Tag Archive for: new year resolutions

Resolutions? by Debra H. Goldstein

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Resolutions? by Debra H. Goldstein

January
14. Two weeks since 2022 began. If you are like me, two weeks is more than
enough time to have broken every resolution you made or contemplated making.
That’s why, this year I didn’t make any resolutions. Instead, I decided to roll
with the flow.

 

How’s
that going? I’m not sure. I seem to be weaving down a lot of different paths.
Some of them are fun to explore, but many are dead ends. Of course, even when I
know which way I’m going, there have been many unforeseen obstacles ranging
from the soaring Omicron numbers to realizing my new sneakers look pretty but
don’t fit my orthotics and feet well for extended walking.

 

My
writing seems to be following the same pattern as my life. Instead of resolving
to write a set number of words a day or so many stories a month, I’ve been
letting the muse guide me. How’s that going? Not well. I’m playing a lot more
solitaire than I should be. What’s worse, I’m repeatedly surfing the net to see
if there are any unread news stories, touching human interest articles, or
exciting things reported by friends.

 

The
latter makes me happy for them; but, if they are writers, it also prompts a
little jealousy. Why are they getting things accomplished and I’m not? I guess they
made resolutions that they are carrying through. There are still fifty weeks in
2022. I think there’s still time for me to make and act on a few resolutions.
What about you?

 

Top Ten Writing Tips

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I can’t believe it’s already the middle of July! This year seems never ending–and conversely to be evaporating in an endless blur.


Remember an eternity ago (ie pre-pandemic) when you made New Year’s Resolutions? How are you coming with yours? 


One of my resolutions (the only one I actually remember and am still attempting) was to transfer the organization I always implemented in my day job to my writing life. Since my writing space and habits were a bit (cough, a lot) disorganized, I got together with some author friends. What quickly evolved was a set of writing tips. Many of these I’ve done without conscious thought. I’m attempting to be more mindful, however, and plan to use this structure as additional motivation to, as one friend puts it, finish the damn book.


Yes, as the launch activity for Calling for the Money wraps up (see below) I’m back at work on another story.


So, without further fanfare – the writing tips:


Ten – Make lists. Every day I make a list of the things I want to accomplish that day. (I’m not sure what it says about me that I love drawing a line through an item when it’s done.) The first line (every day but Sunday) is always, Write. Long-term-goals are listed on my white board: things I want to be sure I don’t forget, but I don’t have to do today.


Nine – Sprint.  A group of us grabs our first, or next, cup of coffee and checks in, then we all ignore each other, turn off the internet and the phone, and work steadily for an hour. It’s a writing club, a mutual support group, and a fabulous technique for working without interruption. I write until I meet my word count goal for the day. (Thank Steven King for this one.)


Eight – Work on one series at a time. I try my best to immerse myself in one setting, one set of characters, one story, whether I’m working on a first draft or revising a draft. Avoiding the “new shiny” keeps me focused.


Seven – Finish what’s due first. Except #8 blows up sometimes. I’ll be in first draft mode on Pony Ring and edits will come in from Beaver Pond. Then there was all the activity around the launch of Calling for the Money. Whew! I operate on the First Due principle. I knock out the edits, because they’re due in a week or two, then get back to the longer work. The problem with doing that, of course, is getting back up to speed with the work-in-process, so I can re-immerse myself in that world.


Six – Take time away from the desk. By the end of a writing session, my creative brain is mush. I usually go for what I call my plotting walk, especially if I’m writing a first draft. There’s something about the rhythm of walking that brings the next scene or a plot problem into focus. It makes the dogs happy to get out of the house, too.


Five – Separate creative time from admin time. I’m most creative in the early morning, so I do my writing then. A corollary is, Keep creative time sacred. I don’t schedule anything else for mornings. I try to keep writing blog posts, scheduling author events, record-keeping, and all the other business stuff for the evenings.


Four – Work ahead. Know what you want to accomplish. I’ve written my goals for the year and set up a time table to implement them. That means I work now on upcoming items instead of waiting and scrambling at the last minute.


Three – Outsource what I can’t do. While I tinker with art and photo-editing, I know my limits with graphic design. I hire a wonderful cover artist. I like formatting my books, but it’s something I can do in the evening while my husband watches TV. The key point is identifying what I’m good at and enjoy, versus what I can outsource. Why waste time on things it would take me forever to do and rob me of the hours I need to do what I’m good at – writing stories?


Two – Stay healthy. I always have a full flask of water on my desk. Fluids in, fluids out. It makes me get up and move around every hour or so. And if I forget, my Fitbit buzzes at me with a reminder. I try to eat lean fresh foods, and I get regular exercise even if it isn’t always a sweaty gym workout. And the exercise doubles as creative time – see #6!


One – Butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard. This is really the most important one. If I get distracted, schedule other things, or simply don’t do the writing, then…I’m not doing the writing. And that’s my job. Of all the varied jobs I’ve held, I’m lucky and blessed to have this one I love.


What tips can you add?



The launch tour for Calling for the Money is wrapping up, but there are still several ongoing giveaway signups. The entire tour is listed on my website (https://cperkinswrites.com) with assorted post, giveaways, reviews, and interviews.


Here are the remaining tour stops:





July 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
July 17 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
July 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT  
July 19 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW  

Stop by, and leave a comment!
You can download your own copy here (all vendors):

https://books2read.com/CallingForTheMoney

Enjoy! 

An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She’s hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Claymore Award.

New Way of Thinking

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New Year, New Way of Thinking

By Cathy Perkins

I’ve been thinking about New Year’s Resolutions this week. Making
them is ingrained in us, isn’t it? New year, new leaf, fresh start and all
that. This year will be different! Everything is new and shiny!
Okay, confession: I only made a couple of vague resolutions.
You know, “I’ll finish that online course I started, cough, cough, last year”
ones.
So many people swear they’re going to change, to start doing
the good for you stuff. Go to the gym. Eat healthier. And writers? This is the
year you’re finally going to finish that, fill in the blank. Novel screenplay,
memoire. You hear echoes of “work hard” and “sacrifice” and, if you really want
it…
Why do our expressions for going after what we want to
pursue—our goals, for heaven’s sake—come across as something negative? Why
do we make them about things we clearly don’t want to do?
And what happens? Here we are, barely three weeks into January
and mine are already headed for that big dump station in the sky.  
Then I stumbled across a post by Jennifer Crusie.
Jenny is a fantastic teacher. I met her several years ago
when she taught a masterclass at the beach. I think my head exploded, I learned
so much that week. So, when she says something, I tend to listen and think
about it.
Her proposal is instead of choosing tasks that you know you
aren’t going to carry through, focus on what makes you happy. Won’t that be a
better way to appreciate the good things in life? 
I’ve been thinking about happiness this week (instead of
that class I’m not listening to). What makes me happy?
I love to travel, so I took advantage of Alaska Air’s sale
and booked a few flights. And art. I’ve been playing with my kiln and fused
glass for a while, but those pencils and watercolors are calling. There’s a
shiny new book I want to write and this may be the year to screw up my courage
and tackle the book that nearly made me quit writing.
So, what about you? How are your resolutions going? Did you
make any?

Or would you rather jump on board my Happiness Train?


Image courtesy of Gross National Happiness USA organization. Find them here.




An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She’s hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Claymore Award.

Resolution Failure

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by Bethany Maines

I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions.
Resolutions always seem to be negative statements.  They pit the resolver against something.  I resolve to lose weight, spend less, give up
every fun thing ever, etc.
I much prefer to make goals. Goals take aim and move toward
a change. I want to write more, be more healthy, learn French, wake up
later.  I don’t think that last one’s
going to happen, but it’s more of a lifelong goal.
And then there’s the artificial time construct of the New
Year’s that tricks people into waiting to start a change until January first
actually rolls on the calendar.  Of
course, if I were resolving to do something horrible, I’d put it off as long as
possible too.  But if I want to change my
life for the better, then why would I wait? Now is always the perfect time to
start.
Which is not to say that the turn of the year doesn’t cause
me to reflect and take stock of how things are and how I would like them to go.
Like a lot of people, I like to assess, predict, and then I make goals.  At the end of December, I jotted down some
notes, made some plans and felt good about myself.  I’m usually pretty good at sticking to my
plans and I didn’t expect this year to be any different.  But then I didn’t expect to be struck by
inspiration that would send me furiously typing down the rabbit hole of a new
story.
And now here it is the end of January and I feel like one of
those people who’ve managed to blow up their diet and their resolution two
weeks after starting.  I mean, I feel
guilty about not sticking to the plan, but not really that bad as a shove another
chapter in.  In fact, that chapter was
delicious and really would it really hurt if I had another? 
I can always get back on the plan later, right?
***
Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie
Mae Mysteries, Wild Waters, Tales
from the City of Destiny and An
Unseen Current.  You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video
or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Writing Rehearsal

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by Paula Gail Benson

How
do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!

How
do you get happily published? Submit carefully crafted writing.
And,
how do you ensure that your submissions are carefully crafted? Write
extensively.
Do
you have to write every day? Some authors manage without, but I remember what
happened when I tried to improve my piano playing and left off practicing until
the day before the lesson. The result was passable, but not as polished as it
could have been if I had built on a daily habit.
While
music and writing may be inspiring to their listeners, they don’t emerge from
the muse by someone simply placing their fingers on a keyboard. Music and
writing have to be worked out in advance before you can sell tickets to the
audience.
Acting
is another creative activity that requires prep time. The first reading of a
line may “feel” perfect, but once you’ve rehearsed it, you realize more subtle
nuances, ways to play off fellow actors, or timed reactions that are funnier or
more poignant than the original interpretation.
Pianists
and writers are solo performers. Only by repeated practice do they learn the
methods that will best charm and involve an audience. One of the greatest joys
of a performer can be the private discovery of how a musical or written piece
should be presented.
That
joy is compounded when they hear the audience’s reaction. The true moment when
the muse touches you is when you realize the perfect order and symmetry for
your work. An actor or pianist may receive a more instant gratification in
hearing applause, but what writer doesn’t relish listening to a reader tell him how his words and
stories have changed a life?
Practice
is necessary for performances because to act or play piano is an extension of
self. The way we turn writing into that extension is to: (1) sit down to write
with purpose, and (2) embrace the discoveries made.
By
developing a writing habit, you can let the daily discoveries soak in until
they become a part of your writer self. You learn to recognize those “tricks”
that attract your audience’s attention. Then, you refine them in order to make
them appear natural, so they become craft and your audience doesn’t perceive them
at all, but is completely involved in the story and hates to see it end. This is
the objective of every artist: to tell the story well and leave the listeners
satisfied.

Walter
Moseley said that when writing becomes a daily practice, the writer completes
projects and his subconscious begins to assist him even when he’s not writing
because the constancy of the task has become so strong. (Why does his concept
make me think I hear, “May the force be with you,” echoing in my head?)

Linda
Rodriguez has written some inspiring recent messages about becoming motivated to write
and making the decision to be a writer. Both feature excerpts from her recent
book, Plotting the Character Driven Novel,
which is terrific.

If you’re still contemplating New Year’s resolutions, here are a few books
that have recommendations to help you develop a daily writing schedule: 

The
Divine Guide to Creating a Daily Writing Practice by Pernille
Norregaard. This inspirational text includes many quotations from established
authors (like Walter Moseley’s theory above) and emphasizes how to effectively build a habit.

Lifelong Writing Habit: The Secret to
Writing Every Day
by Chris Fox. By illustrating how he changed his entire life through developing
consistent practices, Fox shows the path to more effective writing and offers
exercises to achieve that goal.

The Eight-Minute Writing Habit: Create a
Consistent Writing Habit That Works With Your Busy Lifestyle by Monica Leonelle.
This guide offers a modified Pomodoro Method of timed writing. By limiting the
writing period to eight minutes, Leonelle contends it creates a habit that is
easy to incorporate into any lifestyle and capable of ensuring at least 250 per
day, which could lead to 90,000 words in a year.

Book Excerpt–Motivating Yourself to Write

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by Linda Rodriguez
It’s that time at
the beginning of a new year when people make resolutions for
self-improvement. Writers often make resolutions to find time to
write. I posted a blog about that recently here.


Even when this
resolution is successful and the writer creates a workable writing
schedule, such a resolution often ultimately fails because often
writers have more trouble motivating themselves to actually write
during the time they’ve scheduled than in finding or making the time
to write. In fact, one of the reasons we as writers so often find
ourselves over-committed and without dedicated time to write is due
to our procrastination and lack of motivation.

So, as my 2017 New
Year’s gift to all my writer friends out there, here to help with
that problem is an excerpt from my new writing book, Plotting the
Character-Driven Novel, available in ebook and trade paperback
here.



Motivating
Yourself to Write
The
trick is to motivate yourself to actually write in that time slot
you’ve created. Most of us find it easier to disappoint ourselves
than to disappoint other people, so if you can find a buddy or
partner to help keep you accountable, that’s a great way to
overcome that difficulty. Perhaps you two can call, text, or email
each other every writing day with goals before your writing time and
what you accomplished after that time is over. Or a group of writer
friends on Facebook can do this for each other. I know a number of
writers who post their day’s time spent writing or page totals on
Facebook, and get lots of positive feedback from their writer friends
for it—or consolation if they’ve missed their goal.
It’s
also important to set regular rewards for yourself for completing
planned segments of writing tasks. Putting your feet up with a cup of
tea and a special treat. Spending time reading a book you’ve wanted
to read. Buying yourself a book you want. Buying nice pens or blank
notebooks or whatever desk/office gizmo you’ve been wanting or
needing. Buying materials you’ve wanted for a craft project and–as
a later reward–giving yourself time to work on that project. Lunch
with one or more friends. Make a list of small, medium, and large
rewards for fulfilling various writing commitments.
Also,
schedule some creative refill time into each week and month. Take a
walking or library or bookstore or art gallery or museum break every
week, even if it’s only for thirty minutes. Take a nice blank book
(one of your rewards) and a nice pen (another reward) and visit a
lake, park, nature preserve, or riverside, just walking and sitting
and writing with no stated purpose. Describe in writing what you see,
what you feel, what you’re thinking, what you want to write someday
or otherwise do someday.
If
you’re serious about writing, reclaim your power. Would you treat
your car the way you treat yourself? No, you would make sure it had
as much quality fuel as it needed. You would buy new tires for it
when they were needed. You would check its oil and get it regular
tune-ups and other routine maintenance. You would do all of this
because you know these things are important to keep it functioning at
its peak. Show yourself as much consideration as you do your car. No
car will run on empty, and neither do writers.
Make
time to remember how to dream, and make time to bring those dreams
into reality. Visualize your successful life as a writer, and then
plan that change. Exercise your change muscles first by making small,
unimportant, non-threatening changes in private areas. Learn to make
a habit of changing things you are unhappy with—in your job, your
home, your relationships, yourself. Envision the life you want to
lead. Write it down. Check in with it often. Analyze problems. Get
back on the horse when you fall off, and fix the problems that led
you to fumble your plans or work routine. It’s always an ongoing
process. No one’s perfect, but the only way you can truly fail is
if you stop for good.

Linda Rodriguez Bio
Linda Rodriguez’s book, Plotting the
Character-Driven Novel is based on her popular workshop. Every
Family Doubt, her fourth mystery featuring Cherokee campus police
chief, Skeet Bannion, will appear in June, 2017. Her three earlier
Skeet novels—Every Hidden Fear, Every Broken Trust,
and Every Last Secret—and
her books of poetry—Skin Hunger
and Heart’s Migration—have
received critical recognition and awards, such as Malice
Domestic Best First Novel, International Latino Book Award, Latina
Book Club Best Book of 2014, Midwest Voices & Visions, Elvira
Cordero Cisneros Award, Thorpe Menn Award, and Ragdale and Macondo
fellowships. Her short story, “The Good Neighbor,”
published in the anthology, Kansas City Noir, has been
optioned for film.

A Re-Awakening

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by Marjorie Brody

The New Year arrived for me in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. A live band, champagne and chocolate covered strawberries accompanied a balloon drop at midnight. The cruise allowed me to escape telephone calls and the demands of emails, meetings, and deadlines. I took a speed boat ride

through the rain forest, climbed Mayan ruins, and swam in gorgeous blue, calm water. I relaxed and gained a fresh perspective on my goals for the coming year. As a guest on a cruise ship, I was treated like royalty.

The vacation reminded me of how fortunate I am—purely by accident of my birth—to belong to the privileged of this world. Even though I have at times experienced religious prejudice, my life is blessed. I live in a country where, even as a female, I can receive an education, earn a living, marry the person of my choice, and raise the number of children I choose. My cruise experience, and the countries I visited, reinforced my awareness of the difference between the haves and the have nots. Years ago I wrote a poem about the divide between the privileged and underprivileged classes in our country. I pulled it out to reread and I’m sharing it with you below.

The New Year and its tradition of making resolutions coincided for me on this cruise and I decided that this year, my commitment wouldn’t be to write more regularly or submit more often. My resolution wouldn’t be to lose weight or exercise three times a week. My resolution would push me to think outside of my own little world and do something to make the world a better place for those less fortunate than I.

May the New Year be good to you.

SIDE-BY-SIDE IN AMERICA: THE PLAYGROUND

Twisted gray weeds wrap around
rusted spikes
                                                      Manicured grass, plush, green
                                                      and well styled
where once the swings stood
                                                       under brilliant colored poles
Rats and roaches scuffle
among bottles, cans, and paper
finding their way to
                                                      Children laughing,
                                                      singing rhymes and shouting,
                                                      playing tag and statues
Termites on an endless feast
gorging themselves on
                                                      “See-saw Margery Daw”
Mosquitoes and flies hovering
around excrement and vomit
                                                      Uniformed nannies strolling flowered paths
                                                      pushing their carriages,
                                                      and gossiping sweetly
                                                      And the friendly policeman
                                                      tips his cap as they pass
a drunk beaten and robbed
lying under the bushes
blood inching down his mouth
and ear—his temple pulsing
                                                       the heavy thunder of roller skates
                                                       on cement
its redness turned brown by
an equal part dirt
                                                       “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
                                                       Humpty Dumpty had a great . . .”
“Help me,” faintly come
                                                        babies cooing as they have their
                                                        tummies satisfied with
                                                        bottles full of warm white
clouds turning black
as the chill of night sets in
                                                        And as the sun seeks the horizon
                                                        the nannies call the children
                                                        home
                                                        to an unappreciated dinner
                                                        and lush, warm beds
                                                        And the children laugh, and
                                                        run
                                                        “ . . . all the way, all the way home”
with the faint voice calling
                                                        “three, six, nine, I resign.”

Marjorie Brody is an award-winning author and Pushcart Prize Nominee. Her short stories appear in literary magazines and the Short Stories by Texas Authors Anthology and four volumes of the Short Story America Anthology. Her debut psychological suspense novel, TWISTED, was awarded an Honorable Mention at the Great Midwest Book Festival and won the Texas Association of Authors Best Young Adult Fiction Book Award. TWISTED is available in digital and print at http://tinyurl.com/cv15why or http://tinyurl.com/bqcgywl. Marjorie invites you to visit her at www.marjoriespages.com. 

Resolution as Metaphor

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This
year, I made two New Year’s resolutions. The first was to carry only the
essentials in my purse.
I’m
a person who delights in handbags. In particular, I like to carry totes, which
accommodate lots of extra stuff. As a result, my shoulder and back are
constantly aching from the weight I carry.
Hence,
this year, I determined to lighten my load.
My
second resolution was to drink more water. Perhaps part of this resolution came
from the fact that I had the flu the last week of the year, and discovered the
keys to getting better were taking the antibiotic, getting lots of rest, and
keeping hydrated.
Liquids
are very comforting when your throat is sore and nothing tastes good. They’re
both filling and moisturizing, two very satisfying feelings associated with a
comfortable, healthy lifestyle.

At
some point during my recovery, I read in a writing craft book that characters
should be viewed as metaphors rather than people. Interesting concept. Rather
like the passion plays from the medieval times where audiences were encouraged
to associate characters with good or evil.
It
made me wonder if resolutions should be viewed as metaphors instead goals. Is a
resolution a plan for action or a reflection of what you think about yourself?
What
does it say about me that I want to carry less around and concentrate on
drinking enough fluids? Are those signals that I want to shed
unnecessary baggage and focus on keeping refreshed and vital?
How
do those resolutions relate to my writing?
If
you travel only with the essentials, you’re not overwhelmed with personal
objects. You can watch what’s around you and enjoy new experiences. And if you
keep hydrated, you have what’s essential to life. You are, in fact, embracing
what makes up most of a human body (50 to 75 percent) and of the environment
(about 71 percent of the earth’s surface and about a trace to 4 percent of the
atmosphere).
Lightness
and water are two ideas associated with movement and flow. They enable the
journey and keep the adventurer fueled to seek new possibilities.
So
far this year, I’ve been able to keep my resolutions. My shoulder and back
don’t ache, and I’m rarely thirsty.
I
know it’s hard to stick to resolutions. I’m sure the day’s coming when I slip
that extra book into my tote or stay at the computer too long without taking a
break to fill my glass.
But,
maybe when I stray, remembering how much better I felt when I was following the
resolutions will bring me back to them again. Perhaps I’ll read over some of my
writing from a time I carried only a notebook and pen instead of my iPad or
laptop and wrote at a coffee shop drinking refreshing mint tea. Maybe I’ll
notice the easy movement of my prose when I was less encumbered and better lubricated.
Then, I can sit down at my computer with a full bottle of water, type from my
notes, and feel like I’m making progress.
And,
isn’t that what resolutions are all about? Getting us started going forward
into the New Year?
 
Have
you made any resolutions? If so, what do you think they say about you and your
writing?

Writing – Bah Humbug and Future Promises

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Writing – Bah Humbug and Future Promises by Debra H. Goldstein

The holidays are over.  The Christmas music that began playing on my favorite radio station in November has changed back to easy listening.  Although the station will probably have a Christmas in July weekend, it is pretty safe to say the songs, tinsel, advertising, and holiday spirit are gone.  Bah humbug has returned.  It feels pretty good.

No, I’m not Scrooge.  I actually like the kindness and gentle spirit that is attached to the holiday season.  I love to see the lit candles of Chanukah twinkle.  I enjoy watching shelter children picking out presents for their parents while their parents choose toys for them at the Birmingham YWCA’s Santa’s Workshop or volunteering to help meet a family’s wishes through the Angel Tree or Temple’s Adopt A Family Program.  My issue is that I don’t like to be banged over the head with this “spirit” only in November and December.  I prefer the year ‘round approach.

I often wish I could apply my all year charitable approach to my writing.  I envy the person who sits down and writes a set number of words a day.  For me, trying to write is very similar to enjoying the holidays.  I write in sprints – easily distracted by the music and lights of everyday living.  When the writing is going well, I celebrate joyously and concentrate on the work.  When my ideas aren’t fresh or exciting or I’ve received a rejection letter, I find it far easier to lounge in front of the television than my computer or to pick up pen and paper.  

In the past, I’ve been a master of excuses as to why I’m not writing.  Excuses like I need to be in the mood (compare this to the holiday spirit), my office is upstairs and I don’t feel like going up the steps, or I would write in a notebook but then I would have to transcribe my thoughts to a computer.  Other excuses for the notebook could be a) if I leave it lying around the neighbor’s dog might eat my work, b) if I put the notebook down, I may forget where I put it, or c) if I close the notebook I may not find the page I wrote on again.  

I really wonder what excuses others use and what is the motivation that helps one write consistently?  My next blog will not appear until 2014. In anticipation of it and the New Year, I want to resolve to apply the year ‘round approach to my writing.  It isn’t going to be easy.  How do you do it?  Will you help me or join me in this New Year’s resolution?

Whether we succeed or not, may 2014 be a happy, healthy and prosperous year for you and yours.
                                                                       ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Maze in Blue, a murder mystery set on the University of Michigan’s campus in the 1970’s.  Her short story, “A Political Cornucopia” was the November Bethlehem Writers Roundtable featured story.    

Looking Forward to 2010

/in /by

I’ve been reading everyone’s resolutions with interest–some have long, long lists filled with self-improvement ideas, other write about hoped for achievements in the coming year, even a few include what they’d like to see happen on a more global aspect.

Frankly, I don’t write resolutions because to put them down on paper would mean I’d be overcome with guilt when I didn’t do them. Instead, I’m just going to try to do what I know I need to do.

First, because I write two series, I know I must hunker down in front of the computer and get my imagination fired up and put myself inside the world of Deputy Tempe Crabtree and make sure she has some intriguing mystery to solve along with a great deal of adventure. (That’s the book I’m working on now.)

My latest Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novel will be coming out sometime soon and I’ll need to plan a book launch, a virtual book tour and all the other things I do to promote both books.

A little more exercise wouldn’t hurt since I notice I’ve gotten a bit rounder after all the good holiday eating.

Spending time with my hubby and family is always a must–I don’t need to write a resolution to do that.

As far as what’s happening in the world, I know I don’t have any control over that–frankly, I don’t have any control over what happens in my family. I’ll pray for them both, that’s the best I can do.

For my fellow members of the Stiletto Gang and all those who read our blogs, I wish you the very best of 2010 and may all your dreams for the year come true.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com