Writing Resolutions
Writing Resolutions
Happy New Year, PubCrawlers! I know this last year was tough on most of us, so here's to keeping the faith that 2021 will be better!
Are you the type to set resolutions? Personally, I'm a goal junkie. I'm always focused on that next hill I want to climb. (I honestly get a real rush from crossing things off a list. It’s a thing I find a lot of writers have in common. I’m sure some of you know what I mean!) Because I enjoy working toward goals, I always have a few resolutions as we kick off a new year. Here are three I want to focus on in 2021:
More words per day. Some writers focus on this metric more than others. For me, word count is important. It keeps me on track. When I'm struggling, my word count per day goes down. It’s the first indication that something’s wrong and needs to be adjusted. When a manuscript I’m working on starts to go astray—either because the main character is not quite right or the pacing is lagging or whatever the reason might be—I unconsciously slow my progress. If I let myself slide and don’t address the problem right away, I can get farther and farther off track. In the new year, I want to work harder at maintaining my daily word count goal, and run some diagnostics on the manuscript right away when it starts to lag.
Silence (or at least quiet down) my inner critic. Before I published Ivory and Bone, I'd written three other books, so when I&B came out, I had four completed manuscripts under my belt. All of them were written without ever thinking about what someone might have to say about them. Now, I find myself thinking about reader reaction as I write. That's a privilege, right? It comes with being published and having readers. But it can really dampen my creativity. In 2021, I want to silence that voice in my head, at least until the first draft is down.
Share more of myself with my readers. If you know me in real life, you know I'm a talker. Most of my friends are a bit surprised when I say I'm introverted. That's because there's a huge difference between talking and talking about yourself. I'm naturally private, but the truth is, readers like to know about an author's writing life, especially the struggles they've had to overcome. Other writers, like the community here on PubCrawl, naturally want to hear those stories. We all struggle, and I think it's empowering to know we're not alone in that. So expect more of that from me this year! I'm hoping to post here on PubCrawl regularly this year, as well as on my author Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, and my author newsletter. (You can sign up for my newsletter here: http://www.julieeshbaugh.com/)
So again, Happy New Year, fellow writers! May 2021 be a happy, healthy, and productive year for us all! If you would like to share your own writing resolutions in the comments, please do! I'd love to hear what you are working on!