A writer’s resolutions

Well, that ‘dying young’ ship has sailed. All the more reason, then, to launch [perhaps, ‘lurch’] forward with my life.

With 2020 on the horizon, then, it’s time to ramp up the resolutions under my creative reinvention umbrella.

Resolution #1: Be a pre-crastinator. Click to the 1:47 mark of Adam Grant’s Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers

“I know, I know,” I say to myself, “Keep dreaming.” But what the hey? Why not fool myself…even if it’s one day a week? One fevered creative surge every seven days is still an improvement.

In the interest of pre-crastination, then, I’m going to cheat and get a head start on…

Resolution #2: Read 20 books this year. That may not sound like much, but I’m aiming for ‘attainable‘. I seem to read plenty, but I don’t finish books like I used to. First on the docket: Art Matters by Neil Gaiman.

I will juggle it [it’s a short read] with Someday Is Not a Day in the Week : 10 Hacks to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life

In fact, as I’m doing a little editing on this post, I have this TED Talk running in the background. [Maybe I’m onto something with this whole ‘cheating on your resolutions’ thing.]

Resolution #3: Publish four books. I’m soooo close on at least three, but really, folks, I spend more energy finding excuses to not close the deal on my projects than I do crossing the finish line. Unacceptable.

Resolution #4: Publish at least three online courses. As you can tell, this year is all about finishing. One of them is ongoing, but I’ve stalled on it. The other two are just rattling around in my brain.

Resolution #5: One post per week [at the very least] on my blogs. [Not thrilled with those times when crickets creep from the audience/peanut gallery to the production room.] I forget that posting is a way of keeping myself accountable on various projects. Keeping that perspective should help me stay on target.

Key ‘self-talk’ points:

  1. “Done is better than perfect.” At least one punctuation mark is missing and it’s killing me, but, in the interest of this point…
  2. “Just keep ‘showing up’, especially in the morning.”
  3. “Do the mindless, less creative work while TV is on or you’re on the exerbike.”
  4. “If it feels like drudgery, walk away.”

Any suggestions or comments or mere scoffing? Chime in.


Note: Goodreads links are non-affiliate.

Writers: Need new ideas? A break from the rut? Move!

Sometimes I just have to get out of the house to get stuff done. So I pack up a few books, tablets, and treats [thank you to our neighbors for the apple galette…my oven’s out of commission and they know I’m a lost soul without it.], pick up some coffee, and head to my favorite location for a ‘mobile office’ [family car] session.

It never fails to deliver some photo-worthy scenery. And with it I’ve built my insta-haven for fresh writing ideas and inspiration.

Other places to keep up your writing pastime?

Check out this list.

Plot generators—interesting and fun tools for writers

https://blog.reedsy.com/plot-generator/

Other plot generators on the Internet–

The struggle to create continues…

Some ‘colleagues’ just don’t appreciate the need for consistent effort.

Interesting related item: How to Write Like a Dog

My research also led to https://www.doesthedogdie.com/ . It’s all about spoilers and avoiding distasteful [subjective term, of course] events in entertainment media. Honest, I turn to the last page of a book about dogs. If it’s not still alive, I’m outta there.

Writing advice from Lydia Davis

lydia davis writing tips word cloud
These are my main takeaways from her extensive list.

Adapted from the essay “Thirty Recommendations for Good Writing Habits” in Essays One by Lydia Davis…

Thank you to lithub.com for this list… 


Have a great weekend, readers. Me? Along with digital projects, I’ll be procrastinating in the kitchen…caramel-pecan-cranberry-apple pie is on the menu, as well as my first attempt at a kringle.

 

 

I should be writing. Instead, bird watching…

bird-feeding apple
I spent time watching the robins attack the golden delicious that still dot the tree. All kinds of questions arose, like…

  • If the apple the bird is eating falls to the ground, does the bird follow it?

  • Do the birds ever fly away with apple flivel left on their face, thus opening themselves up to all kinds of avian verbal abuse?

  • Do some birds prefer to dive into partially consumed apples while others opt for unsullied ones?

  • Do the robins send just one robin ahead to conduct a recon before the others decide to swoop in?

Amazing how curious and creative we can be when we probably should be doing other stuff. [I can see now why my students were ever more inventive when I had other plans for the day.]

An interesting parallel thought on the intersection of writing and bird-watching…

“Until I went out looking for birds, I did not understand how much I hungered to leave the self-consciousness of the writer behind.”

–Katherine Towler [Why Do Writers Love Birding So Much?]


Speaking of other stuff…managed to dodge the Cyber Monday craze.

Black Friday was another story, as we ‘treated’ ourselves to a new clothes washer.

I guess it was time. Neighbors fled as I approached. On Allied Waste pick-up day, some looked away as I walked by, choosing to linger over their open trash barrels. Subtle…but I finally got the hint. ;-]

Speaking of other-other stuff…

https://retirerenew.com/

https://ednotions.com/