that the historical plot line is stronger. Now reworking the book so that it is a work of historical fiction, even though I have never written in that genre before. Will I pull it off? I have no idea! But my new writing resolution for this year is to write in a completely new genre and throw my whole self into it. For an author to succeed, she has to believe in herself enough to make the full effort.

Follow Holly on Twitter @hollyrob1

Nicole Blades, Author of Have You Met Nora?

I don’t do resolutions. Not in the typical sense, anyway. I prefer to keep my goals rolling forward. These ongoing, works-in-progress that can become intense and focused this week and then loosen up the next, leaving space for change and development. But when it comes to my writing—this vital vocation of mine—there is something special about setting my intentions, clearly, at the top of the month—perhaps more so on January 1st, the top of the year.

It’s like opening up a fresh notebook; its crisp, blank pages ready to be introduced to all the wild and wonderful (and weird) swirling around your brain. That’s why instead of trying to set up full, bold, writing resolutions for the year ahead, I like to find a single word to help guide me through the assured ups and downs that come with putting your art out into the world. And lately, when I find that word—my lighthouse—I keep it to myself, maybe writing it down in a journal or on a small slip of paper stuck to my desk. It makes it feel more real and effective that way. Like a quiet re-commitment to myself and my work.

Follow Nicole on Twitter @NicoleBlades

Aside from the obvious, which is finish the novel that I am so close to completing, here are the main resolutions. It may seem like I’ve set the bar too low with the following resolutions, but at least I can be guaranteed of some success.

Do More of What is Already Working:

• Make a weekly writing schedule with reasonable goals. For example: Monday morning, 9:30 write the scene with the motorcycle crash. Be specific.
• If I’m stuck at my computer, set a timer for 45 minutes. Start writing and don’t stop until the timer goes off.
• Meditate for 15 minutes before writing. Nothing fancy here, just breathing and gratitude.
• Go out with the hiking club at least once a month. Remember, this gives you energy.
• 10,000 steps every day.

Do Less of What Doesn’t Work:

• Limit social media. Use the timer. If you have to idly look at Facebook, set the timer for five minutes.
• Grazing in the fridge is not writing. But if you must, keep a section of the fridge called, Eat this if you are procrastinating.  Fill it with carrots, cucumbers, and dill pickles.
• Less catastrophic thinking about the publishing industry. You get five minutes per work week for this, nothing more.

Learn Something New:

• Sign up for archery lessons in January.

Follow Jacqueline on Twitter @jrsheehan09

Jackie Friedland, Author, Trouble The Water

Two thousand eighteen was an incredible year for me as an author, as my debut novel, Trouble the Water, was released. That said, I have never been one to rest on my laurels, and the release of my first book has only motivated me to move faster and push harder going forward. I have a few crucial writing resolutions for 2019.

First and foremost, less procrastinating. I am never so well-versed in the day’s news as when I am trying to plot out a new chapter. Secondly, less email! Man, do I love to reach out to long-lost friends when I feel stuck on an idea. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I will stop beating myself up when I cannot meet unrealistic goals. Instead, as I continue to brainstorm, write, edit, and promote, while also trying to do at least a decent job raising my family, I will try to remember what Oprah Winfrey once said: “You can have it all. Just not all at once.”

Follow Jackie on Twitter @jbfriedland

 

 

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips